A buddy of mine is working on a 36 3w and it doesnt want to keep water in it. New rebuild, new pumps, new radiator, water passages are clear, timing is set correctly. Put a temp gun on it and it didnt get over 180 but still boiling over. Any ideas?
You certain the water is boiling over? System will find it's level if its overfilled. What kind of waterpumps do you have? High flow?
Pressure system or open system? Boiling over while it is running ( going down the road or idleing) or after it is shut down? Lots of questions to answer before we have enough info. I will say sometime a new motor seems to get a few miles on it before it settles down.
Not positive on all the details. I will give my friend a call and find out. Also, it doesnt have thermostats, it has restrictors and he said one came loose and was in the hose. Hope that is the problem
doesn't sound like it's running hot to me , rather coolant is being pushed out......like maybe the radiator core is plugged? but you said it has a new radiator
If it is overheating while driving make sure your advance is working properly on the distributor. Also don't fill the radiator to the top or it will spill out when coolant is expanded by heat.
Assuming its a flathead- What I've seen most of the time is guys will run a 15 pound cap when it needs a 4 or 5- water level needs to be several inches low in the rad too so it has room to breath- let it blow off a little water and then see where the levels at- if its a 4" down that's probably where it wants to be.
180 degrees and "boiling over"? Sounds like a flow issue rather than temperature related. I know you stated that it's a new radiator but if the pumps are pushing coolant it has to flow thru the radiator just as quick, or it will overflow. Are you sure it's not overheating, are you trying to put in too much coolant, water expands as it gets hot. Keep us in the loop.
Sounds overly simple but ... You do know that if you fill it to max capacity cold , it will push some water out as it heats up.
It sounds like it needs to be checked with a co2 detector. If it shows co2 in the water, it can only get there from the cyl. Maybe head gasket or cracked block?
Two topics with a flat motor, radiator isnt working correctly or compression leak. At this time it is presumed that you have a fan in place for low speed air flow. Most important is to determine if the engine is over heating or not. First fill radiator and start, engine and take for short low speed cruise. Slowly remove radiator cap and using a thermometer take the engine water temp. Thermometers are cheap at the parts store or you can just use a meat thermometer from the kitchen. Temp should be in the 180+ range. If it is around that again top off radiator, leave the cap off and start engine. You are going to raise the idle speed up to around 1500 rpm and check for bubbles forming and escaping in the tank-neck water indicating possible compression leak. Check for a couple minutes. Next check the radiator condition. With wheels blocked, again with the radiator full and the cap off, start the engine and watch the water level as you increase the engine RPM up to 2500. You should see the water just slightly rise and level. If the water rises and continues to rise the radiator is not working correctly. Since you did not post what type of radiator you have it now becomes a guessing game.
Non pressurized system should be full when hot. Ignore how low it looks cold. Start by just covering top of core tubes then warm it up.
Ya I'll have to eat some crow on that one. :]'. My bad. My 38truck runs a 4lb cap on the original rad (overflow tube in the upper part of the neck). On the 36 there is no way to run a pressure cap on the stock rad without putting a different inlet neck on it. Early Ford V8 Club restoration book for 1939. "A pressure-type cap was not used on civilian passenger cars until 1946 and carries a "41A" part number." http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=265853
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