1972 MC 350 A/T - Out of the Garage!!!

[willie]

44 minutes ago, Dtret said:

Regular maintenance is a myth. You don’t need to do it at all. Just do what I do and never drive the cars. See no maintenance. lol. 😂.  Yes do your regular checks. 

You are not the only one Dennis!!!  GN less than 20 miles a year!!  lol   JK but only alittle!!!

[Rob Peters]

8 hours ago, B-Man said:

@Rob Petersand @Scott S. I actually don't even know if there is a thermostat even installed to be honest.  I bought one, and all of the associated essentials, from an O'Reilly's when I went on the first 2+ hour road trip earlier this summer and saw the temp creep up past 210F. 

I can't verify if it is true, and no I didn't read it on the internet, but years ago someone tod me running a car without a thermostat is not recommended because the flow through the radiator may be too fast for the fan and radiator to cool it properly and could lead to overheating. 

rob

[420ponies]

You can run without a thermostat. Just tear out the thermostat spring and plunger, and run the housing by itself. That way ,it slows down the flow. I don't recommend it at all. I run a 160 degree stat, with a 1/16" hole drilled through the plate area (for burping the system),also no airlock in system, usually runs 180-185. after a drive and sits, gauge might go to 195.

[Scott S.]

I bet your gas bills are fairly cheap that way too.... 

[Scott S.]

15 hours ago, Rob Peters said:

I can't verify if it is true, and no I didn't read it on the internet, but years ago someone tod me running a car without a thermostat is not recommended because the flow through the radiator may be too fast for the fan and radiator to cool it properly and could lead to overheating. 

rob

Plus it reduces the system pressure, so it takes longer to heat up, but once the fluid gets hot enough to pop the rad cap, the block is already to hot.   

[Scott S.]

6 hours ago, 420ponies said:

You can run without a thermostat. Just tear out the thermostat spring and plunger, and run the housing by itself. That way ,it slows down the flow. I don't recommend it at all. I run a 160 degree stat, with a 1/16" hole drilled through the plate area (for burping the system),also no airlock in system, usually runs 180-185. after a drive and sits, gauge might go to 195.

I've got the same set up as James, and the only time it reaches above 185 degrees or more is in "stop and go" traffic.

That also brings up the transmission temps as well. 

On the highway it holds at 160 degrees. 

[Scott S.]

23 hours ago, B-Man said:

@Rob Petersand @Scott S. I actually don't even know if there is a thermostat even installed to be honest.  I bought one, and all of the associated essentials, from an O'Reilly's when I went on the first 2+ hour road trip earlier this summer and saw the temp creep up past 210F.  It's still on the shelf.  But yeah, one of the first things I will check.  While the water pump isn't making any noise, I do question whether it's functioning optimally.  Could be anything at this point I suppose.  Given how bad the front (and rear) main seal leaks I may be in for a might-as-well strip the whole front of the engine down.  We shall see.  First things first though is a good coolant system flush, check flow (water pump) and see if a thermostat is in play.

Most water pumps either work or they don't.

When the pump on my 2nd ex's T-Bird went, it dumped A/F all over the ground.

I told her what was wrong and not to drive it....... But she just poured more A/F in it and toasted the motor the next morning on the freeway.

Of course that was my fault as well. 

[cny first gen 71]

I went out with a girl one time I told her my priorities were my daughter my dog and my car. I don't understand why that relationship didn't last long 😅 she's gone my daughter is happily married my dogs time on earth is gone 🥲 and I still have my car so life is good 😄 but I have seen the fins on water pumps rot away so it may not be pumping correctly. 

[Scott S.]

3 minutes ago, cny first gen 71 said:

I went out with a girl one time I told her my priorities were my daughter my dog and my car. I don't understand why that relationship didn't last long 😅 she's gone my daughter is happily married my dogs time on earth is gone 🥲 and I still have my car so life is good 😄 but I have seen the fins on water pumps rot away so it may not be pumping correctly. 

Can't say I've ever seen them rot.... Must have been a cheap pump, or bad A/F ??

[Scott S.]

Funny how your "priorities" take a "back seat" to her's.......

Things like hair appointments, shopping trips, visiting her friends.....

You know, the REALLY IMPORTANT things.   

6 minutes ago, cny first gen 71 said:

I went out with a girl one time I told her my priorities were my daughter my dog and my car. I don't understand why that relationship didn't last long 😅 she's gone my daughter is happily married my dogs time on earth is gone 🥲 and I still have my car so life is good 😄 but I have seen the fins on water pumps rot away so it may not be pumping correctly. 

Can't say I've ever seen them rot.... Must have been a cheap pump, or bad A/F ??

[cny first gen 71]

Yes very neglected system for sure.

