Ford inlines don't keep cool

It may just be me but is there anyone here that keeps their inline cool in Arizona without using an electric fan? I had a lot of problems with the last 200 I put in my Comet and after loads of tests I figured out that the water jackets were clogged up. I ended up scoreing a good deal on another block so I had the new block hot tanked(twice) and I rebuilt it. Now this block does 1000 times better, but it is still running hot.

Here is all the details, it's a '66 200 with a '79 head, bored .40 over, holley 5200 carb, 4 day old 3 row radiator, timmed in at 12 above(or is that below) TDC, drilled hole in a 190 degree thermostat, good hoses with spring intact, and 25% antifreeze 75% water with water wetter added.

The engine has about 600 miles on it. It's normal cool operating temp when it's in the morning or at night is around 200 degrees. During the day time in the heat it runs 210-220. It will get up to 230 idleing at a light. I won't let it go past 230, I usually pull over and give it a while to cool down when it gets that high.

Now I know Tempe Arizona has extreme heat, but is there anything else I can do aside from an electric fan or aluminum radiator? Are my temps normal? It seems point less to even have a thermostat if it never runs below the 190. What kind of temps are you other AZ guys runnin? I'm trying to make this car my daily so I can get rid of my newer car but I need to have full reliability in it. Thanks in advance for all your help and thanks for all your help in the past.

Maybe check the temp at the rad, might be quite a bit cooler than the guage reading.
I checked mine cause the guage settles in at around 230, but it was like around 150 at the rad.
I bet it doesn't boil over and runs OK otherwise though, right?

What kind of fan are you using???

Change to a 180 thermostat.

At .040 over, i wonder if you have core shift in the block causing thin cylinder walls??

Is your cylinder head milled past .075 ???

Any one of these things could aggravate the condition. William

wsa111":3n4k3gbh said:

What kind of fan are you using???

At .040 over, i wonder if you have core shift in the block causing thin cylinder walls??

Click to expand...

I always thought thinner cylinder walls dissipated heat faster. Well I know thats the way it is on the old flat heads at least.

Install a 160 degree theromstat and if you still have a four blade fan, get a new six blade fan. I'm in Bakersfield, Ca and it is over 100 degrees most days during the summer, It's not as hot as Arizona but very close! With my supercharger setup I was having problems and these are the changes I made and cured my heating problem!

Aren't you supposed to use 50/50 water to antifreeze?

I can't check the radiator when the gauge is reading 230 or even 200 for that matter because it would explode coolent every where when I take the rad cap off. I'm pretty sure the gauge is reading accurately. It runs fine but I can tell that it is hot.

What is core shift? I don't think the head has been milled or at least not since i've owned it. I took it in and got it tanked and did a valve job, the machinist said it wasn't warped but i'm sure he did the standard surfacing which I don't think removes very much metal. Also I'm using the stock 4 blade fan.

Can I get a six blade that will fit from checker or autozone? I changed to 25/75 because I read somehweres that water cools better than anti-freeze and being in arizona i'm not too worried about the water freezing.

You are correct, water transfers the heat better than glycol. But with 25% coolant, you are also getting less of corrosion inhibitors and additives. I would just check the coolant regularly to see that it is not getting rusty colored.

I bought a flex fan from Autozone years ago to replace my 4 blade fan. I can't remember if it was 17" or what, but you need to make sure it is small enough diameter so as not to hit the upper or lower hoses, or battery holder.

Make sure your vacuum advance is functioning properly. If it is not working at idle, you can overheat an engine with ease. And unless you are having boiling over problems, I would view the temp gauge with some skepticism unless you have can compare the gauge to another known accurate gauge or Infra Red thermometer gun. If you have an electronic gauge, the temp senders are often not the correct calibration.

I should have also added that you might need to verify that the indicated TDC on the balancer has not slipped due to its age. You need to check that the engine is at TDC when the balancer indicates the same. If it is not, that could lead to overheating since the engine would not be timed correctly.

Doug

My bad on the coolant mixture, I always thought the benefit was that it raised the boiling point. Fighting heat too in Florida, thanks for the info.

ppp

I saw a 6-bladed OE fan go for cheap on eBay not too long ago. Might want to check in there from time to time, or get in touch with a Mustang/Falcon specialist who goes through lots of old parts. They'd probably let one of those go for a few bucks just to get rid of it.

I just got one about six months ago that is made for the ford six from a Mustang catalog, Virgina Mustang has one made for the inline six with a 5/8 inch shaft for $52.95 It was a sixteen inch six blade all metal fan, bolted right on with my old fan spacer and works great and it was $52.95

I not sure I brought it from them? I seam to remember finding someone else selling them for like $39.00 online....Sorry I don't remember

timing? old radiator that has clogged or corroded passageways?

Always remove freeze plugs and flush water passages out with hose.You will be surprised at the amount of sediment in engines.Sometimes it is up to freeze plugs

Okay everything is new in your cooling system--I have a couple questions though.
1--is the rad. cap new and what pressure is it? Higher pressure = higher temp
2--are you losing coolant? is it boiling out?
3--how is you carb idle screw adjusted--leaner causes extra heat
Back when falcons were young we never ran more than a 170 - 180 thermostat. however when in heavy traffic they still would get pretty warm. With the open ended overflow, attention to the rad level was crucial. us old farm boy types would run the hose to an old antifreese jug tied to the inner fender with a hole in the cap to keep from wasteing coolant and just pour it back in the radiator every morning in the summer.
230* is common in modern cars with high pressure coolant systems with recovery tanks and 50/50 antifreese which raises the boiling point. considerable. If with a 25/75 mix and no boiling over you may be in much better shape than you think. also temp gauges are generally more consistant than accurate and the rear of the head (typical location for 200 sending unit)is a very hot area.
Unless you actually start getting real coolant loss and/true overheating you may just be a little over worried. In your location I would suggest finging a better fan- I believe ac equipped cars came with a better fan.

wow lots of info flowing in I'm glad I haven't try near everything yet. My timming mark on the balancer is accurate, this is a new build and I checked everything during the build. What do you guys think of this fan: link
It seems like a decent deal and it's not too big in diameter.

I'm using a brand new 16 psi radiator cap. I'm not losing a significant amount of coolent, just a little bit into the overflow. It only boils over after I shut the car off when the gauge is reading around 230 and it sits for a couple of minutes getting hotter but it doesn't boil over much it just spits a little bit.

The carb idle is not cranked way up if thats what you mean, I would say it''s adjusted normal. It's a Holley 5200 and it's pretty much bolted on as it came from Stovebolt. I don't know much about these carbs or how to really tune them but I just read the sticky about the jetting and I think I'm going to look into getting the correct jets.

Thanks for the info, I will keep you guys updated as I do some more experiments.

remember, you arent supposed to fill the radiator all the way up....maybe you just have too much fluid...

your statement of a 200 not being able to keep cool is just a problem you are having that IS fixable. For a long time, my temp gauge didnt crack the 1/4 mark...

then it all went to hell...but thats another story

oh..check your belt for tightness....mine was too tight and caused a problem...

As I noted before, barring confirmation of your temperature indicator, it sounds like you may have normal conditions. You can expect it to burp a little coolant when using an overflow tank after the engine is shut down, normal thermal expansion and possibly a little localized boiling of coolant once the coolant circulation ceases.

FWIW, I checked my engineering tables and at atmospheric pressure, a 25% Ethylene glycol mix has a boiling point of 218*F. A 50% mix has a BP of 225*F. With a 16 psig cap and 25% glycol, the boiling point is in the 250*F range, the 50% mixture would get you into the 265*F range.

Doug