Is there anyone that knows of any things that are easily overlooked with these motors. I have replaced the radiator, water pump, thermostat, and I even tried burping the system. I'm not sure how long you take to burp the system though. As far as I know, the intake manifold gaskets were replaced by the previous owner. Some people have said the gaskets could be blocking a water hole in the manifold possibly. Is there anyone that could verify this. The coolant barely flows with the engine running at 200 degrees. It should be flowing vigorously correct? I have a 160 hi flow thermostat in it now. It runs a 200-210 going at speeds 55 and above. If i get stuck in traffic for too long though, it slowly creeps up to 240-250 degrees. Thanks in advance, any input is appreciated. I'm at a loss with this.
Sounds like the thermostat is not opening at all. I would check this first using a pot of water on the stove. Should open way before boiling water.
I've had three different thermostats in it: A stock 160, hi flow 180 and a hi flow 160 which is currently in it now. All of them were new.
Since you say that there is little flow, try warming engine up to where the thermostat should be open. Shut off engine and remove top radiator hose from radiator. Start engine and see if any coolant flows out the hose. Don't run the engine long like this. Have you tried running without a thermostat to see if the flow is any better? Another thing you might try is to drain the coolant out of a cold engine. Remove the top and bottom hoses from radiator. Take a garden hose and force water down top radiator hose (no thermostat) and watch how much water flows out bottom hose. If little or no flow, then there is some sort of blockage in the heads, manifold, or block.
I am not familiar with the 63 but I did fight with my corvette for 2 years before licking the overheating problem. First - is it a copper & brass radiator? Some of the newer ones are worthless, you might want to consider an aluminum radiator. Southwestspeed.com has some very reasonably priced aluminum radiators. I used a universal fit one in my 'Vette - it works GREAT! Second - did you replace the radiator cap? They wear out, gasket and spring. Third - is your fan shroud intact? It is important that the air be pulled THROUGH the rad and not be allowed to flow around it. Installing foam rubber pipe insulation (Home Depot, costs 2 or 3 bucks) between the shroud and the radiator will seal the gaps and improve air flow. Fourth - is there a fan clutch and is it operating properly? Fifth - is it possible that the return radiator hose is collapsing? They used to have springs inside the hose to keep them from collapsing. Most new hoses do not have the spring in them. Sixth - a 160* thermostat is no good - it will not allow your engine to operate at the right temp range. Stick with the 180* stat. If you are worried about the stat get a RobertShaw fail safe stat - if they fail they open up instead of closing. Seventh and last - Borrow an infra red laser temp gun or buy one at Harbor Freight (about $30) and CONFIRM that your temp gauge is accurate - point the gun at the heads when you suspect over heating and see what the temp gun says - Actually - I would do this FIRST as it will be a good and true indicator of what the temps really are. You can also point the IR temp gun at the radiator, T'stat housing and other areas to see what may be too hot or too cold. Lee
I just re-read your post for the 3rd time.... Have you ever flushed the cooling system out? It may be clogged with rust or other debris, that would account for the poor flow (even with a new water pump) and the over heating too....
The radiator is copper and brass. I took the thermostat out altogether and replaced the radiator cap last night. It was 85 degrees in my area when I drove it last night. It ran between 210 and 220 at 55 mph. It got up to 230 degrees sitting in traffic. This morning I drove it to work and it didn't get up to 150 degrees, but it was only about 55 degrees. The flow of the coolant has drastically increased without the thermostat. I'm beginning to believe there is blockage in the heads or manifold. This winter I'm going to pull the heads and manifold and have them hot tanked and flushed out. One of the spark plug holes needs repaired anyways. There is no fan shroud or fan clutch. The car doesn't have ac. I have an electric fan mounted on it as of now. The radiator hoses aren't collapsing, I checked that last night. The IR thermometer is very handy. I've kept one in the glovebox for the past couple months now and the temperature gauge is accurate. Hopefully this setup will last 'til winter until I get time to pull the heads. I'm open to other suggestions though and thanks for all the input.
Man, I feel for you. I really struggled with mine. It sounds like you have a pretty good handle on what you need to do. Good luck and keep us posted with your results, we can all learn from your experience. Lee
The 215 was all aluminum, and it's possible previous owner(s) didn't use compatible coolant, which tended to clog radiator and cooling passages...your idea to clean passages sounds like a good one...
I just bought a 1961 buick skylark with the 215 V8. The previous owner had the engine rebuilt with new everything. I got her home ran her for 10 mins and she boiled over. There is great flow in the radiator, great air flow through the fins of the radiator. The radiator on these car is real small. Maybe 19 x 23 inches and looks like a two row. I am going to remove the thermostat, flush out the system and see. I have an IR thermometer and it reads 220 at thermostat housing when she boils over. The radiator cap is new. Hoses are new with springs. Water pump is new. She runs like a raped ape until she get hot. Heater works really well so water flow into heater coil is good. I am really stuck on this one, as it is my 167 classic car I have bought in over 40 years. But, this is my first american made aluminum v8.
Check your ignition timing. Measure the timing at idle, and at your typical cruise RPM. If your vacuum advance is not functional, that will heat the engine up at idle, and going down the road. Pulling the hose off the vacuum advance should slow the engine down. You can verify that the timing increases when you reconnect the vacuum advance hose. A dial back timing light will make this very easy to do. Should take you less than 5 minutes. How old is the radiator? Once they clog up, you need a new one. Flushing it is useless. Take temperature readings of the top hose and bottom hose. There should be a substantial difference if the radiator is doing it's job.
