No Waterflow in Rad !

[monza]

Hi All,

My 75 EB as a PO 351W swap - it overheats like **** and I just discovered there is NO waterflow in the Rad at idle.

There IS water - but not flowing.

Before I assume the Pump is broken - is there anything else that could be preventing flow?

Should there even be flow at idle - or is it Thermo controlled??

Whats the best process to determine the guilty part ?

Thx,

Monza

 

[Bully Bob]

I doubt it's the pump...but strainger things have happened.

I would first, pull & check/test the thermostat.

Then., I would suspect a clogged radiator.

Next suspect would be clogged passages in the eng. A good flushing would be helpful there.

In some cases it's not easy to detect water movement at idle.

Is the rad. water gett'n warm/hot...? At some point it should push out the overflow hose into the recovery bottle.

 

[monza]

I doubt it's the pump...but strainger things have happened.

I would first, pull & check/test the thermostat.

Then., I would suspect a clogged radiator.

Next suspect would be clogged passages in the eng. A good flushing would be helpful there.

In some cases it's not easy to detect water movement at idle.

Is the rad. water gett'n warm/hot...? At some point it should push out the overflow hose into the recovery bottle.

Hey Bob,

Okay - these culprits are now all on my list - First up:

1. How do I TEST the thermostat ?

2. To check clogged Rad do I just pull the output from the pump and check for flow?

Thx.

Monza.

 

[Bully Bob]

Well., to get to the 'stat.., you need to drain down the rad. a bit.

While cold or nearly so.., with the rad. cap off... open the drain petcock into a bucket. It should drain pretty quick... but not necessary to drain more than a couple qts. (this will give you a clue as to the condition of the rad.)

Now., remove 'stat.. see if you can move it by hand. then boil it in water on stove...if poss. set a thermometer in to see what temp. it opens.

(mine never opened...i.e. it was stuck about 1/16 open.)

The whole point here is to know if in fact it's a bad 'stat....then prob. solved.

To test rad. you'll need to pull off the top/bottom hose., (try to plug the bottom hose so as to not lose all the coolant fr. eng..)

Run the garden hose down the cap hole....hand over the top hose hole. The water should run out almost as fast as you can put it in. If crud comes out... run the water fr the bottom up. If it's really bad take the rad. out & flush it on the ground. Prob. best to have rad. shop boil it if it won't clear.

 

[monza]

Bob,

Brilliant. Looks like I have a project for next couple days.

I will come back with findings - and most likely even deeper mysteries.

Thx,

Monza

 

[Bully Bob]

Oddly., 351's seem to run hotter in EB's ...not sure why, but there are cures that work.

If your work drops the temp., but not enough or you find no issues., ...let us know.

 

[monza]

Its going to be weekend b4 I can start tinkering - I will report progress.

Problem is it overheats so much that the brakes start to fail - the hotter it gets the harder the pedal gets and the less the brakes work.

I am making an assumption that the brake fluid is heating up - expanding and 'pumping' up the whole system...

It feels like the PO did all the hero upgrades to 351w - without the support upgrades...

yeesh! /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[monza]

So heres where I am at:

Drained the coolant.

Kind of green / Brown - didnt look too have any solids in there.

Filled it back with water and ran for 15 mins (temp on gauge at 190 - 200).

Let it stand a few hours to cool.

Drained again - Gatorade **** color.

Removed Thermo housing.

Thermo installed correctly - pointy brass end towards rad / Copper pipe end towards block.

Tested Thermo: Opened at 160ish - 1/2 inch open by 180 ish.

Now have to reinstall Thermo housing.

Probaly gonna Flush the system - the Rad has muddy filth inside on the main 'tube'.

Fill with new coolant 50/50.

Thoughts so far:

Coolant was old but cleanish - I am doubting a major blockage - but we will see what the Flush does.

Thermo working (Damn!)

Nothing looks fishy yet...

I noticed my pump is a Lefty intake - which I think makes it pre 1969 - strange on a 75EB with a 351w conversion... ??

Also the Therm housing is chromed - which seems very odd.

All I can do is Flush, refil and hope I have done some good.

I did notice today that there seems very little air being sucked in thru the rad grill - it is definitely being sucked in - a small leaf told me that - but not much.

I am also wondering whether my Heater system not working is keeping hot air in the engine bay (desperation setting in).

I reckn it will be Tuesday before I can get new coolant.

Let me know if u see anything fishy so far...

Oh yeh - where can I get a Thermo housing gasket ??

Thx,

Monza.

 

[Bully Bob]

T-stat should have 180deg. stamped on it..??

Assume you'll be gett'n a "flush-kit"..., it has instructions, cheap, simple & flushes the block as well. Use the rad. flush chemical., & the kit has the garden hose connections.

At this point., don't put any coolant in it...coolant makes engines run warmer. (long story)

"Also the Therm housing is chromed - which seems very odd."

This is of no concern.

"I did notice today that there seems very little air being sucked in thru the rad grill - it is definitely being sucked in - a small leaf told me that - but not much."

Is there a fan shroud on the rad...? Should be.

"I am also wondering whether my Heater system not working is keeping hot air in the engine bay"

This is no concern.

"where can I get a Thermo housing gasket ??"

Any auto parts store.

Once the prob. is solved., & temp. is running in normal range.. then you can go back & drain off some water & add some coolant. I doubt you need 50/50 in L.A.

