I've tried everything I can think of and cannot resolve the overheating issue on my 73 Mav 302. New motor, new 3 core aluminum radiator, new water pump, 2 new thermostats, just in case the first one was defective. New 2500 cfm electric fan with shroud, everything is new and the temp gauge still tries to peg out after 1-2 miles. Gotta shut it down and cool off. Anyone ever have this issue? Am I missing something? I even installed a new temp sensor just in case the one I had was defective.
Not yet. I hadn't let it get to that point. I just got duals on it and got about 2-3 miles from the muffler shop and saw the temp gauge was pegged out. It wasn't spitting anything out but it had me gun shy.
What temp gauge are u using after market or OE? Have u checked the lower hose to see if it may be collapsing?
Mojo brought up a good point about the lower hose collapsing. I don't think new hoses come with a spring inside them anymore. Also might wanna check your timing. Too much advance will run hotter...so does running too lean will add more heat.
Get a infrared temp gun, you cant trust that temp gauge. Could be a bad sender, could be a bad gauge, could be anything man, could be a bad ground. Those guns are 34.99 at the lowes or home depot. Turn the car on and point it at the thermostat housing, you should see when it opens and then watch the temp. Perfect tool for breaking in new motors, I used to use it all the time for that specific purpose, checking to see if all cylinders were firing, etc.
I can agree with this, I have one and is very handy(The absolute best for finding a dead cylinder)... BUT if you don't have the extra cash, a meat thermometer placed into the top of radiator while it's warming up can suffice... If it's pegging gauge and not pushing out coolant, it's just about a 100% the gauge is lying... From COLD I don't think it's possible overheat a engine in three miles till it pegs the gauge...Of course this does assume the car is actually moving and coolant is circulating...
I'm going to check all those today. The timing may be off because in the short time I've ran it after break in, It's not running right for sure.
I've heard of the wrong rotation water pump. The only one I found that rotated in the opposite direction wouldn't line up with the bolt holes that's on mine.
And that's why with stock pulleys, it's going to be difficult at best to install the wrong pump... If it's actually overheating and a fresh rebuild, I'm gonna have to agree with the head gasket possibility...
