I have been fiddling with my Buick GS with a "massaged" 455 for a couple of years trying to get it to run cooler. But a recent experience has caused me to question the accuracy of the temperature guage reading. In the heat of summer here in Edmonton Alberta Canada the temp guage will go up to 210 - 215 in stop and go traffic, and once it gets up there, it tends to stay kinda hot (205+) no matter whether I am in stop and go or cruising. Now to my recent experience. I have a dual electric fan setup. I changed out the battery and was cleaning up some wiring and inadvertantly disconnected the fan wiring. After installing the battery, I went for a cruise, all seemed well, but I wasn't paying attention to the temp guage. I was at a light, looked down at the guage, at it was at about 230!! Then I realized I couldn't hear the fans, and it occurred to me the fans weren't on!! I was a ways from home, but I decided to head on back home. The guage would drop down to about 220 - 225 when cruising, but climb as high as 240+ when at a light! I was worried about overheating internals etc. Finally I got home, rolled into the driveway, shut the engine off, popped open the hood. For an engine apparently running at around 230 - 240 just before I shut it off, I was surprised how relatively "cool" it was underhood. Don't get me wrong, the rad hose and rad were quite hot, but not what I would expect at the temps I was getting - no boiling in the rad, no overheating symptoms, no run-on when shutting the engine off Which lead me to think the guage is not reporting the temp accurately. Anyway, I am using a mechanical temp guage, sensor is in the top of the intake. I am now wondering if the temp reading I am getting is anywhere near accurate. Is there a better place to have the sensor installed? Thoughts?
I had an issue with my wife's car except the "idiot" light was not on so she did not think about temp- we had driven home from a car show about 30 miles with the AC going, about 100F outside. She pulled up so I could guide her into the garage and I heard gurgling...popped the hood and the overflow top popped off and the motor started puking coolant- still no light! I cooled it off and then shut it down- went and got a mechanical and connected to the manifold- it climbs to 210F in no time and has gotten as high as 225F. The guy I bought the car had installed a aluminum radiator- and from the end caps it looked plenty big- I removed the radiator cover and it was a friggin' single core that was about 1-1/2" wide! SOOOOO out it comes and the setup from my car goes in next weekend...
Don't be too alarmed from an "engine damage" standpoint. Mine's seen the 230 F plus range a few times, notably two years ago when I was stuck in stop/go traffic before I could pull off and give it a rest. The important thing is to avoid any hard driving in that situation! If you're concerned about the gage, swap in another and see what temp readings you get under the same circumstances. A healthy cooling system should handle an overheat condition like this without boiling over, sounds like yours did. My twin electric fans were working fine at the time, but they are unshrouded, which is a huge limitation. I'm remedying that now. My aftermarket temp warning light made me look to see what was up, which prompted me to keep a focus on the gage. Never dismiss the value of the temp and oil pressure warning lights! Devon
I have tried another mechanical temp guage, same result. I should mention what I have done about trying to get the engine to run cooler. New 4 core rad. Dual electric fan with shroud, covers 90% of rad. Replaced distributor with MSD, all advance in at 2500 rpm (34* total, 16* initial), I don't think retarded timing is a factor.
I'd remove the water pump and look close at the timing cover, they both may be suffering from erosion. Devon
Are you sure that the temp. sender is seeing a flow of coolant over it ? It may not be seeing the real temp but only a isolated spot . Is it a electric or a mechanical gauage ?
What timing advance do you have? I found when my timing was off my engine ran a lot hotter. Once I set my initial advance to 13* it helped it stay around 180-185* almost consistantly unless I'm in stopped traffic.
DaWildcat, I just replaced the front timing cover seal and gasket earlier this year, and did notice erosion in the housing and pump. What effect does that have on cooling? Can I simply "fill" the erosion with an epoxy like JB weld, or do I need to replace the pump and cover? Thanks.
It's tough for me to answer, I've never attempted a repair like that before. The clearance between the water pump's impeller fins and the pump pocket in the timing cover are important for coolant circulation; the more clearance, the poorer the pump efficiency. I threw that out a a possible contributor to the problem, I'm afraid I don't know how big a factor it might be without seeing the condition of the parts. Devon
Thanks, DaWildcat I did some searching on V8Buick and found a thread that talks specifically about filling this type of corrosion. One fellow mentioned using an epoxy that has aluminum in it, and meticulously cleaning the housing and pump. I think I will give that a try. Thanks again!
Vacuum advance??? It might be if you've disabled the vacuum advance. You'd have another 10+ degrees of advance--better part-throttle power, and less heat rejection to the coolant. I'd be a little shy about having the advance all in at 2500 rpm; but that'd also depend on vehicle weight and gearing. All in by 3000 would be more typical.
Seems to like all in at 2500. I have the vac advance hooked up. Car is not lightened in any way so would be stock weight (3800 lbs?), 373 gearing.
Try running one of our new HP water pumps. Does not matter if the timing cover is corroded. The impeller is a enclosed positive displacement. It does not rely on what the clearance is between it and the timing cover. It will climb to much higher water pressures in the block than a stock pump before experiencing cavitation. This equals out to more water flowing through the engine which is needed to pull the heat out. Customer feed back has been very positive. I have been running one on my car for over a year with cooler water temperatures as a result.
Really? I have a positive-displacement pump on my boat, (lakewater intake) but never heard of one for a car.
I looked at the TA Performance website, I notice 2 different pumps - short and long body. I am not sure of the year of my block, what is the difference, can you supply a measurement so I can check which one mine has?
