I have a 1977 302 mav with a stock engine. my girl runs hot and has been over heating. I wanted to know of any way to prevent her from doing such. I drive about 190 on the highway and about 210 on the streets and If i drive an extended amount of time its like the engine becomes overwhelmed and hits 250 so I pull over. do i have a waterpump issue? could it be a bad raiator? the car came with an after market radiator, i've flushed it well. I had an issue before so I replaced the cap and thermostat. Any suggestions?
belt driven, no shroud, and because the thermostat was one of the first things I replaced as a novice with the car I do not know that was about a year ago. Id say 190 or 210 im not quite sure.
check the T-stat, could be sticking and not opening all the way. (180 degree) are you running 50/50 coolant?
You really need the shroud! Also the aftermarket flex fans are for high rpm racing and will not cool a slow speed engine well. I'd hit up your local junkyard and pick up a stock flex fan from a car that had ac, and get a shroud that will cover your whole radiator.
I know the 1972 Monte Carlo's had an EXCELLENT shroud; used them for dirt track racing as well in the early '80s.
True on the shroud, but flex-fans are not for "high RPM" anything. They flatten out (flex) at high RPM and pull air at low RPM. Some aftermarket flex fans are not very good though. I'm running a stock original flex-fan (and a shroud) with no problems.
Yes, you definitely need the shroud. Mine broke in 2 at some point from one of my engine rebuilds when the shop doing the work f'ed up and a couple weeks ago, the epoxy they used to put it back together failed and my shroud came off. I drove it a couple days without it until I could replace it and my temps would do exactly what you're talking about. The shroud forces the air getting pulled in from the fan to go thru the radiator. If you don't have a shroud, the air will follow the path of least resistance, which is between the radiator and the fan and the surrounding air around the block, making your radiator useless unless you're going down the highway.
This is just one example of what I was referring to. They are good for racing, but don't move enough air at slow speeds. http://www.autozone.com/autozone/ac...n/_/N-26b0Z1z13s7d?itemIdentifier=266221_0_0_
Careful on the shroud. Too deep or too shallow will cause a vortex inside the shroud and no air movement across the radiator. Also a radiator cap forces heat through the block. Higher lbs=more heat out. Be careful! Could go too high. 15 lbs max. Suggest a 190 thermostate. Water has to stay in the radiator to cool off. Happy wrenching. Also, if you don't bleed, your not doing it right.
i have a 13 pound cap i guess i will go up to 14 and i got a 190 thermostat i got a shroud but i put it infront of the radiator because there isnt enough room between the radiator and fan. have yet to test if any of this works though.