318 overheating

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TrailBeast said:
That was my point in the question I asked.
No way it's a head gasket if it isn't pushing water out.
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I see where you & cudavert are coming from, but something is causing enough pressure to make that hose swell up like that. If it's pressure just from boiling then it's got to be pushing more than 13psi also. So if it's not pushing water from that why wouldn't it not push water from a bad head gasket too? Pressure is pressure right? It takes more than 13 psi to swell a hose like that. I have seen many gaskets leaking between the combustion chamber seal into the water jacket & barely push, if any water out of the overflow. The combustion gases sometimes swell the seal in the cap so it can't bleed the water pressure off correctly or the engine pumps pressure in so quickly it can't bleed it off. It also softens the hoses real quick.

I'm just spit balling ideas here as well. Not just in this case but if others may run into an overheating problem down the road. Some things to consider.
 
I thought I'd throw out another idea. The electric fan is it pushing hot air from the engine side of the radiator into it or is it pulling cooler air from in front of the radiator toward the engine? Many of these fan kits can be wired to spin the electric motor in either clockwise or counterclockwise rotation. If the engine stays cooler longer when moving you are receiving the benefit of air being forced across the cooling fins even as the fan may be fighting against it. When not moving, the fan may be forcing nothing but engine heated air into the cooling fins. With out starting the car, hotwire the fan so it runs and see if your drawing cool air from the front of the vehicle if your fan is mounted on the engine side of the radiator or pushing cool air through the radiator if mounted on the grill side of the radiator. You should be able to feel the direction of air flow easily. If you find this is a problem simply reverse the two wires coming out of the fan motor to get the fan to spin the opposite direction. This came up very recently on a '48 willys with a SB chevy that came into the shop. Owner had installed a new aluminum radiator and electric fan and ended up with worse cooling situation that when they had a half plugged radiator and a pump driven fan. Owner had followed installation instruction to the letter but they did not say anything about reversing rotation when changing the fan mounting from front to back of the radiator. Darn Chinese!!??
 
Thank you all for your help. Well, I will call this a rookie mistake, I had the maine hose higher than the fill spout on the radiator.... Changed my water neck of the intake to a side spout and made sure the hose was lower than the fill. Like I said I am really new to this. Again thank everyone.
 
TrailBeast said:
This is an imortant question that no one asked yet.

Does it ever push water out the overflow?
If not, then it's not a head gasket.
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Thats an excellent observation. Mine doesn't.

I have changed my water pump (old one was perfect) ALL hoses and clamps.
I get in, drive 3 miles, and it is on H+
I cool off the rad cap, lift the release lever, cool it with water again and with a rag I slowly remove it with an accompanying burst of steam water and whistling plus overflow tank steam emissions and loud noises...HOT ENOUGH FOR YOU?

I went to a Stant after trying 3 AutoZone 195 deg. stats and a "Fail Safe" AutoZone stat that froze open immediately and never closed again...TRASH

For years I would drive off in the morning and 3 miles down the highway it would be all the way to H and then quickly go down to normal...EVERY day, without fail for 12 years. Stupid me, I decided to change the thermostat.... So I changed the stat and have had nothing but trouble every day...every damn day since.

Every day I start up drive off, go 3 miles, remove a fiercely hot cap, steam and noise everywhere...pour a 1/2 gallon of water in, get in the truck, and its OK, on NORMAL and drive to the grocery where I top off the radiator with water. The rest of the day it is fine. Next morning, ity all happens again...exactly the same, every time.
 
^^^ Thermostat in backwards? The round 'button' faces into the intake....not into the t-stat housing.
 
nm9stheham said:
^^^ Thermostat in backwards? The round 'button' faces into the intake....not into the t-stat housing.
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Thanks...yes, thermostat is in properly... have been working on cars since 1952 and let me tell you, THIS ONE HAS ME STUMPED...laughter, insane laughter...here is another post with the approximate story:


-Lean??? Throttle body FI here (1990 Ram D100/150 2 wheel drive automatic LWB pickup)
-Kink in bottom hose? Nahhh, all have wire coils
-Air pockets, nahh, drilled 3/32" hole in stat
-All hoses, clamps, water pump, stat...NEW
-Drilled stat since problems persisted...no such luck...problem continues
-Water moves in radiator at temp
-I shortened and lowered discharge hose so it is below radiator fill cap
-Definitely good stat (Stant 195 deg F.)
-Good pressure cap (16 lb)
-No, no bubbles...head gaskets are not leaking...once the heat is normal, this truck runs all day and night flawlessly...It is 26 years old and ran flawlessly for 25 years. I went 14 years without any major repairs.
-YES, pushes water out of overflow tank then bunches of hot hot steam
-Add 3 quarts of cold water to hot radiator and gauge goes down to normal and everything is OK for the rest of the day.
-Gets savagely hot first 3 miles, EVERY morning. EVERY SINGLE DAMN MORNING FOR 3 months...intense problem for almost a year now...I am going mad and insane. Off and on for 12 years, now it won't go away.
-It has been flushed 6 or 7 times and rinsed 30 or so times...Radiator fins blown out....nothing in them. No transmission cooler (disconnected 25 years ago) Exterior tranny cooler is free and clear of the radiator. The transmission started doing wacky things 10 years ago and it still does, with band material in the pan and hilarious shifts up and down at the strangest times...but it finally gets into 3rd gear after a few miles and works fine the rest of the day. I have hauled a big loaded trailer and truck bed many times (Like 70 full loads) and I have pulled stumps with the truck for years as well as pulled all the windows out of my old house for replacement. Pulled down many houses, fences, and sheds with it ever since I bought it. It has some minor dents but why would I get rid of it? This overheating is maddening and makes no sense whatsoever. I am [email protected] or 1-360-465-2809

Desperate in WA state...thanks for any help
 
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