I just replaced the thermostat on my '72 Electra 225, as well as the water pump. I also tightened all the hose clamps, and flushed out the coolant system. The car is not overheating anymore (fortunately), but I sometimes (not always, for some reason) get a slight leak from the top (driver's side) radiator hose/spout. I inspected the hose, even cut off the end of it and reattached it in case the old end was worn or had a split in it. I don't see any damage to the radiator spout or the radiator. Does anyone know what is causing my problem? Like I said, I don't see a hole in the radiator spout, and it's pretty solid so it doesn't seem likely that it would just get a hole in it. The car didn't start doing this until a little while ago. Thanks for any help.
JD, This is what I would do, Drain about a gallon of fluid from the radiator, disconnect the top,'leaking hose", Carefully examine the diameter of the suspected connection, make sure the inside and outside diameter are "true", Round with no flat spots!! All it takes is a little bit out of round, and you will get what you are discribing!! :Smarty: Once that is taken care of put some "anti-sieze" grease on the connection, replace hose and tighten clamp, you should be good to go. PS. Last case scenerio would be to pull the radiator and take it to a radiator shop and have them confirm the trueness of the fitting, a very simple process and they should do it while you wait, "they have the necessary tools and dies, shouldn't cost more than $10.00 or so. :TU:
No, the spout is on the driver's side, at the top. The hose coming out of the radiator spout goes to the thermostat housing spout. Also, yesterday, after I got home, the car was actually running a little hot. I'm puzzled. With a new water pump, coolant flush, new radiator cap, and plenty of fluid, the only thing I figure is the thermostat is either sticking again or is too high a temp. thermostat, and isn't opening the circuit of fluid until the fluid gets so hot. Someone suggested that I get a pressure check on the radiator, but it's not leaking. I've had this car since early November, and it just started doing all this fairly recently. It seems very unlikely to me that the radiator would have just clogged up or went kaput all of a sudden.
Something to consider: Check for a bad head gasket - any radiator shop has a tube they put in and you can see the bubbles. They can also use a dye for combustion gases. If a gasket is leaking it will pulse/ over-pressure the system and you get a leak with overheating. Not something most people think of. And it may happen only from time to time depending on the leak! - Bill
You say you bought the car last November, so this is the first summer you have driven it? Maybe the radiator is starting to go and when the temp outside is 50 degrees colder than now the car doesn't overheat but now these high temps are just too much? How is the fan clutch? Is it starting to go? A new thermostatic fan cluth should only be around $32ish. Let us know when you get this solved I would be interested as to what ends up being the culprit. I had a good friend who bought a '70 Electra with low miles some years back and by the time we got it home it was so hot the overflow tank was boiling. I noticed the vacuum hoses that connect to the carb, intake, and distributor were hooked up wrong so it was getting too much timing advance. I rerouted the hoses to match my '69 and he never had an overheating problem again without changing anything else on the car. Maybe you have just a little bit too much advance for today's gas?
Thanks for the info. I pulled the thermostat out the other day. I was going step-by-step to try to eliminate things as possible causes of the problem. So, last night, I went to pick someone up from a hospital. It's about a 20-minute ride from my house to get there, and then 20 minutes back. It was in the 90s (temp) here in St. Louis yesterday, with high humidity. Both there and back I had no problems. When I got back and parked it, I looked under the car and under the hood, and waited and listened for any sounds (water bubbling, steam, etc.) and everything seemed okay. Therefore, I hope it was just a stuck thermostat. I just bought that one a few weeks ago, but as unlikely as it seems it could have been either bad or just not the right one for my car. I really hope and pray that this was the problem, and not something more serious.
My car leaks a bit too, but I'm not too concerned as long as it doesn't get too hot. I just got a seven blade fan, and a new temp. gauge so I can see what's going on in there. I just feel that this is how it is with old cars, they'll leak a little here and there, as long as all temps/pressures are ok, I'm not worried.
One thing I've noticed, and I'd like feedback if any of you have had this happen or know what might cause it. When I don't use the A/C, nothing strange happens; when I use the A/C (by the way, the A/C works just fine, thankfully), I then get a bubbling in the radiator fluid reservoir and approxmately a pint of fluid comes out (maybe a little less) in the overflow hose (this happens after I've shut the car off). Is this normal? The car otherwise doesn't act like it's overheating (no "HOT" light, no hissing, steam, etc.) and it starts right up. Other cars I've had, if they get too hot, they don't start or they drag-start (like the battery is weak, but it's because the engine is too hot). Thanks for any info. or feedback.
