Barracuda 440 over filled?

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BIG-B-Barracuda

BIG-B-Barracuda

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was driving my barracuda brought it up to TEMP. and i started to smell hot/burned antifreeze coolant popped the hood and noticed the top hose was hard and semi "ballooned" did i over fill my radiator with coolant? is my thermostat not opening? gauge doesn't show overheating holds at 190' which is what i believe my thermostat to be a 190 degrees. :happy1:

do i pop open the radiator cap and let it drain out to proper amount and let the bubbles out?

im lost here these things are usually very simple. :coffee2::burnout:
 
just smell while driving on the freeway i had windows open not sure from there or the firewall maybe both.

when i got to work i noticed i few drops coming out of the thermostat housing... maybe new gasket there is needed also...
 
I would make sure your pressure cap is venting properly. Is it dumping into the overflow any?
 
If you still have the stock system, the radiator will find its own level. As the coolant heats up, it expands and the extra gets eliminated through the small hose on the fill opening and gets dumped on the ground. If it has been converted to a closed system the extra fluid will go into the plastic reservoir and will be drawn back inside the radiator when the car is off and it cools down.

I don't know much but 2 things I would check are the radiator cap and the upper hose. The cap will have a number on it that gives the pressure it should open, say 16 PSI. Maybe a lower rated cap would help or the one you have is bad. It may not be relieving the extra pressure properly causing the upper hose to expand. Hoses are not that expensive so you could try that. Get a molded hose mostly because it won't look like a Chevy guy did it.
 
Just for giggles, start the car, let it warm up and operate the throttle under the hood while watching the bottom radiator hose.

Is it collapsing when you rev it up?
 
BIG-B-Barracuda said:
ILL TRY THAT - what do you mean by collapsing ?
Click to expand...

When you rev the engine, it could collapse, as in squishing together, effectively limiting your coolant flow.

IF it indeed does that, drain the coolant out of the rad, find a piece of PVC pipe or something similar that will fit inside the end of the hose.

Get a wire coat hanger and wrap it around the pipe creating a coil. Insert it into the hose, install it back on the car, refill and check again.

They do make hoses with wire coils already in them but they can be difficult to find, at least in my experience anyway.


The hose will usually be OK at idle, but can collapse when the RPM's are increased. I'm not saying that's the problem, but it's something to check.
 
Bad Sport said:
When you rev the engine, it could collapse, as in squishing together, effectively limiting your coolant flow.

IF it indeed does that, drain the coolant out of the rad, find a piece of PVC pipe or something similar that will fit inside the end of the hose.

Get a wire coat hanger and wrap it around the pipe creating a coil. Insert it into the hose, install it back on the car, refill and check again.

They do make hoses with wire coils already in them but they can be difficult to find, at least in my experience anyway.


The hose will usually be OK, but can collapse when the RPM's are increased. I'm not saying that's the problem, but it's something to check.
Click to expand...


I WILL TRY THAT THANKS... and keep you guys updated.
 
BIG-B-Barracuda said:
I WILL TRY THAT THANKS... and keep you guys updated.
Click to expand...

If you do have to make the coil, once it's done, take a pair of needle nose pliers and turn the sharp ends in slightly so they aren't rubbing on the inside of the hose and potentially make a hole.
 
there is no pinch. but the lower hose already feels like it has a coil inside of it...

the cap is old and read CST on it but all else is worn no psi reading...

left it on for a bit and i did not see the over flow running through but there is coolant inside of it.
 
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