Hoping for a little insight on a problem with my fathers 1964 Galaxie 500. The motor (390) was rebuilt several years ago and sat while he restored the car. We finally got it back on the road last year and while driving around town it gets pretty warm. (car is all original so it doesn't have an actual #'s temp guage, so I don't know actually HOW hot, he says upper end of normal on the factory guage) If he gets it on the open road it cools down, but the minute he gets to the next town it creeps back up. I figured the radiator was the problem but he just got the call from the repair shop that the radiator looks brand new iside and flows better than factory specs. (shop is run by an old timer that knows his stuff) Everything on the motor is new (guage sending unit, thermostat, cap, hoses etc.) I told him to take the thermostat out and see what happens as I have gotten bad ones before, but I was really hoping the radiator shop was going to tell him it was corroded/plugged...now we have to look for the "not so obvious." Any insight or ideas would be greatly appreciated!
does he have the rubber seal between the core suport and hood that keeps hot air from resurculating over the radiator?
I was having the same problem with my 64 convertible. Same engine too. Like Judd says, be sure the rubber seal is sealing off the radiator so air doesnt go around it. I replaced mine and it cured the problem. My gauge stayed at about 170-80 after that. You can get new ones at DennisCarpenter.com
Running lean can cause it to run hot, also try running a temp gauge even if temporary... It can read hot but not actually be running hot. You know
If its doing it just in town and stop and go,not out on open road it sounds like you"re not getting enough air flow across radiator. Check the fan and the belts to,does it have a shroud or not?
No shroud but has all the parts/setup from when the car was new (my Dad is the original owner and it only has 43,000 miles)and it never ran hot before the rebuild. The radiator guy told him "if it ran fine before, it should run fine now...so something is not right." The rebuild was back to stock so there are no changes to speak of. Not against putting a shroud on however, if there is a problem, would like to fix it before hand. As far as running lean, I cleaned the fuel lines and the carb was rebuilt. will check the flow though and maybe try fattening it up. Thanks for the help guys!!
Check that radiator cap, been down that road and replaced a water pump, hoses, thermostat, housing, power-flushed then put the radiator in the shop. All that to find out it was the cap the whole time. Also, could be a bad sending unit for the gauge itself.
Has he got a coolant overflow tank coming from the intake? Rectangular black thing with a second radiator cap? Remove it and back-flush it. There are baffles inside which are wonderful for catching junk and scale (like the junk and scale that SHOULD be in a 48 year old radiator but isn't) and can restrict flow..
Ragtop, no overflow tank on this one. A fan shroud is in the works as it's going to do nothing but help, however, it has never had one before and cooled fine. Since there was never a problem before, we just don't want to overlook something that could do serious damage. Will try the radiator cap, another new guage sending unit and check the advance as well. THANKS FOR ALL THE REPLIES!!
I'd put in a temporary mechanical gauge to find out exactly what the upper range of normal is in reality. If it's not boiling over, you might not have a problem. With it running normal temps on the road but running hotter in traffic, I'd suspect an air flow problem. How close to face of the radiator is the fan? It should not be more than 3/4". As you say you really don't know that it is running hot only that the gauge is now reading high normal.
Just spoke with Dad about either checking the guage or installing a couple of period correct guages in the car(Water temp/oil psi). Since we replaced the sending unit, the new one may read different as well. The fan is within 3/4 of an inch to the radiator and all the seals are in place.
The stock setup should work fine without a shroud, I've run a good 14:1 427 in my 406 car with no shroud and never got hot, with just a 4-blade solid fan. He doesn't perhaps have a flex-fan on there? How is it plumbed without the expansion tank? The stock radiator doesn't have a filler neck, and the room for expansion is in the tank. There are fillers that can be added to the upper hose, have one from a Mustang II that I have used with a Gal radiator in a '69 Mach1. I'd also check that the correct length spacer got put back behind that fan, so the fan is close enough to pull air
It doesn't have an "overflow" tank but it does have the expension/filler tank above the radiator, nothing has been changed, all parts are original and the way they came from the factory. I blew out the above mentioned tank before reassembly but maybe it needs a more thorough cleaning? He did try a 5 and a 6 blade factory Ford fan, but they made no noticable difference.
The head gaskets say "front" on them and a lot of new or non FE builders dont understand that on one side the "front" has to be face down and they put it on wrong which will cause problems
Been there, done that. There is a coolant port at the rear of the cylinder head (if I recall correctly). Putting the head gasket on upside down or backwards will block off that port. I remember about 6 months ago having to UNDO both heads just to verify that I had put the head gaskets on correctly, since I hadn't checked that earlier when I did it. Had a lot going on, and it seems like child's play, but it is very important. Good thing I realized I hadn't checked that and took the time to undo/retorque everything because I did in fact have the port blocked off on one side.
My experience is that the replacement temp sending units are not calibrated correctly. I had the same problem, factory guage reads hot, but the actual water temperature is really only 180.
Hey Guys, Dad here, thanks for all the reponses. Lots of things to look at. If a shroud is installed should the fans spacer then be changed to make sure the fan is a lttle outside the shroud? The reason I am asking is that a friend has a '63 Impala with a similar problem and he does have a shroud. Comparing his fan to a late model Chevy pickup the factory pickup fan is further back (about half way outside the shroud) than the '63 so he thinks the '63 is not pulling the air as efficiently. Did the towel test on both and the Chevy pickup pulls the towel much tighter than the '63.
If the head gaskets were installed wrong wouldn't the thing run hot all the time,not just at slow speeds ? The reason lack of air flow was suggested is open road driving you get more air and in traffic you rely on the fan to cool the radiator.
I almost hate to tell you at this point, but it might save someone else some work- FE head gaskets have a visible tab that sticks out past the head in the front if the gaskets are on right- if you can't see gasket sticking out at the lower front corners, the gaskets are bassackwards. Take a look at an FE gasket and you'll see it- the lower "rear" corner below where the water passage is follows the outline of the head and is covered by the head, while the front edge is squared off and sticks out To the OP- have you guys just tried putting the original sender back in? I'm thinking the sender isn't matching or correct for the guage. Does it actually overheat, spill water etc., or is the gauge just coming up? Most of those early Gals never had or needed a shroud- my 406 car never had one, and has had several different 427's in there and has never gotten hot- and my ragtop w/390-4V and auto trans plumbed into the radiator will idle in traffic without heating up no problem. Also had a '63 w the 390-4V and no shroud, and not fussy about temp at all, even in stop 'n go July crusin' traffic with a half-dozen Daisy-Duker's loaded up (those were the days ). Unless something else has been changed, I'd sure try a stock early sensor in there again- it shouldn't be overheating if the stock system is in place and working right
The original sending unit was broken during the time the motor was apart so "comparing" the two is not an option. The replacement is a stock unit from Dearborn. I do think the first thing to do is put an actual guage on the car to see where the temp is. I agree with you Gene...if it cooled fine from the factory, with no modifications, it should cool fine now. I am curious about the head gaskets being installed wrong...one would think if a water port was blocked it would heat up fast and stay hot...
A bit late to the party, but have a look at the bypass hose between the front of the intake and water pump. Make sure it's not soft or possibly collapsed. Bob
Since I had a problem similar to your's: Check the anti-freeze concentration. I had mine over-concentrated and it won't transfer heat properly, or as well. I lowered the antifreeze ratio and it made a very noticeable difference in the coolant temps. I no longer keep it 50/50, but a bit less A/F since it gets stored inside during the winter. If freezing isn't a concern, run just enough A/F and water pump lube to keep the internals happy and it will shed heat better. Just my experience with my 427, no shroud, stock 390 radiator. Bill
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