Larry, last night I rechecked the ignition timing at idle set to 7.5 BTD. Seen advance above 22 at cruise RPM. Installed vacuum line and watched timing move and engine RPMs change as they should. The radiator is original to the car. Thermostat removed coolant roars by like the great Rouge river in Oregon. It would seem there is no blockage. But, when she runs 15 min.s, she steams to 220, bells and whistles go off red lights temp, and IR readings at the sensor are 220. Readings at the fins midway down on the driver's side of the radiator read 173, middle reads 195, and passenger side reads 220. So the radiator is just not cooling as the inlet and outlet are on the same side of the radiator. I have been searching for a newer three-row aluminum and can't find one the same dimensions. Hose size is 1.5" inlet and outlet passengers side top and bottom. The core is 12.375 tall by 25" wide. Total with top and bottom tanks is 18"x25". The filler port is offset to the driver's side to allow for the saddle mount fan shield with a cutout in it for the cap removal. That makes the top saddle mount directly center of the top of the radiator with the filler cap to the right about 3 or four inches. I have viewed several video's of 1962-63's and notice different top saddle mounts and fan shields. The all have center caps. Now I am wondering if my car came with a V6 and was swapped out for the 215 leaving the radiator not worthy to cool. As my engine is not original to the car, it is stamped on the heads as 1962 190 HP 215. I can buy a 1962 center cap radiator 3 row and she fits, but the top mount is totally wrong. And I guess I should have cut and modified my mount to allow it to work, but the saddle would have been 2/3's to the left and would allow the radiator to move on the driver's side. I guess I should have made another saddle mount and modified a bracket. Now, my next best choice is to take the radiator to a shop and have it re-cored to a three-row. I have never been this discouraged with an engine over-heat before. Trying to troubleshoot a perfect running engine that gets steaming hot in 15 mins is mind-boggling. I have bought two ten-inch cooling fans and have not installed them for I am still thinking there are high temp exhaust gasses supper-heating the coolant someplace. I will need to confirm that with a PH tester for exhaust gasses in coolant.
1 or 2 row aluminum radiator with 1" tubes minimum. 3 or 4 row aluminum radiators are a waste of money.
Put the thermostat back in so that the coolant stays in the radiator long enough to exchange heat. Again, change the radiator cap... it should go over 250* before boiling over unless you have a blown head gasket allowing combustion pressure into the cooling system. Many newly rebuilt engines will run hot until fully broken in.
Michael, I have a 64 with a 300 cu in engine. Aluminum heads and manifold and iron block. Had one of these 40 years ago and had numerous over heating problems. Bought a similar car 10 years ago and same thing. I am very concerned with originality so my fix for this one was to have a three row radiator made utilizing my same upper and lower tanks. I put a six blade fan with a fan clutch (can't really see it unless you are really looking) and run a 180 thermostat. Fixed the problem for the most part, but will climb to 220 in the summer heat in traffic. I took the car to crusin the coast a year ago and ran straight water with Water Wetter additive. Long lines at this event in October so there is still a lot of heat. I only had to shut it down once in a long line of traffic. So it still looks original and for the most part solved the overheating problem.
I looked and looked for it seemed like weeks. Aluminum rad's 1 and 2 rows. Can't seem to find one that will fit in my saddle mounts and top bracket saddle mount. So I called the rad shop and scheduled a test. The water test showed the rad was 85-90% blocked. Rad man said clean and rot her, pressure test, paint and she will work like factory. So, will a 59-year-old copper core radiator hold up to cleaning and still work for the next 50 years? Maybe if I use distilled water and good antifreeze. Everything is new on the engine. I mean everything. So, I will wait to see what rad man says in a few days if the core is good or not. He said a new core would be like $900 to install in the tanks to fit. I think that is way too high of a price to re-core a rad. Hope, pray for the best. Keeping the car original.
I paid around $400 or so for my core to a three row with my stock upper and lower tanks back in 2010. My heater core is blocked but I haven't addressed that yet. Only heats for a few minutes then blows cool air in the winter. Don't drive it much in winter anyway. Dissimilar metals and the antifreeze back in the day caused many of the issues I believe. I think aluminum flaking also caused issues in radiators.
Your radiator is plugged with bits of aluminum flakes. It was a somewhat common thing on these engines years ago. After you get the radiator redone/replaced there's a couple things that I suggest doing. Use G05 antifreeze as it works the best for aluminum engines. 2nd but most important thing is to purchase and install an overflow jug. This will eliminate the "air pocket" in the radiator and keep the inside of the motor from corroding and plugging the radiator. Good luck on your venture. Keith
The Rad shop man said my radiator had 3 gallons per minute when dropped off and now has 23 gallons per minute. He said a 21 gallon per minute twin-row radiator will cool a 350 engine. So this rebuild cleaned original rad should cool my stock engine 215 V8. I am going to install it this morning and add twin 10-inch fans to the overheat sensor ground. So if she does ever start to overheat, the cooling fans will come on if I get stopped in traffic on a hot day. I had better get going, the day is not getting any shorter. LOL