[B-Man]

Update on the cooling system inspection:

I'm not going to make a separate thread. I don't think this forum needs another dedicated thread on such a simple system.

Anyway,

- when I pulled the radiator cap off, I could see coolant about halfway down the radiator. So a little low for sure. I know I've filled and burped the system before but it was at least a season ago.

- I pulled the lower radiator hose and drained all of the coolant into a bucket

- I removed the thermostat housing and discovered that there IS in fact a thermostat in there (yay). It's a 160F unit, which was a bit surprising.

- I pulled the thermostat out, replaced the housing / rubber oring gasket, disconnected the upper radiator hose at the radiator and flushed the cooling system. I put the hose into the radiator and let the upper radiator hose spew fresh water onto the ground. I let it run for a while like that for a while, with a few high RPM revs to churn things up 

- the water looked very clear with absolutely zero signs of corrosion in the system (yay). And the water pump seemed to be pushing an expected volume of water, and increased with RPM.

- the upper radiator hose ended up laying against the AC belt / pulley and now needs to be replaced (bummer)

- I filled and burped the system with fresh water (no antifreeze) and left the thermostat out. 

- I took the car for a rip around town and it never got over 180F

So no smoking gun here relative to my intermittent high temp issues. I can't imagine the 160F thermostat was doing all that, but I might be mistaken. The coolant being a little low ... maybe

My plan from here is to go ahead and put the 180F thermostat in, leave the 100% water for now, fill and burp it, and run it to see if the issue reoccurs. If it doesn't then I will drain the system of straight water, refill with 50/50 coolant and call it a day

[420ponies]

Make sure that you drill a 1/16" hole in the flat of the stat.that way it will always burp air out of the system. A 180 deg. stat will run 190-195 at temperature.  I would stay with a 160. It will run 180 all day long.

[Scott S.]

There's your problem !!!

The can (on the fender) says "lite"...... You can't use that stuff for cooling. 

Just to reiterate, stop and go traffic will make temps rise quickly whereas open road driving keeps everything cool.  

[Scott S.]

Also, just out of curiosity, do you have an aftermarket transmission cooler. Or are you still using the factory built in one ?

[B-Man]

@420ponies, thanks for the reminder on drilling a hole.  I had completely forgotten about that.  Great call.  160 vs 180 ... hmmm, something to think about.  Might play around with both and prove you right or wrong!!!

@Scott S. oh man, you're right!  I should pour some down in there - some for the gods of cooling!!!  But no, it does not have an aftermarket transmission cooler.  I confirmed yesterday that the transmission cooling lines are threaded into the passenger side of the radiator, presumably in stock form.

[Leghome]

3 minutes ago, B-Man said:

@420ponies, thanks for the reminder on drilling a hole.  I had completely forgotten about that.  Great call.  160 vs 180 ... hmmm, something to think about.  Might play around with both and prove you right or wrong!!!

@Scott S. oh man, you're right!  I should pour some down in there - some for the gods of cooling!!!  But no, it does not have an aftermarket transmission cooler.  I confirmed yesterday that the transmission cooling lines are threaded into the passenger side of the radiator, presumably in stock form.

I have a after market tranny cooler in front of my AC condenser plus running thru the radiator 

[DragCat]

5 hours ago, Scott S. said:

There's your problem !!!

The can (on the fender) says "lite"......

I use that to cool ME off NOT the Monte 🤣

[GRAY 70 Monte Carlo]

3 hours ago, DragCat said:

I use that to cool ME off NOT the Monte 🤣

No but I have used it to put out a carburetor fire before 😃

[Scott S.]

22 hours ago, B-Man said:

@420ponies, thanks for the reminder on drilling a hole.  I had completely forgotten about that.  Great call.  160 vs 180 ... hmmm, something to think about.  Might play around with both and prove you right or wrong!!!

@Scott S. oh man, you're right!  I should pour some down in there - some for the gods of cooling!!!  But no, it does not have an aftermarket transmission cooler.  I confirmed yesterday that the transmission cooling lines are threaded into the passenger side of the radiator, presumably in stock form.

Adding an aftermarket transmission cooler makes a difference.

You're not using the engine cooling system to cool the trans as well. 

And if you're driving in traffic a lot, that can lead to hot temps. 

[B-Man]

Update: I drove my MC to work this morning WITHOUT a thermostat installed, and only water in as coolant. It ran just under 150F the entire time at about 45mph and 2000rpm. I will drive it around a bit more over the next couple of days.  This weekend I will put the 180F thermostat in, some 50/50, and replace the upper and lower hoses. Then I will daily it next week. Hopefully the cooling issue will be solved. Of course, New England fall temps are setting in, so that will make it easier :).

Enjoy the ride folks!