First thing to check is the timing being too far advanced. There are more experts than me on this but set it with the vacuum unhooked according to specs? And then rehook up the vacuum if you haven't already. Then check it again, you should then see more total advance unless the vacuum advance isn't working. Plug the disconnected vacuum hose with a golf tee or something while you set the timing so you don't loose manifold vacuum. While you're at it check all the vacuun hoses for tight fits and leaks. Also always get a shop manual as soon as possible on any old car you get. These old cars have a lot of quirks that a manual will help you with.
Running into more issues....help please! Welp, I have driven my car a few times now, and just last night I saw steam coming from up and under the hood, so I pull into my driveway(yeah, thankfully I wasn't far from home), pop the hood, and notice that my radiator is still shooting antifreeze out. What in God's name is going on here? uzzled: I checked the thermostat by dropping it into boiling hot water, it opened up. So I put it back in. Hoses seem to be O.K., and not collapsing. What else is left? The engine did sit for quite a while though, could there be some kind of blockage in the radiator or block that is causing the engine to overheat? Should I have it pressure flushed? o No: I think I might have the timing set back just a tad bit as well. -Cody
Sounds like the attack of the V-6 Radiator. Go price a V-8 rad at Autozone, Advance, yada yada. I believe you are skillful enough to install it yourself. Might need a different shroud and rad mounts from the boneyard though.
Floyd, this is a 3 core radiator that I have installed already, I believe. That should be enough to keep the 350 cool eh? And on top of that, it's practically brand new anyway!
HMMM, thats not cool. I think you need to get a temperature gauge in that car next and determine when its overheating. If its overheating at speed, that is a sign of not enough radiator. At idle will lean toward a weak clutch fan, lack of proper shrouding, or a crappy water pump. If your rad is a narrow two core, it will likely not be enough. How to check? When your car is all cooled off, take off the radiator cap and look in. If your antifreeze is so rich that you can't see, use a turkey baster to remove some anti freeze and put it in the overflow. Anyway, when you can see in a little, count the cores. They'll either be two, or three rows wide. While there are worst case scenerios like internal blockage or head gasket failure, I don't believe thats what your are dealing with. Good Luck!
is radiator cap good? did you use 50/50 mix on antifreeze? fan clutch any good? do you have a temp gauge? i would suggest one if not how fast does it bubble up? do you have a lot of steam out of tailpipe? a radiator from a 76 v6 could cool a 350 if fan is pulling enuff air is the coil part of thermostat pointing into engine? is the lower hose have a spring in it?it could collapse if not a fan should will help pull more air thru radiator what condition is bypass hose from pump to theremostat housing do you have a vacuum line on trans yet? if not this will keep trans in lower gear too long and can add to overheat problem pull your plus out one at a time and see if one is wet with antifreeze or cleaner than rest like it was "steam cleaned' any of these things will point you to what is causeing the problem
This engine wasn't rebuilt, I took it out of a '70 Skylark and in which the engine only had 62 thousand original miles on it. So it's still pretty healthy from what I understand. Andy, those are all very good points and ques as to what to look for. Thankyou for your help! And Dan, I appreciate your thoughts as well. Thank you all, I am going to check into this more-so if I can during this week. I'll keep everyone updated! -Cody
Thanks Sean! Yep, I am really glad it's running now too, it's a totally different beast with that 350 Buick motor under the hood! :Brow: I only got a few issues to work out and it will be completed. Number 1. figure out why the radiator keeps shooting boiling hot antifreeze out of it. Number 2. find out why it's leaking oil, could it be the oil pump gasket or could it be that I got an oil filter without the proper center rubber ring/gasket in it? And finally, get the timing set back. I will have a mechanic flush out the radiator and maybe the block just to see if that will help. If not, then I don't know what to do. While they are at it, they might as well set the timing back a tad bit, so I will have them do that too. And as for the oil leak, I am going to figure that out on my own. I will replace the oil pump gasket w/ a new Felpro replacement, and if that doesn't help them I will assume that the oil filter doesn't have the proper center gasket/ring in it, so therefore it's seeping out. If I get those things right and it still leaks oil, then I have no clue on what to do about that either. As well it has a small leak in the trans, maybe lucas stop leak will help it. I can't afford right now to pull it and replace all the gaskets/seals, so that will have to do I am afraid. -Cody
Replace the thermostat for sure if you flush the system. I made the mistake of flushing my cars system and it kept running hot, pulled the hose and the little thermo housing was blocked up. And dont use that cheap auto parts store crap. i made that mistake once already. Go to GM for it. Another thing, if there is a Grease Monkey by you, take the car to them and have them flush the system. They have a flush system that puts pressure into it and runs fluid at the same time to get allthe junk out. Works nicely to. As for the oil leak, put on some old clothes and get under the car and start looking. Every new gasket i put on my engine is doped up with Black RTV silicon.
Had the same oil leaking problem with my 350. Changed the gasket but still leaked. After much closer inspection noticed the pump was cracked between the block and the filter. Installed a new one and viola! no more leak.
That could very well be the problem, so thanks for pointing me out about that. I will change the gasket and if that doesn't work then that may be what I will have to end up doing. How much can I pick one up for, lowest price possible? I may look on orielly's and autozone's websights just to see what they want for theirs, just to get an idea of how much I might have to pay to buy a new one if indeed it is cracked, which I am hoping is not the case. Darn these external oil pumps anyway! :af: :blast: Thanks -Cody
Thanks for the advice and info. Jon, it is much appreciated! I'll fill you all in on some updates when I am able to get some more.
Cody, Welcome to old car school! Look at it this way, these problems are aggravating but I bet you are learning a lot. Keep plugging away, and you will look back on it with satisfaction when you get all these little things fixed.
Roger, That is true, I have learned quite a bit from doing all the different kinds of work on the car that I did! I can tell you one thing is for sure, before I started this project(first car I ever really tore into) I had little to no knowledge about how things work on a car, but now that I have acquired the knowledge on a lot of this stuff, I have a good base knowledge anyhow! Thanks :TU:
For the oil leak, start by cleaning the motor and running it while your under it. If it coming out the rear of the motor between the motor and trans then it is probly the rear main seal. If so let me know and I pm you the detailed instructions to fix it. For the trans, don't add any stock leak stuff, it is probly a pan gasket, and plus you may have had the trans at a bad angle with the motor out and had the fluid leak then. I thought you had the trans rebuilt recently.
Sean, I will do that...I am sure it is coming from the front as the oil pump/filter is always dripping some oil. As for the trans. I am not sure wether it is leaking or not but it's possible. It was recently rebuilt and doesn't even have 2 thousand miles on it I don't think. Will look further into it.... Thanks -Cody
Welp, got my car back this evening from the Shop. Seems to run and drive like a dream, but still need to test drive the car even more so to make sure the radiator will not overflow anymore. I still will check into the oil leak more when I get the chance, and check and see if the trans. is really leaking or if i'm really imagining things. Got the timing set back and the high idling problem is solved as well, and the radiator was flushed so maybe that helped it out? -Cody
