Overheating issues with a 302 engine

You're saying it's overheating, but you've never told us what the temps actually are. It would help to fill us in on those details.

 

Sure, the highest temp that I shut it down was at 235 but most of the time I shut it at 230.

 

in the meantime a mechanical fan would do. man thats hot.

 

235 is a bit warm, but not hot enough to shut it down at. Especially with iron heads and block. My 331 gets hotter than that at times with aluminum heads when I forget to turn the electric fan on in town.

 

This is normal. You're letting the fan cool the coolant in the radiator, then circulating that coolant back into the motor, cooling it down in steps. I agree a higher CFM fan would be a plus, also a high volume water pump could help too (ask for the "HD", "extra cooling" "police/taxi" pump at your local parts house, then visually inspect the impellers to make certain you get the larger HV impeller pump. But all in all 235* when it's 95-100* outside is not hot.

 

I guess I'm not used to having a vehicle that runs that hot. I guess I'll try a different fan w/ more CFM's.

 

So, you're saying that there were absolutely no issues of this nature before that happened? If so.. that's important info to help diagnose the issues here.

Next and most important question.. after replacement did you use another balancer with similarly/correctly placed timing marks? I ask because timing plays a huge role in engine temps. A vacuum gauge should quickly tell the tale.

PS. I run a single core rad(160 t-stat) in my 500 horse Blazer. No shroud.. 2 medium sized e-fans that are staggared from top to bottom. Engine is tuned to the ragged edge with 54 degrees at idle to 1,700 rpm and never overheates in 90+ degree weather. Of course my e-fans kick on quicker during stops.. and stay on slightly longer than in cooler weather.. but NEVER overheats or overflows into the catch can even one little bit. My guess is tuning issues.

 

Hello - As far as I can recall, there were no overheating issues before this incident. I did not replace the balancer when the flywheel weight left the flywheel. I only replaced the flywheel. I am running 12 degrees initial to see if I can stop the overheating and at most I would run at 36 degrees. Any ideas?

 

I have a mechanical fan off my v8 that I just took off recently if you need it.

 

Thanks for the offer. I ended up pulling the motor and am stating over w/ a new block. Turns out the over bore didn't take all of the rust pitting out of the walls in a couple of the cylinders and the crank bearings had some strange wear. I may have the ass'y balanced this time to make sure all is well with the bottom end.