"I noticed my pump is a Lefty intake - which I think makes it pre 1969 - strange on a 75EB with a 351w conversion... ??"

You do need to be sure it's the proper rotation., meaning it shouldn't be a reverse-rotation pump on there by mistake...

 

[monza]

Okay Bob...

T Stat has 'A 180' stamped on copper base of 'piston'.

Will try for a Flush kit - otherwise dump the Flush in, run it and drain it a couple times.

Good to know I can leave coolant out - bit concerned that I will boil all my water off tho - its frikken hot!

There is a plastic fan shroud - looks like Wild Horses (The rad also looks like Wild Horses 4 core)

I will try get the Gasket from Kragen.

HOW do I check the pump rotation ??

Questions:

How can I tell whether this rad is 4 core ?

This thing has an unvented fiberglass hood - should I cut some vents - in air scoop, and rear corners - to let some heat out and air in ??

and again - How do I check the pump rotation ??

How much coolant is this sposed to hold - Haynes tells me anywhere from 17 - 24 Qts - but I am only able to put 2 gal (8qts) in ???

Thx,

Happy 4th.

Wish there was an auto shop open on the 4th [-o<

 

[Bully Bob]

"Will try for a Flush kit - otherwise dump the Flush in, run it and drain it a couple times."

Flush kit is only +- $10 & flushes the block as well...only way to go.!

It taps into the heater hose.., with all other hoses on & rad. cap off., it flushes everything & pushes water, fr. garden hose, out the top of rad.

"Good to know I can leave coolant out - bit concerned that I will boil all my water off tho - its frikken hot!"

Coolant DOESN'T make an eng. run cooler...just raises the boiling point.

(& actually makes it run hotter)

"HOW do I check the pump rotation ??"

You could spin it by hand (with hose off)(the same way the belt moves it) to see which way the water goes.

Or., call WH ...they may be able to tell you.

Questions:

"How can I tell whether this rad is 4 core?"

Look down the rad. cap hole..with a "pen-light" you can usually count the rows.

"This thing has an unvented fiberglass hood - should I cut some vents - in air scoop, and rear corners - to let some heat out and air in??"

Naw., no help in this case.

"How much coolant is this sposed to hold - Haynes tells me anywhere from 17 - 24 Qts - but I am only able to put 2 gal (8qts) in ???"

That's because much of the "liquid" is still in the block.

Book says 15-16qt.(total liquid., water & otherwise) (depend. on A/C & HD cooling pkg.)

No need for adding ANY coolant 'til the overheat is solved.

Do you have any history on this eng. i.e. was it re-mfg. or just hopped up..?

 

[monza]

Do you have any history on this eng. i.e. was it re-mfg. or just hopped up..?

No history.

I believe the PO did the conversion - so I am guessing its hopped.

I remember him teling me a rambling list of parts that were changed to make the swap...

Rad is 4 core.

Fan is 6 blade metal - about 1" from inside of Rad.

The truck runs amazingly well - starts easy - accelerates well - kick down is a furious rush.

BUT it gets so HOT - the floor pan is too hot to touch in places - and then the brakes start to go out.

Until I get this heat solved - I cant push on with a full resto.

Maybe I should consider running a seperate oil cooler and detach the lines from the rad ?

Problem is - I shouldnt HAVE to do that.

I suspect that the Pump is a donor part - it is much more heavily oxidised than everything else - like it came from a different climate.

I need to check that rotation once I have TStat back on and flushed.

Monza.

 

[monza]

Reposted as new Topic:

Heater Control Valve.

 

[monza]

"Will try for a Flush kit - otherwise dump the Flush in, run it and drain it a couple times."

Flush kit is only +- $10 & flushes the block as well...only way to go.!

It taps into the heater hose.., with all other hoses on & rad. cap off., it flushes everything & pushes water, fr. garden hose, out the top of rad.

Okay here we go:

Stupid question of the day:

Tstat housing back on the truck.

Heater core flushed with water.

I am now about to Backflush the Rad.

So I attach the garden hose inline on the Heater send, turn on the water - and run the engine for 5 mins or so.

During which time, the flushed water comes out the top of the Rad - right ?

here it comes:

If I run my garden hose for five mins I am going to have like 20 gallons of water come out the top of my Rad.

Where the frk am I supposed to put that ?

am I sposed to have another garden hose which is stealthily running all that cranky fluid off to the garden or street or sumthin ??

I have no way of collecting that much fluid.

Am I being stoopid??

Monza.

 

[Bully Bob]

If memory serves., you don't turn the water on hard.. so as to let eng. warm & T-stat open.

I do mine in the driveway right at the gutter.. but if you wanted to rig up some hoses to run the water off somewhere that works too. I did that on one Land Cruiser so the water wouldn't land in the spinning fan.

Didn't the kit come with a "90" to pop down in the rad. cap hole to direct the out-flow..?

 

[Scodge]

What happens when it rains at your house? Water has to go somewhere, right? Just try to minimize the amount of anti-freeze that gets away. Drain that stuff into a bucket and dump it down the toilet.

 

[monza]

Had to do some gardening.

Hose - connectors etc.

Ran the skanky water all the way to the drains.

I was annoyed because the "instructions" made no mention of draining from the splash tube inserted in rad.

anyway

done now.

btw,

Backflow kit with plastic fittings... not so good.

Water fountain inside engine.

Its been fun.

Monza. (