200ci Overheating

8) one more thing to consider, unless your balancer is brand new, chances are that it has slipped, and is giving you inaccurate timing readings. disconnect the vacuum advance line from the distributor and plug it, then set your timing by vacuum reading. try to get the highest vacuum reading you can. then go out and test drive the car. if you get detonation under a light load, then back the timing off a couple of degrees and check again. if the timing is too far retarded it will also cause an overheating condition.

as for the radiator, you indicated you got a new aluminum one, but how thick are the tubes? if they are the same as in a copper/brass radiator, then you are not better off than with the old rad, unless it was plugged up. for aluminum radiators to be more efficient than their copper/brass counterparts, the cores need to be thicker, rather than 1/2" thick, they need to be more like 1" thick.

I'm under the impression that the closer the vacuum source is to the venturi the more it is analagous to venturi vacuum than manifold vacuum such as described here...but I could be wrong and it won't be the first nor last time

EDIT: Over advance will not cause the engine to 'overheat' to the degree retarded timing will, but it can cause an engine to run hotter.

I think the DSII requires a full 12v feed and the easiest way to ensure that might be to use the old ignition resisted feed to trigger a direct 12v feed via relay direct from the battery...but I'll let the DSII experts advise you on that one.

Overheating while cruising on the highway might actually point to more of a water/circulation issue than an air flow issue. These blocks & heads are known for building up rust/gunk over the years...there's some great pics up here of Jack Collins cleaning piles of debris from the water jacket passages. One way to check that might be to use an IR Thermometer at different points on the coolant system. Insufficient temperature differentials (say from front to back) could demonstrate a restricted flow.
Good luck

I have put an overflow tank on and have plugged the scv port on the carb and running it like that but have not had a chance to take it out for a drive since then. i have also put some insulation on the fuel line which helped a little. i forgot to mention that it runs hot at idle and even when I am on the highway doing 60.

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Since it's a new engine is going to be a little tight and will run a bit hotter (from friction) until lossens up some. As Frankenstang mentioned in his reconmendation's I would also try backing
off some on the insale timing try 2 to 4 degress at least until you have some more miles on it. If the insulation on the fuel line helpped than the spacer or heat sheild should help too. I use to always use the thick gaskets from the mid or late 70's Fords as a min. Sounds like you are making good progress!

The guy that helped me do the engine work (and the buddy who told me about the advance) is about 60 and hes been a machinist for about 40 yrs.

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Well that just goes to show that the old guy's need to stick together am 62 and I think much like him on the tuning. Most of my tuning is based on what works in a warmer climate and fuels (or lack there off) that we have here in Socal area so best tune in any local area can vary. So did you move the vacuum line back to a ported source now? If you have timing light you would want to see just the base advance at the stock idle. Than with it revved you can see the centrifugal advance you may need to find tune the curve some too you may need to work with your friend on that. Is the carb tuned for highest RPM at ideal and than reset ideal RPM speed with it in drive (park brake set) if Auto trans?

well i put the stock 4 blade fan back on, moved the advance back to the port on the carb, and blocked the scv. it seem to have helped a lot.(although it was at night, comparing to how it used to run at night, its better) the thing im worried about now is overheating while at idle/traffic. i have the stock shroud but it doesn't bolt up to my aluminum rad. ill try to modify or if i can get a hold of a flex o lite fan that would probably help a lot too. i think the problem was that i was not getting enough flow and when i got going on the highway the shroud i built for my electric fan actually restricted airflow to my rad. also do you think i even need the balist resistor or can i use the original feed to the old coil?
thanks for the replys,

Josh

Another thing is that my balancer is not new and has probably slipped so i need to check that. What kind of vacuum should i get when i have everything set right? I got a temp reading of the base of my carb and it was about 170 and the spacer was about 180. At what temp would cause vapor lock?

I am not a chemist so don’t take this as much more than just my opine. I think there are some on the site that would be more qualified to answer than me. I think there are 5 or 6 stages to fuel evaporation starting at low temps, vaporlock can happen at temps of about 90 to 100 F full on boiling around 375 to 400F. To further confuse this issue the boiling point is going to change with the altitude, season of year, the formulation (we have about 10 or more in the different areas of Ca.) next effect is the temperature and probably many more things, like adding 10% or more ethanol to the mix. All I know is the winter fuel mix (here) doesn’t give as good of MPG as the summer mix, my truck went from a 13.4 – 13.2 in one tank was at 12.7 keep going down and now is at 12.5

also do you think i even need the balist resistor or can i use the original feed to the old coil?

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I have run them with the org. wire only way to know for sure would be to check with a volt ohmmeter or to try it and see how it works. On the balancer you could pull the front plug use a pistion stop, a piece of welding rod or coat hanger put it in hole turn engine and whatch for the high point at TDC then check the balancer mark if it's right. If not you could make a new one or as rbohm said use a vac. gauge.

simpson65stang-
as your running basicly almost the same setup I go, this is what I had to do to not over heat. I went and picked up a V8 fan, 6 blade, and I never ran a shroud as it was always in the background. I think 1/2 inch spacer

the down side to the 16inch v8 6blade fan, is that it feels like your driving with the parking brake on, it takes ALOT of power to spin that fan. it worked for me, with the AC on I never got past the "hot line" on the temp guage = +/- 210*, I did have to bump my idle to 1000rpm, as the AC on kicked it down to 550-650 and idled rough until I just bump the idle up higher to 1100 off, and 700 on. it consumes alot more gas, but it's so much cooler that way.

I'm now going electric and currently don't have it AC worthy yet, i'm very tight on space between rad and pulley. currently trying to figure out how I want to force it to fit... but it will eventually.

MPG

I feel your pain. After my engine rebuild, I was running over 230 deg water temp. I tried EVERYTHING: new water pump, new radiator, removing thermostat, changing timing, adding auxillary electric fan. What finally worked (for me anyway) was rejetting the carb. I had added a HW5200 and the jets were too small. Oddly enough, my plugs looked OK, but once I went to richer jets the problem went away. Hope you get it figured out.

You may need to verify that the balancer has not slipped. If you set timing and the timing mark is off, the initial timing could be retarded and that will definately contribute to the overheating at idle as well as at higher engine rpm's. Do a search on slipped balancer and you should see this same topic discussed. The retarded timing and its associated heat would make it more difficult to start as well as contribute to vapor lock and or electronic component failure. My car had overheating problems, poor performance etc that was attributable to a slipped balancer and improper timing. I prefer to use manifold vacuum at idle in order to advance the timing at idle, increase the engine rpm, and stabilize the idle quality.
Doug

What pressure cap are you using? I went to a 15 lb and that helped some. Also, how do your plugs look? If you are running tool lean, that can cause overheating. Changing plug heat ranges doesn't affect engine operating temps. And you might try synthetic oil once you are past the break-in period. It lowers friction, which makes the engine run cooler. Good luck!