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Car engine temps extremely high in stop and go traffic.


Rock

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Car has a new radiator, pump, cap and coolant. When the car is cruising along it is fine. Runs around 190 but she climbed up around 240 in stop and go traffic and I was getting a little worried. Would some electronic cooling fans be a better option than the belt driven fan?

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The belt driven fan is fine as long as the clutch is in good condition. Lots of older engines suffer from lime and rust in the cooling system, thus preventing a good heat transfer from the engine to the coolant and from there to the radiator. You can clean the cooling system with water and citric acid. I just did that at my Dad's 1964 Cadillac. The acid cleans out rust and lime and does not hurt the metal parts in the system if done properly.

Mercedes Benz sells citric acid for this exact procedure. The only downside of cleaning out the cooling system like this is that small leaks that got sealed up with lime or rust over the years may show up again.

I can recommend it though. It worked for me. My dad's Cadillac had the exact same symptoms and runs like a champ now. No more overheating in traffic or while idling.

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Make sure your fan clutch is in working. If not replace it with a Hayden 2474. Make sure you don't have any air pockets in the cooling system. This can happen when replacing cooling system components.

 

David

 

 

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I run the stock fan shroud, I run a full time mechanical pull fan (no clutch), a spal 16 electric pull fan behind the stock fan shroud, I deleted the AC condensor/radiator that sat in front of the engine radiator, and no more thermostat. make sure you have that fan shroud; the fan shroud is for both the radiator and the engine; pulls air through the radiator to help cool the motor. Try running no thermostat and see if that makes a difference; I had the same problem and I removed the thermostat and my problem went away, must've been a broken thermostat. But I run Spal 16 electric pull fans on my hot rods and I swear by them; extremely reliable. Good luck to you and your decision.

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hi, check your coolant mixture, I put in the 50-50 mixture and it seemed to run a little hot ,with my stock big block ,I checked the coolant and added a little more water than coolant mixture, and it helped out a lot,  

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Make sure your fan clutch is in working. If not replace it with a Hayden 2474. Make sure you don't have any air pockets in the cooling system. This can happen when replacing cooling system components.

 

David

How do you eliminate any possible air pockets? remove the radiator cap & accelerate the motor a bit?

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Glenn

Many things can have an effect but the first thing I would look at is you fan clutch

Other things that can give you the overheating you are describing

Retarded ignition timing

Idle speed too low

Lean fuel condition

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My car does not have a fan clutch. It was changed out at one time before I got it. I will check the timing. Sam, I am not a mechanic but what is a good starting point on the idle screws on 350 w/ Edelbrock I believe an 1806?

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Glen,

 

if you could post a picture of your fan, maybe that will help

 

take the screws in until the idle starts to drop, then bring them out until you get the highest idle, and I like to go 1/8-1/4 turn more

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The fan just bolts to the pulley with 4 bolts. No clutch. I was told A/C cars had the clutch and non A/C cars didn't. I have A/C but it is not hooked up and I have no belt on it. As long as the car is running the fan is turning as fast as the motor.

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How do you eliminate any possible air pockets? remove the radiator cap & accelerate the motor a bit?

I will fill the radiator leave the cap off and start the engine. You can also jack the front end up just a bit. will the engine is running. Make sure you have water handy as the level will drop when an air pocket is released and you need to fill that void with fluid. I also drill a small hole in the thermostat flange( 3/16") that will also aid in alleviating air pockets.

 

David

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Ok, I purged the system of any air,topped the system off and checked my idle screws. Now it doesn't go above 210 according to the gauge. It idled for about 30 minutes with no problem.

post-1188-0-32078600-1467758785_thumb.jpeg

Here is my fan. A non clutch 6 blade fan. The car idles around 8000 rpm give or take a few rpms. Any thoughts?

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Your fan blades should be half in the shroud and half out for maximum cooling...looks like they don't protrude at all. I think you should try a shorter extension for the blades so it comes closer to the engine. 

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Thanks guys. I will see if I can find a shorter one. I drove the car again tonight and it's still creeping up on me. Weird part is it was fine all last year. I havent changed anything since. Can anyone take a pic of their cooling fan and shroud?

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Glenn. I have a clutch fan now. I used run a flex fan it was also a direct bolt up no clutch and it worked fine. I now run a stock clutch fan. Here is a picture but mine is a BB.  What thermostat are you running? Maybe try a 180 if your running a 190.  

post-44-0-84023100-1468079174_thumb.jpg

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Thanks for the pics. Mine is definetly tucked further inside the shroud. I believe I have a 190 degree thermostat. It would be cheaper to buy the clutch assembly but still wondering if a dual 14" electric fan would be another viable option. The place where I bought the radiator from has a set up for $250.00.

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When did this start happening? After you changed everything or did it always run that hot? Is it a Stock water pump or an a Higher flow pump? What size radiator did you get a 3 core or 4 core? I could be wrong but I do not see where electric fans will help you since your current fan is not a clutch and runs all the time. Only thing the electric will do is they can run when car is off if set up that way. When it does get that hot does it come down if you run the heat? Don't mean to ask dumb questions just thinking. I would change that thermostat to a 180. Easy to do and doesn't cost a boat load of money. 

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When did this start happening? After you changed everything or did it always run that hot? Is it a Stock water pump or an a Higher flow pump? What size radiator did you get a 3 core or 4 core? I could be wrong but I do not see where electric fans will help you since your current fan is not a clutch and runs all the time. Only thing the electric will do is they can run when car is off if set up that way. When it does get that hot does it come down if you run the heat? Don't mean to ask dumb questions just thinking. I would change that thermostat to a 180. Easy to do and doesn't cost a boat load of money.

 

It started after changing the shocks. I bought a high flow long water pump, a 3 core radiator. I pulled the cap and watched the flow of the coolant and it really doesn't flow much. Just kinda dribbles. I am going to pull the thermostat and put in a 180 and see if it improves the flow.
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Well, I just flushed the whole system added new antifreeze and distilled water with a 180 thermostat and it still isn't right. At this point I am lost for a solution.

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Do you still have the old water pump or was there something wrong with it? I am only guessing at this point. That or maybe the temp gauge is not reading accurately. Did you try turning on the heat to see if the Temperature drops? 

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Do you still have the old water pump or was there something wrong with it? I am only guessing at this point. That or maybe the temp gauge is not reading accurately. Did you try turning on the heat to see if the Temperature drops? 

 

Good points.

 

Turning the heat on full blast was a trick I used to do at the track just after a run to drop the temperature before I improved my cooling.

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