Thread: Overheating 454....any ideas?

Tweet

As for the trans cooler, lay it down at the bottom of the area in front of the core support, or move it outward (toward passenger side), cut a hole in the core support behind it for flow.

One problem I have with your three step remediation plan is, if one of them "solves the problem" the other two are a waste of time and or money since you won't know which one did it. You end up incorrectly believing it took all three to accomplish your objective.

Be systematic. Resist the "throw a bunch of "stuff" at the wall" syndrome. As for the electric fan, it was a crutch. If you "heal" the problem a crutch becomes a hinderance.

Bob - You are correct.

Due to the fact the work is scheduled..and I did remove the "lock the advance" from the agenda.....I DO want to run water in the radiator,....and you as well as everyone confirmed that the timing should be set correctly.
As far as the race gas goes,.....I assume it is necessary if the timing is set properly due to the nature of the engine (see 1st meddage in thread). But you are right in that I am throwing 3 things at the situation......at this point I am just so frustrated,....I would rather do that than further a systematic approach. And the cost for these 3 things is very negligable.

You are right about the fan,....it is a crutch. If the car does not lean towards overheating after tomorrows work,.....I will try it without the fan. (Even used,...AdvanceAuto said they will take it back if I am not satisfied up to 30 days!....)

Trans cooler: I dont follow you Bob,....should I just move it laterally towards passenger side from where it is at? and perhaps down as well?.....it does need to stay in front of car though correct?....I cannot mount it inside the engince compartment mounted off a fender wall or such right?......

Thanks for all your help,.....and everyone elses,.....tomorrow morning the timing will be set...etc...etc. I will post the results tomorrow!....

pray.

Re; trans cooler............yes, keep it in front of core support. Lower would be better. If you've got room mount it horizontally, I'm thinking of it in it's current position as vertical.

Streets - It will 'run' on the road at about 190-195degrees. Probably 190 if its not 95 out. Its just after sitting at a few lights it wants to climb and climb and climb......after a 4 minute idle in the driveway it can get to 230. I shut it off there,....do not know how much higher it would climb......

As far as the hood goes,....honestly I would not like the look of the car without the hood. Just does not work for me.....

They make relatively inexpensive after-market cowl induction type hoods....which would allow for flow,....or I coud have vents installed in this one......its and idea.....

And BOB,....the cooler is actually horizontal....its about 12x7 inches or so........

YAAAAHOOOO!!!!!

It is fixed!!!!....it is fixed!
The timing was set at 0. It was set proper at 36 and the car idled for 30 minutes at 190. I drove it to work in traffic and it never got over 192. Yeaaaahh!!!


A big thanks to all!!

I will now try a race gas mix and see if that does anything?...

thanks again! I will not have to sell her now!

Return the electric fan.

Bob,
You are a funny guy! :-) And I truly appreciate all your help!
If I can ever return the favor with my expertise in design/marketing let me know!

Yes,...tonite I will remove the fan and take it out for a run.
Assuming the temp stays low......I will return the fan and use the $70 to take the wife out to a celebration dinner.....

Dr Jim, congrats on getting it to work, I am glad all worked out for you.

Well so much for picking up a cheap big block Nova. I'm glad you got the heating resolved.

This thread is likely to die out now, but I thing Bob made a very valid point about taking a systematic approach and doing one thing at a time to diaganose and fix a problem.

The only thing I would add is that when the frustration level builds to the point it must have with you (and believe me I can relate). Sometimes, it is best to walk away from a problem for a while and then take a fresh look later. A lot of time it actually saves time and money.

With you guys running BBs.. What size of fan are you using and how many CFM are they pulling?