The joys of owning a vehicle with a temp gauge . . . .
If your car had a light instead of a gauge you would not notice the increase
in temp as you creep along in traffic on a hot day.
Over 200 degress? That is not bad, and is normal. So the temp gauge is
creeping up on a hot day when creeping along in traffic. That is normal.
Now, if the temp gauge raises when it is -40, then you have a problem!
(Been there . . . )
Putting in a lower thermostat will not help. Remember, the rating of a
thermostat is the MINIMUM temperature, not the maximum. A 160 thermostat
means the coolant will NOT be LESS than 160 degrees F. A 190 thermostat
means the coolant will NOT be LESS than 190 degrees F. The maximum? Who
knows
If your coolant temperature is getting out of hand (and judging by your
description, it is not), and taking into consideration the new thermostat,
rebult rad, good hoses, rad cap and water pump, the last recourse is
cleaning out the engine block. You would be surprised how much gunk
collects over the years.
Anything else, be it a "super water pump", "super cool" coolant additive, or
whatever - they are all a waste of money. To cure the problem you must know
the cause. All the other junk you buy just masks the problem. Buy a super
water pump today, and next year you will again be wondering what is wrong.
Been driving cars with temp gauges for 35 years. They show "problems" that
never appear on cars with a temp light, such as my 1983 Imperial.
Bill
Vancouver,. BC
----- Original Message -----
From: Lou
To: L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Saturday, March 06, 2004 1:40 PM
Subject: [FWDLK] '59 runs a little hot...Higher flow water pump?
Last year, I had my radiator recored (3 or 4 row...can remember which), and
upgraded to a 6 blade fan, but the temp gauge starts to creep up pretty high
and pretty quickly on a hot day in slow traffic. I hesitate to go from a
180 to a 160 degree thermostat. The shop used a laser pointing temp gauge
which shows that the thermostat housing area is indeed staying right around
180 degrees, but when you point the thing a little farther back, and on the
intake, and areas near the temp sender, sure enough the temp is in the
200's. Dunno what it should be in those areas, but it just makes
uncomfortable thinking that it could be running hot.
Timing is OK, new cap, etc. I see that Summit Racing sells "FlowKooler
Mechanical Water Pumps." Anyone have any experience with these? Wondering
if they work and are really any good. Here is the narrative from
http://store.summitracing.com/product.asp?d=5&s=614&p=293&searchtype=ecat
Get 30 percent extra coolant flow.
FlowKooler water pumps solve low-speed heating problems by doubling the
water flow rate at low RPM and idle. At 3,500 RPM the flow rate returns to
normal to prevent too much water flow at high speed and they last longer
than a stock replacement. These pumps use a specially designed steel plate
on the impeller that traps water, eliminates cavitation, increases flow, and
reduces engine temperatures.
Lou
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