Thread: cooling problem

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any ideas? working on my dads 35 ford .car seems to cool fine sitting in driveway.take it down the road and within a half mile the temp gauge jumps from 160 to 210 and blows the antifreeze out of the radiator.removed radiator(that was fun) and had it flow tested. flows 35 gpm (good) any input on this would be appreciated. flatheads were before my time and dont know a whole lot about them.motor was rebuilt when he bought and has low milage on it since rebuild,possibly has been this way when he got it.car is stock.were water pumps a problem on these engines.It almost acts as if the waterpumps arnt pumping enough fluid?

Welcome to the wonderful world of the Ford water heater! You don't say what engine it is, so I'll assume it's the original style with the water pumps in the heads. These were never the ideal setup, Ford changed them out pretty quick, but they did work.
Check the top hoses for hard spots. The thermostats sat on top of the water pump and were held in place by the hoses, when the hoses get soft the 'stats can slip up into the hose where they can't work right.
Then there's always the possibility that the block is cracked. Fill the rad right full and start the engine. Watch the water in the rad, a steady stream of bubbles or water being forced out is a bad thing. Either a crack or a head gasket gone.
Do you know if the engine sat for a time without a rad cap or maybe no rad? Mice love dark holes like water passages to build nests in!

the engine the original,the thermistats are missing and the coolant doesnt seem to bubble or overflow when the engine is cold.the coolant does seem to circulate when the engines reved slighty as i figured would be normal. its got me stumped.will probably pull the heads next?

You say the thermostats are missing? I'd suggest putting a new set in as I think it will solve your problem.

going to put rad. back in tomarrow and order themistats.also going to do a check for gases in cooling system to try and eliminate head gasket or cracked block.my dad talked to a local garage and they said they had a way of checking this ( possibbly with a additive or chemical ?)i not sure how they do it.

Speedway still sells a pressure check kit for flatties......

bets on that something is cracked or a head gaskets gone when it is cold things are tight and no pressure being released from the cylinders,as soon as its hot and cyl pressure is high(driving) it allows it in the water syst and bows the water out of the rad. Hope its just a head gasket, good luck

just an update.installed new thermistats and seems to be cooling correctly.the real test will be when it warms up here in michigan hopefully sooooon !!!!

Originally Posted by wrenchinrick

just an update.installed new thermistats and seems to be cooling correctly.the real test will be when it warms up here in michigan hopefully sooooon !!!!

The Ford v8 flatties that I've had experience with WILL NOT run cooler by removing the thermostats, in fact they will do just the opposite and that is why I suggested to have them replaced.

ntfday.It looks like you are right thanks alot.it seems to have fixed the problem.

NTFDAY, you rock!

thats why i dont gamble Good call nftday

Thanks for the kind words, just glad I could help.

You may have a bad thermostat. The thermostat resides under the return hose that runs from the engine back to the radiator, this hose usually comes off the top of the engine cool, remove and replace the thermostat, then run the idling test again.

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