Is the engine really running hot?

[cj69RR]

Sounds like you have some air in the cooling system. When you turned the heater on is where the air came from? After you put the new gauge in make sure you bleed the air out of the system and when doing that make sure you have the heater on.

 

[Basketcase]

I had my Charger at Brice road once. Had maunal gauges in it as well. Happened to look at the factory temp gauge, and it was well above 200. looked down at the manual, and it was dead on 180. 40 year old gauges are not excatly reliable. Then there were the times I was on a road trip and I watched all the dash gauges go all the way to the right, then drop to the left. Never had this happen with the road runner type dash.Is it really hot,bad gauge,sender,t stat, manuals take the guess work out.

 

[dhansen_69RR]

Okay so i put a funnel in the radiator and filled it up half way. I turned the temp all the way up and move know to heat but left the fan in off position. I cranked the car up and let it run twenty minutes and saw air bubbles coming out. I squeezed on the radiator hose and noticed many more bubbles coming out. After I noticed the air bubbles gone from what I could tell i rev'ed the engine up to 2500 rpms. The needle started to go hot so i backed off. I noticed the fluid in the funnel was much fuller. I didn't want to leave car at H so i turned it off. After several minutes i noticed the fluid in the funnel emptied completely into the radiator. Any ideas on that?

 

[george68hemirr]

did you drill a 1/16 hole in the thermostat.......when you fill the radiator ....jack the front of the car up.....it help move the air out of the block.......see how that works.....you dont even have to run the engine.....fill.... let it sit,then add until full.....keep adding till full

 

[dhansen_69RR]

So when you say drill 1/16 hold in the thermostat where do you drill the hole? I replaced it before knowing to do so. I read others saying to drill a hole but not sure where. I did jack the car up and filled the radiator and even squeezed on the hose a little until I didn't see air bubbles. I'm starting to wonder if this duralast thermostat I purchase is bad or just cheap. Any suggestions on a brand and what temp I should look for? I'm also going to install a manual water temp gauge if I do decide to swap the thermostat out again.

Thanks all for the guidance!!

 

[69hemibeep]

Sounds as if the thermostat opened and filled some air pockets with coolant. When its full and cold with the cap off start it and keep it full until the coolant begins to expand and push out, then cap it and run it until fully warmed up and allow to cool. This should have overfilled it and it may puke some out the overflow after you shut it off. After it cools check the level and if its a half tank or more run it again. Also when the cap is off see if you have constant bubbles.

 

[george68hemirr]

So when you say drill 1/16 hold in the thermostat where do you drill the hole? I replaced it before knowing to do so. I read others saying to drill a hole but not sure where. I did jack the car up and filled the radiator and even squeezed on the hose a little until I didn't see air bubbles. I'm starting to wonder if this duralast thermostat I purchase is bad or just cheap. Any suggestions on a brand and what temp I should look for? I'm also going to install a manual water temp gauge if I do decide to swap the thermostat out again.

Thanks all for the guidance!!

look thru this

http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/drill-n ... 89999.html


you can test your thermostat by boing water on the stove.....drop it in and see if it opens.......could also check the temp of the water to see if it does open a 180 degrees

 

[dhansen_69RR]

Okay so i did the above post and make sure the bubbles were completely gone jacked up. I topped it off and closed it up and let her cool down. I just took her out for a spin and the needle went straight to H after a few seconds. I noticed if I gunned the accelerator the temp went towards C. So I said lets go driving. I took it out and drove her hard shift gears around 4200 rpm. I also turned the heat on full temp and fan on. I noticed the harder i drove her the temp went down. When I came to a stop sign it started to rise. I drove around for about 20 mins just driving hard and the last 10 mins I noticed she was staying around the half way point between C and the middle. I kept driving and stopping and it didn't change. I came back home and will let it cool and then check the radiator to see what the level is at. Then tomorrow I will take it back out and see what she does. So what she needed to be driven hard with the temp control full blast??? LOL

 

[69hemibeep]

When was the last time the waterpump was out, I wonder if the some blades or impelers what ever they are called are gone. My car set for a long time and two of them rotted off.

 

[Basketcase]

isn't there a difference in the waper pump housing/pump used for an ac car and non ac? seems I ran into that once. got a non ac water pump and the car overheated,. figured out the impeller was smaller(?) than an ac pump, or the other way around? wasn't moving the water enough.

 

[george68hemirr]

sounds like your fan belt is loose......could be the water pump too like bobbie said

 

[andy69]

Hey im having the same trouble, new thermostat,radiator has been repaired, block flushed,new dizzy,coil etc.Now starts fine, 20 mins into drive starts to heat up,i mean right over to the right,if i stop at any time,it becomes hard to start, someone mentioned that the dizzy needs setting up? f--ked if i know...any heard of this one...also i think its got the origional water pump..could changing this make any difference

 

[sixgunrunner68]

One thing I haven't heard anyone mention in this thread is the radiator cap. It's simple stupid but if it's not functioning correctly or the wrong pressure cap you'll have problems. Check that the cap is blowing off at the right pressure.I think I'm using a 16 pound cap. If this is ok go through everything previously said. One thing that also helps when filing with coolant, pour it slowly don't just dump it in. This helps to prevent air pockets .

