Car getting real hot....

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could a lean mixture cause an over heating .
Possibly but it would need to be quite lean at which time driveability may be affected. Like it could be "a little bucky" as one guy described his driveability issue. It was an early emissions car that pretty much required a CO2 analyzer to adjust properly as they were so finicky.
Probably other issues to look at.
 
There are cooling systems and there are cooling systems. About 35 years ago i lost my fan belt returning home from a hunting trip in Northern Ontario.It was late October, cool and raining. We drove all the way home hour after hour and the engine never overheated in my '83 Toyota 4 x 4.When i got home and investigated the water pump was also seized.
...but the rad was constantly wet from the cold rain and air. That was an incredible truck in many other ways too.
 
There are cooling systems and there are cooling systems. About 35 years ago i lost my fan belt returning home from a hunting trip in Northern Ontario.It was late October, cool and raining. We drove all the way home hour after hour and the engine never overheated in my '83 Toyota 4 x 4.When i got home and investigated the water pump was also seized.
...but the rad was constantly wet from the cold rain and air. That was an incredible truck in many other ways too.
The early Model T Fords had no WP or fan. Convection circulated the coolant. Now these were low compression and low power engines with thick iron castings. There also was old one lunger power units that drove a flat belt. These were horizontal engines with a lawn mower style ignition. The top of the cylinder area was open and you had to check the water level and top it up to keep it above the cylinder wall. If it was going to freeze you just turned it over to dump the water out. In the morning you brought warm water heated on the wood stove and started it up.
 
PUZACTLY. What they wrote in 1969 about oil is absolute nonsense today.

It is 100% BULLSHIT and bad philosophy to keep telling people you have to slow the coolant down for more effective cooling. That is WRONG and I don’t care who writes that it’s not. I never gave a crap what any engineer says until I’ve proven it out. Chrysler was way, WAY out in front on their ignition stuff. Carb tuning too. I have to grab my 73 FSM to remember what it says, but IIRC all the 340’s and 360’s had overdriven pumps.


Now...let’s talk about how this works some more. I am of the opinion that the THERMOSTAT is what SHOULD set the MINIMUM OPERATING TEMPERATURE. who can argue that? I know one guy who will try. Minimum operating temperature is exactly what the thermostat is supposed to do.

Now that we have the thermostat to set the minimum operating temperature, we can talk about why a guy can use a 180 degree thermostat and have a cruise temperature of 190. Or 195. Or higher.

It is exactly because the cooling system can NOT dump enough heat to keep the MOT of the thermostat and the cruise temperature the same. They really should be. So when someone says “I run a really nice high flow 180 degree thermostat and going down the freeway my gauge says 195 and that’s where it should be because that’s not too hot” I say you are wrong. You are better off with a 195 thermostat so the minimum temperature is controlled by the thermostat and not the crap cooling system.

It’s simple really. And it’s pretty dumb to use a 180 or colder thermostat if you don’t want fix your cooling system so the split between MOT and cruise temperature is the same, or damn close to it.

The only ways I know of to make the cooling system more efficient is to make the radiator bigger. Then use two big cores instead of 3 or 4 smaller cores. Get an 8 blade impeller high flow water pump or a Flowkooler so you can move some coolant. Then get a Stewart Components high flow thermostat. There isn’t a better thermostat on the market. Not even close. The least thing you need to do is speed up the water pump. Go as fast as you can find pulleys. And keep the belt on. You can’t get too fast. I don’t believe you can cavitate the pump with any speed you can get from available pulleys. So speed it up.

If you do that, you can easily run a 180 degree thermostat and drive through downtown hell and not go more than 5 degrees over thermostat opening. I think if everything is right, including the tuneup, you can use a 160 thermostat and keep the coolant right there. If you have it all right.

Never, ever slow the pump down unless it’s throwing the belt. Don’t ever use anything but an 8 blade impeller high flow pump or the Flowkooler pump. Don’t cheap out on the thermostat. Quality is quality. Get the biggest radiator you can fit with no more than 2 cores. And the 2 cores should be as big as you can get.

Do that and you won’t mind driving through hell.


@yellow rose
Buddy, dear friend. Please don't allow anyone to upset you or try to tell you that their TV is not Black and White.....but 5000 shades of grey...
I know, well, let's be realistic. The masses know, that you know what you are talking about.
Not because you read it but because you tried it what you are saying.
Trial and error are the true Deductions.... to any equating problem in the end.

As always, Thank You !....for your input, responses and logic to an issue that I (or any other member here) may be dealing with.
Hopefully some will come to understand that (majority) of problems have an answer. Sometimes we must repeat the problem over and over until we get the answer we seek, not the one we wish it to be. (Ahem, speak with experience here, )

Y'all have a wonderful summer, which is just around the corner....release the pigeons and prepare for (AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE) problems but greater times of MOPAR MADNESS and last but not least thought provoking thoughts, responses and discussions galore !
MAPS!
 
I know one thing. I am glad I got mine tuned all up and running good and cool NOW, because summer is here and now it might can be a fun one! lol

...and I owe @yellow rose and @MOPAROFFICIAL a big thanks for their help.
 
Ok experts

Here is my dilemma and up here we don't have that many great mopar experts.
I will try to tell you everything you need to know about the problem.

Rebuilt 340 six pack, less than 1500 miles, rebuilt last yr, before that I never had heating issues.
I don't know now if it's the guage but I do feel the car a little hotter than before.
When I'm driving on the highway non stop the car will reach 160 and stay there but if I start to get stuck in traffic it goes up real fast, if I shut your car off (160) it will go to 180 and higher but when I start moving it will come down a little bit 10 mins bumper traffic it can reach closer 190. 200 it had not overheated ever but I haven't allowed it also as I shut it off.
If I start to drive just in the city within 10 15 mins @ 25-30 degrees (77 - 86 Fahrenheit) it starts to get hot to 180 and climbing to 200 soon after.

The rad. Is an after market (Bcool I think,) nice rad I never had these problem before. We changed the thermostat (i think it's a 180, not sure) I have water and antifreeze. It's a 4 speed with 4.10 rear gears.
The engine is basically. stock aside from a cam (550 lift) solid lifter as well like the cam.
The shroud I have is very thin came with the rad and like I said I never had these problems, I changed the water temp guage with the rebuilt engine so I'm really confused.
Is it a water pump, the guage, I changed the belt also.
May be the cap I've been told,
Any thoughts? You are the only people that I truly trust with A body mopars... Then I go to the shop and tell them do so and so... So any help will be appreciated.
Regards,
MAPS
 
One question that I have is weather the cam was "degreed" or not. If it's retarted, it can cause over heating problems.

Now that I don't know, I would "assume" the guy who rebuilt it knew he had to do that ?
Thanks.
 
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