like I said before when I pull up too school people mud think my car is on fire or I'm driving something with a train engine. it's that much that boils over. enough to drain at least half of my systems coolant. I went and bought a 16 pound cap to replace the old 13 pound cap. so we'll see how that works out...

You have a lot of air in the system making steam pockets. Get a coolant recover system installed so it can purge the air out and pull in the water back in.
After a few cycles/days it will purge the air out. I would chuck the thermostat and install a new one. It's probably cooked from over heating.........you can test it in a pan of boiling water to see if it is stuck shut.
Or warm the water slowly to check what temp it opens.

I had this same thing happen like you described about two years ago. About 25 miles into my daily 120 mile commute, after climbing a hill the engine temp went way up and the radiator looked like a steam engine blowing water into the coolant tank and out the overflow. Later, through testing I found out that the Stant Super Stat thermostat had stuck shut and would not open at 180 degrees all the way up to 240 degrees. The block got so hot blew the stat open. Once it cooled down, I able to install a Robert Shaw high flow stat and a new temp sender (it was cooked too) and haven't had a problem since. Slants are tough engines.....and I was lucky to finish my commute and get back home before dark.

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Aggressive Ted

http://cid-32f1e50ddb40a03c.photos.live ... %20Swinger


74 Swinger, 9.5 comp 254/.435 lift cam, 904, ram air, electric fans, 2.5" HP2 & FM70 ex, 1920 Holley#56jet, 2.76 8 3/4 Sure-Grip, 26" tires, 25+MPG

Eppy: Don't assume any piece of advice you get on this or any other internet board is correct. Some people like to make stuff up as they go along, substituting handwaving and bafflegab for knowledge they don't actually have but desperately want others to believe they do. Whether they do it maliciously or because it makes them feel important or for some other reason, advice made out of fairytales instead of facts can send you on a goose chase, spending money, time, and effort that won't move your car towards being fixed.

For the record, your system has not got a lot of air in it creating steam pockets, and you do not need a coolant recovery system. Very few A-bodies came with such a system, and when in proper repair none of them boils, steams, or pukes coolant. Don't throw parts at this or any other problem; get the books in this thread, learn how your car is supposed to work and how it's built, and diagnose and repair the problem properly.

Ted: Thank you for reminding me why I quit posting here.

Bye again!

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

thanks for the advice Dan. I've definitely spent a good amount of money just based on info I've picked up on here with little results. I'll be sure to pick up those manuals.

you should perform a block leak test, to see if you got a bad head gaskit or a crack. i fount i had a leak in one of my intake studs which made me lose persure. i use form-a-gaskit and tightin it down and it seams to work.

As Dan points out, the only way to solve a problem like this is to have solid reference material, and put your hands on the car to figure the problem out.
Working on a car via the internet is as difficult as diagnosing what's wrong with a cat by listening to it meow over the phone.
While folks can share, "this is what was wrong with mine" stories, they don't necessarily relate to a problem with another vehicle. They might lead you in the right direction as well, but not every time.

What tools and facilities do you have to work with? A garage, shop or carport? Have you the necessary tools to dissasemble or remove the head from the engine, or the engine from the car?
Do you have another way to get where your going should the car be down for a while waiting for parts or machine work?

It could be anything from a $4 gasket to an $1100 rebuild. Without getting up close and personal with the problem, it's really tough to fix something via a 22" monitor.

Those manuals will be invaluable. Hard copies are good. I like the ones on disk better. Print the page you need, smear grease on it, tear it in half, then print another one.

CJ

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Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

Ceej, you're going to scare him with all that head work and removing engine talk

Eppy, have you checked your radiator over to see if there are any holes or cracks in it? Sometimes you'll be so concerned with the huge amount of steam coming from the over flow tube, that you won't even notice the pin hole on the side of the radiator thats causing you to lose water and overheat. Take it for a run and then pop the hood and check the rad over real well. Listen for any other leaks and listen for any bubbling or hissing from a pinhole or crack. If you find one and it's on the top or bottom of the tank, let it dry and then dab a little jb weld on there.

Everyone here is just trying to help. Some guy's work on their cars by throwing money at them and others like to troubleshoot every possibility before having to spend their cash. I don't think there is any kind of malicious intent on either side, just a difference in philosophy.

For the record I didn't see many people recommending purchasing parts. Some parts were suggested as possible problem areas (thermostat $8, cap $10-$15). There was also mention of overflow tanks (thinking that your car may not be overheating but rather you were overfilling the radiator) which could be as cheap as free (strap a plastic water bottle in your engine bay) or $10 for an actual overflow tank at a junkyard.

So even taking the more expensive routes a conservative estimate puts you still under $50, and may seem like a good amount of money. However, it seems to me that at least a few of the suggested areas (cap, thermostat) were worn or faulty, and needed replacing anyway. I'm interested to know just how much you've actually spent (and on what parts) while working on this project.

