re cooling ?

[Wayne P.]

]I would like to know if my fan and clutch look correct . My engine was rebuilt and seems to be running hot. ( 327 365 solid lifter ) I will replace the thermostat . ( looking into a high flow good or bad ? ) Also looking at a flex blade or electric fan . Spark plugs are r45 hot will change to r43 .
Thanks in advance

[Lynn H.]

Re: re cooling ?

]I would like to know if my fan and clutch look correct . My engine was rebuilt and seems to be running hot. ( 327 365 solid lifter ) I will replace the thermostat . ( looking into a high flow good or bad ? ) Also looking at a flex blade or electric fan . Spark plugs are r45 hot will change to r43 .
Thanks in advance

Wayne,
What are you experiencing that make you believe it is running"hot"? Wondering if maybe the rebuilder replaced the sending unit? This can make the gauge read as though it is hotter than you sometimes think. I have seen where folks have spent many hours chasing this particular demon, only to find that the "new" sending unit is not correct for their application.
Lynn

[Wayne P.]

Re: re cooling ?

Lynn :the old sending unit was used . Seems to be running around 2oo plus degrease . Thanks I can hear it boil when I turn engine off .

[Jack P.]

Re: re cooling ?

]I would like to know if my fan and clutch look correct . My engine was rebuilt and seems to be running hot. ( 327 365 solid lifter ) I will replace the thermostat . ( looking into a high flow good or bad ? ) Also looking at a flex blade or electric fan . Spark plugs are r45 hot will change to r43 .
Thanks in advance

Hi Wayne,

As stated in other post, before you take things apart, borrow or get a infrared gun and check temp of heater hose coming out of engine going into top of rad . Depending on thermostat in car, it should read between 180 and 220 . You can then calibrate your gauge and know when the gauge reads 220 , it really may only be 190 or so. It is not uncommon for these engines to run at 220 without any problems. Running too cold is bad for engine.

This will save you a lot of time and worry. If after checking with gun, and it is hot, you may want to check timing also. (too retarded will run hot) I would not go to the cold plug, it will be fouling more than you would like. Most of our cars use the 45's today.

Jack

[John H.]

Re: re cooling ?

Thanks I can hear it boil when I turn engine off .

Wayne -

Nothing unusual about that - it's normal "heat-soak" after shutdown (hot engine still driving heat into the coolant, but the coolant isn't circulating through the radiator to reject the heat).

[Dick W.]

Re: re cooling ?

Number one question....are you losing water?

[Ron H.]

Re: re cooling ?

BTW, John probably wont mention it, but he did a great article for Corvette Enthusiast some years back about diagnosing cooling systems. I keep it as a reference every time I hear a club member complain about a cooling problem.

It helped me greatly. I hate hearing people tell someone, "You need a 7 blade fan, and extra fans, because they always ran hot". Somehow in the mid 60s I dont think every Corvette drove away new with cooling problems.

[Wayne P.]

Re: re cooling ?

Dick
Yes When it boiled the antifreeze came out overflow. only when vehicle was turned off. I will check it with a rf gun

[Dick W.]

Re: re cooling ?

Dick
Yes When it boiled the antifreeze came out overflow. only when vehicle was turned off. I will check it with a rf gun

Ok, if there is still water in the tank, do not add any and drive it again and see if it overflows. Also check your radiator cap. If it is losing pressure, it will allow water to boil when it should not. It is also possible that it was over filled. Many perceived cooling problems are caused by inaccurate temperature guages and over filled radiators.

You are on the right track using the infared gun. I have found on most Corvettes, the temperature guage is somewhat to quite inaccurate, most of the time showing several degrees hotter that it actually is.

[John H.]

Re: re cooling ?

That article can be downloaded from the DeWitt's Radiator site at:

http://www.dewitts.com/download/cooling.pdf

[Dick W.]

Re: re cooling ?

Very good article John. You addressed all the points that need to be covered.

A goodly percentage of the cooling problems in a Corvette are perceived, not real. One just needs to read some of the threads on other forums. Properly maintained OEM components will, in most cases, adequately cool these cars. The only Corvette that did not have adequate cooling for the street was the L/88's, and I thing that all 487 of the 216 cars built have been found. There is no need for super duper water wetters, electric water pumps, monster custom made radiators, cure all water pumps, special thermostats, etc.

[Wayne P.]

Re: re cooling ?

Thanks John great article. I have the wrong type of thermostate . I will check out mr gasket.