Running kinda hot!

brooksgnm · 07-15-2002, 04:31 PM

I think my car is running kinda hot. I just put an entire new top end on that I built. When I was breaking in the motor it would run about 3/4 of the way over on the factory gauge (sorry, I know I need a mechanical one). When the thermostat finally opened it was at 3/4 and it seemed to stay there although it's hard to say for sure since it was only running for 20 mins. Ran it again, same deal- thermo opened at 3/4 and seemed to stay there- it might have moved up a very very small amount. My cooling system consists of: new Stant 180 thermostat, high flow stewart water pump, 3 core brass(I think) radiator, and a black magic fan. I'm thinking maybe the thermostat isn't opening at the right temp... I'm going to put another one in and see if that's it. If not I'm going to put on a flex fan and put the electric in front. I know I didn't put the head gaskets on backwards, and I have no leaks, does anybody have any other ideas? Thanks a lot! -Mark

Oh BTW: My engine combo is pretty mild- E-303, ported 1970 351 heads, torker 289 intake(carbed), headers- all the other typical stuff.

Unit 5302 · 07-15-2002, 09:27 PM

You need a real gauge man. That factory jobber just doesn't cut it. The thermostat would be VERY suspect to me. I've seen a lot of new ones that don't work quite right. Hook up a mechanical gauge to the engine and check it out at least. Don't even have to fully install it in the vehicle, but you just want to be sure where you're really at. The factory sender could even be bad.

Doesn't sound to me like you should be running too hot, and the rest of your cooling system is very much on par, birdie perhaps, hehe.

Unit 5302 · 07-15-2002, 09:29 PM

Oh, and by the way, you did make sure you purged the system of air pockets, right? I've seen them do what you're talking about as well.

brooksgnm · 07-16-2002, 09:42 AM

Well, I think I got out all the air I could. What I did was first started the car up without a thermostat and let all the air work itself out into the radiator- which you could see it doing. Then I put the thermostat in with as much coolant in the system as possible(why couldn't they have put the thermostat facing up?????) and ran the car as I described. I know the thermosat opened because you could see coolant running through the fins, and there were no more bubbles at that point. Am I missing anything here? I'm getting another thermostat today, but I won't be able to run the car until this coming weekend. Thanks for the help so far! -Mark

07-15-2002, 04:31 PM	#1
brooksgnm Registered Member Join Date: May 1999 Location: Union, Ohio, USA Posts: 582	Running kinda hot! I think my car is running kinda hot. I just put an entire new top end on that I built. When I was breaking in the motor it would run about 3/4 of the way over on the factory gauge (sorry, I know I need a mechanical one). When the thermostat finally opened it was at 3/4 and it seemed to stay there although it's hard to say for sure since it was only running for 20 mins. Ran it again, same deal- thermo opened at 3/4 and seemed to stay there- it might have moved up a very very small amount. My cooling system consists of: new Stant 180 thermostat, high flow stewart water pump, 3 core brass(I think) radiator, and a black magic fan. I'm thinking maybe the thermostat isn't opening at the right temp... I'm going to put another one in and see if that's it. If not I'm going to put on a flex fan and put the electric in front. I know I didn't put the head gaskets on backwards, and I have no leaks, does anybody have any other ideas? Thanks a lot! -Mark Oh BTW: My engine combo is pretty mild- E-303, ported 1970 351 heads, torker 289 intake(carbed), headers- all the other typical stuff. __________________ 85 GT/SVO project underway!

07-16-2002, 09:42 AM	#4
brooksgnm Registered Member Join Date: May 1999 Location: Union, Ohio, USA Posts: 582	Well, I think I got out all the air I could. What I did was first started the car up without a thermostat and let all the air work itself out into the radiator- which you could see it doing. Then I put the thermostat in with as much coolant in the system as possible(why couldn't they have put the thermostat facing up?????) and ran the car as I described. I know the thermosat opened because you could see coolant running through the fins, and there were no more bubbles at that point. Am I missing anything here? I'm getting another thermostat today, but I won't be able to run the car until this coming weekend. Thanks for the help so far! -Mark __________________ 85 GT/SVO project underway!

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07-15-2002, 09:27 PM	#2
Unit 5302 Registered Member Join Date: May 1999 Posts: 5,246	You need a real gauge man. That factory jobber just doesn't cut it. The thermostat would be VERY suspect to me. I've seen a lot of new ones that don't work quite right. Hook up a mechanical gauge to the engine and check it out at least. Don't even have to fully install it in the vehicle, but you just want to be sure where you're really at. The factory sender could even be bad. Doesn't sound to me like you should be running too hot, and the rest of your cooling system is very much on par, birdie perhaps, hehe.

07-15-2002, 09:29 PM	#3
Unit 5302 Registered Member Join Date: May 1999 Posts: 5,246	Oh, and by the way, you did make sure you purged the system of air pockets, right? I've seen them do what you're talking about as well.