I have '47 Ford truck sheet metal on a '79 E 150 chassis. In the last 2 years I've had it on the road it has had a heating problem. All of the cooling system is NEW and correct. 3300 CFM fan, new exhaust, correct carb. Timeing is right, 3.08 rear. It has a 240 head and intake for compression and 89 octane to keep it from pinging. Have talked to Ford guys, mechanics, guessers. Has anyone had this problem and found a cure? The thing runs great and I don't want to change engine if this can be fixed. Thanks
If the cooling system is running good, you should check leak down to make sure you dont have a lifted head gasket. Also check the cooling system and make sure that it is holding pressure. You mentioned the head is not the factory 300 head. I dont know a lot about the I-6 ford motors but I know with the small blocks, depending on what head you are running with what block, you have to drill steam (some people call them weep) holes in the block to let the head get the proper amount of pressure in the right places to keep the coolant flowing. Rob
What do call hot. They run a little warm naturally. What # cap do you have on it. Does it have a shroud.
Shroud came with the fan. It runs 210 which doesn't leave much room for an increase in 95+ degree Central Florida weather. Thanks, John
I guess that only leaves the thermostat. Could be sticking, or could be the wrong temp. Sometimes new ones stick. Put it in some boiling water to see what its doing.
Does the sending unit match the gauge? Let it heat up with the rad cap off, stick a meat thermometer in the coolant and see what it says. Shawn
it could have to do with the grille and how much air gets through or needing a type of shroud in front of the radiator directing the air through the radiator......
How is the jetting on the carb. On ford sixes you have to run them slightly rich to keep cyl 1 and 6 from running lean.
Some configurations of the 300I6 had heating issues with the front cylinder - Can't recall if it was intake or exhaust flow.
Make sure the air has to pass through the radiator and not around it, most overlooked problem on the face of the earth. Another thing to check is that the water pump is actually pumping and not just stirring the water. You didn't mention "new" water pump. New being the operative word here. many times a rebuild water pump has an impeller so worn that it doesn't move water well. You should also find out of your T stat is working properly, did you buy a good quality stat or the one hanging on the rack at auto zone. I used to use the cheapies but tehn I finally bit the bullit and started using high quality ones that cost about 3 times as much but it makes all the difference ion the world.
If you are maintaining 210, then you need to do one of two things to bring the temp down. Either increase air flow (shroud, ducting, etc), or water flow (new pump, better thermostat, etc) If the temp is constantly climbing, and never levels off, in other words you shut it off at 210. Then you quite possibly have a head gasket issue or other serious problem (water jackets plugged, plugged core, etc). On a side note, I thought that the only difference between the 240 and 300 was the stroke. The 240 had longer rods with shorter pistons to give the same deck clearance as the 300. I thought the heads were identical between the motors because the bore was the same. Is that not correct? I thought the only head upgrade that made any sense was using the later model 300 EFI heads on an early motor. Good Luck.
Along with the mentioned air flow routing to the radiator, how about fan proximity to the radiator and shrouding. Maybe show a picture of the front and the shroud/radiator for more help
Looks like he has an electric fan that came with a shroud, at least that is what I am understanding from the thread.
Missed that - now, is it a pusher or a puller? Does the shroud cover the hole core? Questions man, I have Questions (that can be answered with pics)
Ditto to a lot of the above. I had a car that started running hot. After testing several things I finally checked the temperature with a real tester. Turns out it was a bad gauge. Engine was running at the reg temp all along. On another inline six(chev) I was actually overheating and could not figure out why. After a few weeks bang my head an knuckles I noticed a small drip at the back of the block. Turns out it was a freeze plug going bad and leaking. New plug = no overheating. Other than that.. timing issues.
My dad and I just went through this with the 348 in his '58 Chevy pickup. The engine would run at about 215-220 and no cooler when in traffic, at highway speeds it would run 170-180. We checked everything, thermostat, jetting, timing, leakdown test, etc. It has a double pass aluminum radiator, a good fabricated shroud, and a steel seven bladed 18" fan. We finally determined that the steel fan was not doing it's job, so we installed two 13" pusher fans on the outside of the radiator and voila, it runs at 170-180 all day long. I believe that today's gas has alot to do with it.
Thank You to all for the help. I have had many local hands and eyes on this problem and I've been told over and over that nothing is wrong so it shouldn't do what it is doing. Air flow and shroud are not the problem, T-stat is not sticking, water pump is new and turning the correct direction, core is clean and clear, head gasket has been changed and checked, rad. is new, guage is correct and one mechanic friend used a heat detector on different areas of the engine to check temp. I just put a bigger carb. on to see if it was a lean problem. The plugs and combustion chambers were a little light and chocking off the old carb. seemed to help the temp. Haven't run it yet to find out if this works. John
The original '47 inner fenders were vented out the rear to let engine compartment air out. That is as important for good air circulation as getting air into the radiator. Do you have the original inner fender configuration? If all else checks out I would look to a problem with the head gasket and just upgrade it to a FelPro #1024Hi performance gasket.
210 isn't really "hot" for a modern engine, which you have. 15# cap?. Have a coolant recovery tank? Brian
Changing to more carb will not change your lean condition it will only have the availability to feed your motor more lean air. To correct a lean condition you must change jets in the carb. Rejet until cyl # 1 and 6 look right, numbers 3 and 4 will be on the rich side on your 300 Ford. No matter what intake with a center mount carb the results will be the same.
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