Re: IML: 413 block leak/They do crack

[RandalPark@xxxxxxx]

My '65's block was cracked when I bought the car. It had been overheated pulling an Airstream trailer over "The Grapevine" with a blown radiator hose in 1971. Because of that I bought it cheap.

I am surprised that this car could be driven 20 miles with a stuck theromostat. Even with the heater on full, without circulation, it would only cool the water in the heater core, not in the engine.

One of my non-Imperials with a big V8 did that. I knew something was VERY wrong in less then two blocks. I pulled into a parking lot with a boiling engine. I waited two hours to let it cool, and went about two more blocks after refilling it before it boiled again. Having about 5 miles to go to get home, I realized that I wouldn't make it, so I called AAA for a tow. 

Changing the thermostat was just a lucky guess as to what was wrong. The new one is the kind that opens when it fails instead of the opposite. I was also glad that the engine was not damaged, even though I shut it off just as the "HOT" light came on. I knew that if I had tried to drive it the five miles to get home, I would have cooked it.

If this car really had a stuck theromstat and was driven 20 miles (on a hot day) the owner was more than lucky that the engine was not totally destroyed. It may have been a 413, but it is NOT indestructible.

Paul

In an email dated Fri, 11 3 2005 2:31:28 pm GMT, DBelan5739@xxxxxxx writes:

>Hang in there -- the 413 is an incredibly durable
>engine, and finding one with a cracked block is pretty
>rare. ?This may turn out to be a relatively simple
>fix.
>I second that !!! ?I drove almost 20 miles with a thermostat that was stuck shut. Of course it was the hottest night in July and the heater was blasting (to cool the motor) all the way home. My mechanic replaced the whole cooling system and sent the radiator. After two years the car has no ill effects from the themostat problem.
>
>Dave
>65 Crown plum-plum
>
>
>----------------- ?http://www.imperialclub.com ?-----------------
>This message was sent to you by the Imperial Mailing List. Please 
>reply to mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and your response will be 
>shared with everyone. Private messages (and attachments) for the
>Administrators should be sent to webmaster@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>To UN-SUBSCRIBE, go to http://imperialclub.com/unsubscribe.htm
>
>


-----------------  http://www.imperialclub.com  -----------------
This message was sent to you by the Imperial Mailing List. Please 
reply to mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and your response will be 
shared with everyone. Private messages (and attachments) for the
Administrators should be sent to webmaster@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To UN-SUBSCRIBE, go to http://imperialclub.com/unsubscribe.htm