[brainsboy]

let me ask some questions

#1 is it still over heating since you replaced the heads gaskets?

#2 since you just replaced the head gaskets have you ran the boost above 5psi yet?

#3 does the car keep cool on the highway at 70mph?

[lakecityg]

i have not driven the car on the interstate yet but i will this weekend to see how it does. also it was overheating before i changed the heads and head gaskets, and now it is still overheating. and i have not ran the boost up really at all, just cruised a little. any thoughts?

[batman09]

thanks club327!!!I would never dismiss your Ideas!It sounds like you know what your talking about!BM

[brainsboy]

Tell me if im correct then, originaly you were running fine with your current radiator, water pump, and blower. Then it just started overheating one day, and since you have had this problem you changed the heads and gaskets. Correct?

I would get it up around 55-70mph and see if it keeps cool. If it cools down then you need a shroud and maybe an extra electric fan. If it doesnt then I would test the system with a gauge to see if you have the block or heads warped.

[lakecityg]

thanks everyone, that is what i will do this weekend, run it up and see if it cools down, along with all the other troubleshooting suggestions. would it be likely though that my heads are warped even though they are brand new? i know its possible but is it probable? i really do appreciate everyone that has been giving me input here. i am very greatful to have guys with great knowledge and that they are willing to share it with us other shade-tree mechanics!!!!

[brainsboy]

It hard to know. I have blown head gaskets that did and didnt warp the heads. If your sure about your old head gaskets not having any damage I would guess your probably ok, you really should of checked them while you had them off, but since you didnt just do your highway test.

By the way what test did your mechanic do to know you had blown a head gasket?

and you didnt tell us, you were fine before with your current radiator and water pump right?

[lakecityg]

honestly i am not sure what type of test he ran but i have been using this guy for a while and he builds race cars(has his own 9 sec car)so i stick with him. well my car at first ran 160 for the longest then all of a sudden it started warming up. well when i changed the heads and head gaskets i changed all other cooling parts along with it. i cranked it up and wouldn't you know it, warm still. thats what has me confused. I know guys say with the charger you won't see 160 but it has been there before, so why can't i get it back there again?? if water pump is new, thermo is operating correctly along with the radiator, and electric fan is blowing, what's left? i hope its a fan defiency or air in system, something along those lines.

[Terje]

Sure, try another thermostat. They're cheap, so buy a new one and try that too.

Your engine is showing no signs of a cracked or warped head or blown head gasket.

Are you 100% sure you got your head gasket in right? Are you 100% sure you got the right head gasket? If a few of the coolant ports in the head are blocked by the head gasket, you'd see the symptoms you're having.

Does anyone know of anyways to eliminate this possibility without removing the heads to look?

[lakecityg]

well i put the head gaskets on exactly how i took the other ones off, as a matter of fact they were the exact same head gaskets, so i know that they are in the right way. and the head gaskets were from trick flow that came with the heads. i matched them up to my block, heads and other gaskets before I put them on.

[lakecityg]

what temp would actually be a cause to worry in a high performance hot rod?

[club327]

Lakecityg. I won't go into any real conclusions until you've gone for another drive as we need a little more detail. But before you start her up and get her warm, kill the ignition, crank her over and watch the water level. If it does not move then your head gaskets are OK. Do that and let us know as well.
Just to eliminate something here, are you 100% certain it's actually overheating? Have you seen it boil and spew coolant out of the overflow like some mad pressure cooker? When it reads high, feel the hoses to see how much pressure's built up. If it's not overheating then you should be able to remove the cap without too much drama, providing the coolant level was not up to the neck when cold. Do you feel that the radiator is a little on the low side? If you're in doubt, then maybe a surge tank will help. But it will only help if air locks are an issue. Like you, I hate an overheating car so I don't mind helping out.

[brainsboy]

You know the Ford small block head gaskets have a front and back. The only difference is the cooling port locations. Lucky for us Ford small block head gaskets are stamped with the word "FRONT" , this means face it towards the radiator, If you put this gasket on backwards which I have done once before, you still have coolent flow but you just blocked the whole back half of your motor from flowing coolent.



Ben

[Terje]

brainsboy, if this were to happen (just blocked the whole back half of your motor from flowing coolant) wouldn't the temperature gage read normal?

I mean, wouldn't the thermostat open at the normal temperature, and flow through the radiator and cool down the front of the engine properly?

But at the same time the back of the engine would be overheating and you'd never know it until you're engine started running crappy and detonating and all sorts of crap in those overheating back cylinders and possibly destroy the back of your engine before you are able to figure out the problem?

[5.0 freak]

I had almost the same mods in my 89GT Cobra
http://www.hotrodders.com/attachment...&postid=320614
http://www.hotrodders.com/attachment...&postid=320633
http://www.hotrodders.com/attachment...&postid=320616

My car would over heat and get so hot you could cook a steak on it in a matter of minutes. I solved this by doing everything possible. This is what I did.....
1) High flow water pump
2) Silicon racing hoses(to disperse heat better)
3) Steeda racing aluminum 3 core rad
4) Higher degree thermostat over stock. 210 degrees.
5) 70/30 mix with coolant with a bottle of engine cool
You can pick it up at most car places, Drops the temperature by about 13 degrees
6)You can drill out the plate holes behind your water pump so more water can pass through it quicker. You might not think it makes a big difference, But it does.
7)Make sure your oil level is always full, Oil is 70% or more of engine coolant.
8)I took my fog light assembly out and put in my own tubing that went into my shroud for more air cooling.think of it like a mass air but to cool your car. Easy to do and helps a lot.
9) electric Fan
10) Hi-performance, heat-dissipating headers
with all of this done to my car, It dropped it by almost 50 degrees.
You do all of that and your car will run nice and cool... well.. about as cool as possible. Oh ya.. If you recently put in a new thermostat it will say it is hotther then it really is, It took mine about a week to kinda "level off" Since it is so new it is very sensitive. Hope it helps.

James

- Drive it like it's stolen -

[2-manytoyzs]

You may want to reroute your windshield washer hose and nozzles to the front of the radiator just behind the grill and either remove the wiper arms or run a temporary switch inside the car to the washer motor and try the washer to spray the water on the rad to see if the engine cools when running around this weekend. If you can keep the engine cooled down then that will eliminate the engine or water pump as a source of the problem, which would take it back to a capacity or efficiency problem. Go with a 180/190 thermostat.
A chance that the new heads would be the problem is a long shot, but hey, I've learned that on these freak difficult to diagnose problems not to exclude ANYTHING.
Is it boiling over or perculating within the 5 to 10 min. after you shut it off?