74 maverick grabber. frustrating over heat problem!

Okay so I haven't seen my Maverick in almost 4 years!!! No one can tell me what's wrong with it. I posted overheating issues with it here a couple years ago. It's still not fixed and been to several mechanics. It doesn't have it's original motor, it's a rebuilt 289 long block. Originally it was said the head gaskets were on backwards. Well new head gaskets, water pump, fan shroud, radiator, a heat sync on the T-stat housing, it still overheats. The motor was gone through and several mechanics said that motor was clean as a pin on the inside. I am so frustrated! It doesn't leak or burn coolant, it has good flow but wont cool. Should I pull this motor and install another, motor number 3?

 

"Should I pull this motor and install another, motor number 3?"
if this is motor number 3 I would say...no.
what are the overheating symptoms again?

 

A $20 infrared temp gun will troubleshoot your problem in 15 minutes. Find out where the heat build up or lack of transfer is occurring.

 

Sounds as though you need a SHROUD around your fan that really does the job .... also an electric fan would help also . Just my take on this.
Cometized
Chip

 

Kinda tough to troubleshoot long distance. Backwards head gaskets will definitely cause overheating. There's a way to look at the head gaskets sticking out under the heads to know if they're installed correctly. There will be a small square corner of the head gasket sticking out just in front of the lower front head bolt if they are installed correctly. If installed wrong there won't be any little "tab" of the gasket sticking out. If you see the tab at the rear lower head bolt the gasket is installed wrong.

How hot does it get when it overheats? Is the radiator cap holding the correct pressure? Does it overheat while idling, driving slow, or highway speeds? If it's over heating at sustained highway speeds maybe the lower radiator hose is collapsing. Is the block and heads both 289 as there were some differences between the deck steam holes in various 289, 302, 351W heads and blocks?

Lots of possibilities.

 

Custom shroud has been installed. other than a 4 bbl carb and headers this engine is all factory. I have never needed a shroud on a 289 before, not that they don't help, my 67 doesn't have one nor my 289 1960 Falcon Ranchero.

 

Block and heads are the same, new head gaskets as the originals were on backwards, I spotted the corners right off. I inherited the engine basically from a guy who rebuilt it for me, he got sick his last few weeks and slapped the heads on to get it together a couple days before dying. Radiator, water pump and hoses were replaced. Im thinking about having the heads taken off and checked again for proper matching. There can't be much more to it. So frustrating!!!

 

Do you know it is overheating by boil over, or that is what the light/gauge says? If it has a gauge, what sending unit is being used with it? Is the heater hooked up? If so, does it work? It may be clogged. What temp is the thermostat?

 

This is going to sound stupid, but people actually do this wrong all the time. Which way is your thermostat installed? The side with the spring goes toward the manifold. It fits either way, so it's not necessarily obvious if it's backward. It's also easy for mechanics to do it wrong over and over, as it's usually a good practice to watch how things came apart and put them back together the same way. I work in trucking, and my operation once had a truck which broke EIGHT suspension leveling (air) valves because the factory put it on backward...and every time it broke, a mechanic would put the replacement on the same way.

Also, if there's a bleed hole it should be at the top of the thermostat.

 

all good suggestions...

 

I would check lower rad hose for possibility of it collapsing; I replaced my lower hose, didn't come w/ spring -- put spring in from old hose. I have heard replacement lower hoses don't come with spring.

 

I had overheating with my 347. New stock radiator and the Taurus fan conversion still would not keep it cool.
I ended up having a custom radiator from US Radiator which incorporated their triple flow design. So far, it works.
Ford Maverick 1971 Radiators | US Radiator

Sometimes, the radiator may flow correctly but just does not dissipate the heat. On my '47 CJ2A, I fought for months trying to get her to keep cool. The original radiator was gone through twice. I finally got an aftermarket aluminum radiator and have not had a problem since. Other Jeep owners have had similar experiences.

Shrouds do help!

Micah

 

Need more information. What radiator? What water pump? What thermostat? What temperature is it running at? What kind of temp gauge?
Is it "overheating" at idle, or while driving? Is it boiling over?...

 

No thermostat

 

car shop said ; Aluminum 3 core radiator installed, fan shroud, new water pump (not sure if stock replacement), no thermostat when I gave it to them (not sure if they installed one, given the amount of work I doubt they put or kept one in it), it goes several miles on the freeway after several miles of driving 55 mph to get to the on ramp and steam comes out. Not sure how they test it, I know last time I showed up they had a separate gauge on it. They said down the road to 665 from their shop (that would be 6 or 7 miles at 55mph) and it hits 272 degrees alone. on freeway it gets higher.