 

[Roadcuda]

I had similar problems when I first got my car. It ran at good temps while driving but as soon as I sat in traffic for any length of time the temp shot up to 200 plus. It took a while but after boiling out the radiator, changing the thermostat to a 160, putting a coil spring in the lower hose so it wouldn't collapse, flushing out the block, changing the water pump pulley to a smaller diameter to speed up the pump, and changing the pump to a Flowcooler water pump, it has pretty well solved the problem. Driving the car to Carlisle in that unusual heat last year, a 300 mile trip for me, it stayed right around 185-190 while driving. For the short periods of stopped driving it would go to around 200 and still ran good. The only time I had problems was on the way home when we got stuck in a 3 mile backup. Then the temp shot up to 210-220 and was a bitch to keep running. I had to take it out of gear and rev the engine up some to keep the water moving, and to keep it running. Otherwise it would have stalled.

 

[69hemibeep]

Hey im having the same trouble, new thermostat,radiator has been repaired, block flushed,new dizzy,coil etc.Now starts fine, 20 mins into drive starts to heat up,i mean right over to the right,if i stop at any time,it becomes hard to start, someone mentioned that the dizzy needs setting up? f--ked if i know...any heard of this one...also i think its got the origional water pump..could changing this make any difference

Too much timing makes them run hotter

 

[69hemibeep]

I had similar problems when I first got my car. It ran at good temps while driving but as soon as I sat in traffic for any length of time the temp shot up to 200 plus. It took a while but after boiling out the radiator, changing the thermostat to a 160, putting a coil spring in the lower hose so it wouldn't collapse, flushing out the block, changing the water pump pulley to a smaller diameter to speed up the pump, and changing the pump to a Flowcooler water pump, it has pretty well solved the problem. Driving the car to Carlisle in that unusual heat last year, a 300 mile trip for me, it stayed right around 185-190 while driving. For the short periods of stopped driving it would go to around 200 and still ran good. The only time I had problems was on the way home when we got stuck in a 3 mile backup. Then the temp shot up to 210-220 and was a bitch to keep running. I had to take it out of gear and rev the engine up some to keep the water moving, and to keep it running. Otherwise it would have stalled.

What is a little different is that his cools with RPMs so the hose collapse is out but the pulley or pump or belt is in play.

 

[dhansen_69RR]

Do you think it could still be an air bubble that was created after the new thermostat was opened? I've been driving the car around with the heater on and fan off just trying to get it hot enough to open the thermostat hoping that the bubbles will some how go away if I can get the coolant to push through. If that doesn't work I'm purchasing a better made thermostat and will drain and replace but this time install a manual water temp gauge to better read the temp. Prior to this issue the only work I've done in the engine bay is replace the alternator and run a cable to the coil for an aftermarket tach. Not sure why they would cause any issues.

 

[69hemibeep]

Do you think it could still be an air bubble that was created after the new thermostat was opened? I've been driving the car around with the heater on and fan off just trying to get it hot enough to open the thermostat hoping that the bubbles will some how go away if I can get the coolant to push through. If that doesn't work I'm purchasing a better made thermostat and will drain and replace but this time install a manual water temp gauge to better read the temp. Prior to this issue the only work I've done in the engine bay is replace the alternator and run a cable to the coil for an aftermarket tach. Not sure why they would cause any issues.

Not knowing anything much about you car, I was hoping to get it filled and all the air out so as to trouble shoot it. Get a quality stat and drill a 1/16" hole between the surface that seals in the housing and the working parts. Look in the tech section for the capacity of the cooling system so you have an idea what will fill it. If you keep having to fill it and seeing bubbles there are bigger problems, but lets not go there yet.

 

[george68hemirr]

Do you think it could still be an air bubble that was created after the new thermostat was opened? I've been driving the car around with the heater on and fan off just trying to get it hot enough to open the thermostat hoping that the bubbles will some how go away if I can get the coolant to push through. If that doesn't work I'm purchasing a better made thermostat and will drain and replace but this time install a manual water temp gauge to better read the temp. Prior to this issue the only work I've done in the engine bay is replace the alternator and run a cable to the coil for an aftermarket tach. Not sure why they would cause any issues.

Not knowing anything much about you car, I was hoping to get it filled and all the air out so as to trouble shoot it. Get a quality stat and drill a 1/16" hole between the surface that seals in the housing and the working parts. Look in the tech section for the capacity of the cooling system so you have an idea what will fill it. If you keep having to fill it and seeing bubbles there are bigger problems, but lets not go there yet.

did you drill a 1/16 hole in the thermostat.......when you fill the radiator ....jack the front of the car up.....it help move the air out of the block.......see how that works.....you dont even have to run the engine.....fill.... let it sit,then add until full.....keep adding till full

 

[dhansen_69RR]

Thanks guys for the tips! I ordered a better thermostat and just waiting on it. When it comes in I will drill one hole and install it. This time I will jack the car up and have the heater on with temp all the way up. Then I will start filling the radiator until it is completely full. I will look in the tech area to see how much the radiator will hold. It's an original so it should match what the owners book states. I'm also going to install the water temp gauge I purchased to see what it is really running. I will update you guys this up coming weekend when I get the parts and work on it. Hope all works out