Bottom line is as Dan and CJ have stated. Advice on cars especially over the internet is a best guess at the issue and needs to be checked and validated before buying any replacement part a member suggests as a possible problem area.

Also, I'm still interested to know if you have checked to make sure your coolant is actually flowing. If it doesn't, I'd check your water pump and belt. Does it seem worn? Does the belt actually move the pump pulley? Does the belt slip at all, how much? Does your fan wiggle a lot?

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'66 Dodge Dart

My two cents...

I tend to think along the same lines that Dan was speaking of, and by that, I mean that if a system is giving you trouble, then that system has a fault in it.

To be honest, that way of thinking came from tinkering with Model As. I've had some that had so many homemade remedies on top of homemade remedies and then have had other people recommend yet another anecdotal type remedy. This approach almost never works, or at best just buys you some time or gives you a half-fix.

Instead, I remind myself constantly with old cars, that the engineers designed the cars to work and perform when they were new (ok...that's true for MOST cars ), and if a system is malfuntioning the only thing to do is find that part of the system that is not functioning correctly.

Unfortunately (for the pocketbook), a lot of the time with old cars, the issues are related to the fact that one or more components are just worn the heck out and need to be repaired or replaced.

It's just me, but with my cooling systems in my oldies, I make sure they're right. And again, it's just my preference, but when I buy one, I usually replace the hoses and thermostat regardless of how they look....and I do that right away. If my water pump looks and feels good, I still go ahead and buy a new one and keep it in the trunk (along with the basic tools, etc that I need to do a replacement).

And I am almost always suspect of an old car radiator on a newly acquired car...right from the "get-go"....I just look at that sucker with a critical eye every time I open the hood. And, I usually don't really sleep well until I've either replaced it or had it re-cored, and I've flushed out the cooling passages in the engine itself.

I could go on, but you get the picture. I can't stand having issues with basic systems like brakes, cooling, and fuel delivery. The rest, I'll monkey around with and tweek, but those three, I get right....right from the start....yes...even if it means throwing some money at suspect parts.

ok...I feel better....now where's that thermostat for my 54 tudor......

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1954 Ford, Tudor Mainline
1976 Plymouth Valiant, 4 door


www.automotive-ninja.com

here is an actual hands on real life experience i had on my 67 D100 slant some 20 years ago. after changing to a warmer thermostat for winter, my truck began running warm, didn't ever let it get hot enough to boil, but definately ran warm. first thought was bad therm. which i exchanged and had same issue. the strange thing was when i had the rad. cap off letting the thermostat cycle a couple times to purge the air it ran at normal temps with good flow.

after trying a couple different thermostats, i came to the conclusion the overheating was only happening after topping off radiator all the way to the bottom of the filler and installing cap. i bebieve there was little or no flow. flow was excellent while cap was removed. so for the heck of it i lowered the coolant level by about an inch from bottom of filler. after a day of driving about 40 miles total, no more problem.

just to confirm this was the problem, i then filled all the way to bottom of filler and the overheat reoccurred. then, again after draining about an inch from filler, no problem. i guess the air space was needed to allow for proper flow.

i am not saying this is your issue, but one thing that has happened to me.

andy.

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84 D100 /6 long rod 225
86 D100 /6 my sons w/offy intake/weber carb
2016 buick regal turbo

One item I didn't see mentioned: Look for the lower hose collapsing. In park, engine running, rev up the engine and watch the lower hose. If it collapses, there you go. Collapsed hose = no flow. Check for any bubbles in the coolent with the cap off. If so, your head gasket is shot. If not, then do the thermostate and cap. Or a clooged radiator.

Just a thought but what PSI was the stock cap for your car? Putting a 16 lb cap where a 13 lb cap was is going to add 3 extra psi to your cooling system before cap lets go It doesn't seem like much but you are putting it on a 30+ year old radiator/heater core. It seems like a good way to cause leaks. It's kind of like sticking a 30 amp fuse in because you keep blowing a 15 amp fuse. It doesn't fix the problem it just covers it up until wires start to fry.
Just my 2 cents worth
Mike

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Thanks Mike

well the cap has been on for a few days now and seems to be working. usually about 20mins down the freeway and i start to steam, overheat, and stall. now when i drive it seems to run perfect. i think that the old cap may have been faulty as well. so we'll see from here on out but so far its fixed the problem.

so i guess the cap did just put a band aid on the problem for and its steaming again. Im going to do another engine flush, get new hoses for the radiator and put in a brand new radiator and see how that goes. thanks for all the help and ideas everyone.

Well a brand new radiator will tell you if the problem was the radiator or not. You shouldn't just run it with no thermostat, because it won't get to a good operating temperature.