How Do You Keep Water In A Radiator

So this is the delima, I built a trash can 60 over 289 with closed chamber heads, put it in front of a top loader 4 speed and poked into a 65 Falcon. It will idle all day long and drive easy as long as you want it to and never get hot. BUT when you drop the hammer and the r's start climbing so does the tempature, water gushes out the radiator and all over the windshield. Changed the radiator cap and helped the windshield slightly but temp still shoots up to 210 instantly, back out of it and it cools down almost as fast. Anyone ever experianced this? Thanks in advance.

 

sounds like a head gasket problem, friend of mine ran into it before, they were incorrect or upside down I forget but that was the same issue he had

 

Check your plugs. Are you running lean at high speed? Main jet too small? But idle circuit is good? I'm kinda going through the same thing.

 

I had the same problem with my 289. It was the head gasket.

 

My thoughts as well, I used Felpro gaskets and have racked my brain trying to remember that I put them on front to front. It's the shits getting to old to remember what you did last year last month or last week.

 

I haven't read the plugs, that is a good idea. If I can just remember it tomorrow! ha.

 

You should be using a mix of antifreeze and water - not just plain water. If it were antifreeze and splattering your windshield I am sure you would have mentioned it as you would have a real smeary windshield. As others have said check your head gasket - steam from tailpipe and milky oil or oil in your coolant would be sure signs of a blown head gasket....

 

My bad when I say water I mean a 50/50 mix

 

What are you using for a radiator and fan? We built a hot 289 to put in a 66 Fairlane and couldn't get it to cool under throttle until we installed a 4 core crossflow and shroud.

 

Old stock radiator and flex fan, no shroud. I was considering one of the new champion radiator and elec fan asy. on ebay

 

i have a stroked 302 (331) running a 180 stat, 65 mustang v8 radiator with mechanical fan and shroud for a 65 stang with ac (like a hipo fan but alot cheaper). runs 180 no matter what, run the crap out of it all day at the dragstrip. temp holds stable 180.
make sure your getting the correct cap, i think there is a difference for closed systems. with or without over flow bottle. what are you using for a radiator and fan?
your cooling system just may not be up to the challenge of cooling your engine under heavy throttle.

 

Too small a radiator OR as already stated a blown head gasket, or head gaskets on backwards...

Some say .060 over on a 289 is too much, I am not so sure about that though....

 

Check you timing too. If it's too advanced it can heat up.

 

my 289 would run cool until I got on the highway and it would then pump out the water... it was a bad head gasket on mine........

 

Do you have a thermostat installed?

 

Cap, fan/shroud or head gasket I would say too.

Are you burning coolant too? White smoke?

My Merc ran hot with a mechanical fan and no shroud, would work it's way up to over 200F. I found the slimmest Spal electric puller fan I could run and swapped that in. Runs fine now.

 

You can get a block tester at Autozone to check for blown head gasket, cracked head or block - Part Number: 27145 - It's $25, refundable if you bring it back within 60 days. The block tester fluid - Part number: 25739 - is $7.99. Checks for carbon in your coolant. Going to test mine today.

 

Retarded timing will make it heat up. Advanced timing probably will too, but will also make it hard to start, and it might ping.

Ford head gaskets can be installed backwards, they usually say FRONT on them, if you didn't see that when you put them on, you could have one or both installed backwards. The big coolant hole at the end goes to the rear.

 

I would go along with this also.

if it was getting hot while cruising at speed and not heating in traffic I would suggest that you drill a couple of 1/8-3/16 holes in the T stat but it blows when you hammer it. That says to me that cylinder pressure is by passing the gasket into a water passage.

High compression 289 in a Falcon ought to be pretty spunky when you get it sorted out. Bound to sound good nothing replaces compression for the sound of a mill.

 

Pretty much answered your own question. no reserve when you nail it. your using up your cool water reserve ( My 2 cents)

 

Nobody has mentioned collapsing hoses yet. Do you have old hoses? That could be a nice (inexpensive and easy) answer.

When your RPMs rise your pump can close the intake hose causing heatup in the block. As soon as you let off the gas the cooalnt will begin to flow again cooling the block just as fast as it warmed up. The rush of hot water from the block may be taxing your radiator cap.

Just another idea...

 

I'm watching this one. My O/T 302 Maverick will run all day around town on a 115 degree day without over heating, yet five minutes at 60mph on an 85 degree day and it heats and kicks out coolant... Been driving me nuts!

 

Does your coolant smell like exhaust gas? I had that problem with a newly rebuilt engine; it lasted 1500 miles before the head gasket failed completely. Turns out the head was undertorqued.

 

Louvres
You either need to drill your stat like I mentioned or get yourself a fast acting stat like from MR Gasket or one of them. The fast acting stat will already be drilled.

Believe it or not it is a common problem on a hot mill ro overheat on the highway and it is a common solution to drill the stat. One ther thing that may be a problem for you is air passing around the radiator at speed. Most cars come from the factory with gaskets and or sheet metal to insure that the iar had to pass through the radiator and not around it. More often than not that stuff is missing off of our old cars. Simple test before you invest in solving the problem is duct tape all around the outside of the radiator, sometimes a little cardboard. Seal it off well and then take it for a test drive.

I had a galaxie that had some gaskets missing and or some shrouding. I ended up using foam rubber to seal it off. Worked like a champ, it didn't look as cool as it could but it was just daily transportation.

 

With a radiator cap....

 

Thanks porknbeaner. I'll try the drilled T-stat. As far as air movement, this thing is completely sealed and seems to be pushing all the air that can go through a radiator. It's a dead stock 302 two barrel with just over 31,000 miles on it. I'll shut up now and let the O/P questions be answered.Thanks again.

 

This IS PROBABLY THE ANSWER !!!!! Squeeze the BOTTOM radiator hose and see if it has a SPRING IN IT to AVOID COLLAPSING .... MANY a good mechanic has missed that one .....

....... jersey Skip

 

for the time being, get yourself a catchcan. No reason to fuck up your car and every animal around (they're attracted to the sweet scent of antifreeze).

 

Is there a thermostat installed?
Is it in correct position, not instralled upside down?

 

Sounds like he'll need a bucket if its blowing all over his windshield.

But yes screwing up the world and the animals that live in it isn't a very good idea.