50 MILE COMMUTE

[Anonymous]

I finally took our 1968 falcon 200 on the work commute today. left the house at 3;30 am. running very fine, watching the water temp and oil pressure at 190/30 respectively. the last 15 miles I pushed it pretty hard at 80-85. the temp started to climb and was up to 215 when i got off the freeway at work. oil pressure at 20. i had eased up the last couple miles on the freeway to see if it would recover, which it did not. i pulled into the gas station and let it idle and it seemed to cool down just fine. oil pressure still at 20. i am running valvoline 20w50 durablend.....planning to switch to pure synthetic in a while.
Now, at 2 hrs later setting in the work parking lot, it has cooled down. restarted and pressure at 30. it took 2qts of water to top it off.

Just for your info i am running big dia tires 225/75r14@ 84" circumference and 2:83 axle with c-4 so my engine isnt working that hard. I am using a new 180 thermostat.

i have not checked my timing but i am going to check and set it at 10btd.

i havent done any work to the radiator. is there a better radiator or should i just use a stock type? i could probably rod my exsisting or recore it with a thick or high efficiency core.

i would appreciate any comments on my conditions or your similar experiences or suggestions, thanks frankie

 

[66200i6]

Do a search on the radiator. This discussion has been brought up before.

In a nutshell if your system is unable to keep up with the demand for cooling (on a stock engine) then you need to have the radiator check for Rated Flow. Check with your local shops to locate one that can actually check the Gallons per Minute (GPM) through the core at a set pressure. This is the only none intrusive way to tell if the core is clear enough to get rid of the heat. If it is within speck the problem is elsewhere.

Of course if you have modified the engine you may be creating more heat that even a new stock core can handle. Check out the source that Jack Collins (MustangSix) uses for aluminum radiators. I would give you the link but can’t seem to find it.

Good luck, Ric.

 

[CobraSix]

If you are overheating at highway speeds, it more then likely is a radiator problem. But try it after you have topped it off and driven it. 2 quarts can make a difference. As far as radiators, I went with a 3-row from mustangs unlimited. Fits perfect, great cooling (almost oo great). In fact, my car doesn't heat up enough for the heater to work great if the temp is below 35*. I can hardly get the car to the thermostat temperature, even on the hottest of days. It works great.

Slade

 

[Anonymous]

2 things...

more than likely it is a cooling problem since that fits the description...

1. if your level was low, that could account for the problem...
2. make sure the lower radiator hose does not colapse at high rpms... that can happen, you can install a spring inside the hose to keep it from flattening out if this is a problem...

timing could be the culprit, but it would probably have had an impact even at the lower speeds of 70-75 mph...

your oil pressure levels look a little low to me... my safety rule of thumb is 10 lbs for every 1000 rpms... so running 20 pounds at anything above 2000 rpms sounds iffy to me? Mine generally runs 35-37 lowest at idle. 40-plus ish on the freeway... what condition is your oil pump in? Pickup? screen? Now I am running 10W30 in mine? not sure about synth oils or not?


J.

 

[BIGREDRASA]

Check your tire diameters. It sounds like your tires may be a little taller than needed for a true speedo reading. If you're 5% too tall, you may well be running 84-90 MPH instead of 80-85.
At those speeds the tranny is generating more heat, so you need to look at installing a tranny cooler. 8)
As far as that 20 PSI oil pressure, it would scare the heck out of me. If you're not ready for an overhaul, I'd recommend 15W-40 synthetic. The synthetic will hopefully aid in lubrication, but also avoid breakdown at your higher temps.

 

[addo]

Well, it was probably running outside the range of maximum efficiency. That said, a slight retard in the timing, and/or restricted exhaust could have easily contributed to temperatures raising. See what happens after you get the radiator checked out.

Regards, Adam.