Technical ford 302 overheating

so my 53 ford customline is running a 1973 302 and i cant stop it from overheating, it overheats while idling and driving it in 15 to 20mins, i changed out the water pump, all hoses, thermostat, radiator cap,got the radiator flushed at the radiator shop, timing is set at 10 btdc, new coolant temp gauge,no white smoke is coming out of the exhaust, what i did notice on my oil dipstick it has a little bit of water on it, im thinking maybe head gasket is bad. i tried this test to see if im getting bubbles in my coolant, i filled up a bottle with water and submerged my overflow hose in it and i am getting bubbles while the engine is running. any other test i could do to see if my head gasket is really bad?

 

Are you sure the radiator is full after a heating and cooling cycle?

Is there water or a milky look under your oil filler cap in the valve cover? you may have a leak,possibly a blown head gasket. HRP

 

If you really suspect hydrocarbons in your cooling system and you can't detect otherwise
get a small bottle of "block tester" from auto parts store...NAPA or otherwise

 

If you had the heads off before you installed it in your '53 I would probably think you have a head gasket upside down because from your description that is exactly the results you would get from that.The gaskets are stamped "TOP" that must be showing before mounting the heads,it is not an uncommon thing to have that occur there are plenty of other folks on the web that were in the same boat. http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/302-head-gasket-installation-161338.html and READ this link,scroll down to post # 25 and check out the pictures before you pull the heads off. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/hot-running-ford-302.531966/

 

Yeah. On the small block Ford's it is easy to install the head gaskets upside down. I've done it before. I had the exact same symptoms you are having.

 

Dumb question but, do you have a reverse spin water pump installed? Serpentine belt driven pumps spin backwards.

 

Was this a recent install or was the car running OK before?
Pull spark plugs and look for water droplets.
Drain the oil and pay close attention to what comes out first-- water/coolant sinks to the bottom of the pan. If there's a lot, then you have something to investigate, if not then continue focus on cooling system.

 

the radiator is full, and when i bought the car it already had the 302 in and i dont know the history of it and previous owner said it was sitting for a while, i got it running and replaced parts that i thought will make it overheat, but its still doing it, and its not a reverse spin water pump, and my next step will be to drain the oil to see what comes out first, and to do the block tester. and under the oil filler cap theres a little bit of water but its not milky.

 

when you drain oil make sure engine is cold so water will be at bottom. if not you have probably got a clogged cooling system.could be something as simple as a t-stat installed backwards,collapsed rad hose sometimes the most obvious are the most overlooked good luck tom

 

So it's boiling over?? Or just on a gauge?

 

post some pics of engine, radiator,etc

 

it does boil over, and pukes out the water outta the overflow hose, tomorrow ill take pics of the engine, the radiator looks like its from a 73 maverick, before i took it to the radiator shop it was clogged up and the water was rusty orange, now that the radiator is cleaned up the water is still coming out rusty. i just want to make sure its the head gasket before taking it apart. its not the thermostat causing it to over heat i tested it without having a thermostat in it, and still same issue.

 

This thread may interest you.

 

Some radiator flush with Spic-N-Span may help.

 

Your comment "now that the radiator is cleaned up the water is still coming out rusty" is probably a pretty good key. You need to flush the block and its likely the radiator could be clogged w/ scale again. Pull the two 1/4" NPT block plugs and flush out the block. Reflush the radiator out of the car upside down. If you see a lot of rust flakes from the block or radiator this may help your diagnosis. If you saw a lot of rust flakes flush from the radiator, you may want to consider installing a Gano filter in the radiator return hose to protect the radiator.

 

alright so i got some pics of the block tester results, and the radiator

 

and here is some pics of the oil i drained out, it looked normal to me, what you guys think?

 

what do you guys think about the test and the oil?

 

Sure looks like water around the perimeter of the oil catch pan. Color seems odd also.

 

Radiator water doesn't look yellow to me and oil looks dirty but okay (no telltale grey emulsion)
Have you tried flushing the block.......looking for flakes that could re-foul the core

 

Agree that the oil looks "funky". looks like moisture around the edge of the drain pan.

 

Did the colour not change in the block tester? From the pic is looks like a head gasket problem. Unless your fluid looks different than mine.


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So after checking out the pictures posted above,the head gaskets look OK?

 

i havent flushed the block yet just from the radiator and water is rusty color, on the tester it changed from blue to a green color, and my next step is to do a compression test.

 

I would knock out the freeze plugs in the block, use a coat hanger to pull and scratch out any crud. Hose it out real good. You can then reinstall rubber freeze plugs (they have nuts to tighten and expand the plug in the hole). Then fill it with apple cider vinegar and let it sit for a few days. Pop two freeze plugs back out and flush it really good. Reverse flush the rad. See where youre at. Use a meat thermometer in the rad while its running and see where you get. Going through this currently as well (but on a 331 cadillac). Dont forget to remove all the heater hoses and flush everything all directions, including in the freeze plug holes. Messy job but should help a good bit

 

so i decided to just take apart to make sure everything is alright, im gonna put new gaskets when i put it back together, so far this is where im at, still need to take off the heads, everything seems normal in these pics, oil is kinda gray inside by the valve springs but very minimal. where should i be looking for cracks in these 302s? or where do they usually crack?

 

I wouldn't bother looking for cracks until you get the heads off. And take pictures of the head gaskets, before you remove them from the block (or head), and if they are stuck to the heads, make sure you keep track of which head is which, so you can see if the water passage opening in the gasket is in the back, like it's supposed to be.

heads usually crack around the exhaust valve...sometimes they crack in other places...and usually you can see the evidence of the crack as an unusually clean, or dirty, area along a jagged line.

 

i also notice this, my number one spark plug wire isnt on the number one post on the distributor cap

 

The plug wires need to be connected to the plug so that it fires at the right time. If the distributor is not installed as it was originally, then the wires could be off from where it was designed to be...but still work ok....

I like to put #1 where it belongs, makes it easier to work on later if everything is as it was originally. Reduces confusion. but doesn't usually make it run any different. The usually culprit is that the rotor was installed pointing somewhere besides the #1 mark on the cap, you can change that by pointing it the right direction when you re install the distributor. But then you need to move the wires around to the correct place.

 

alright so today i removed the pushrods, i keep reading that some 302s have adjustable valves, and after 68 are not adjustable. the engine im running is a 73 302 so will that mean i have non adjustable valves? i just torque them down to spec and thats it?