Hey guys how's everyone doing? I had a 71 demon 440 drag car left to me when my uncle passed away this fall. It was his life pretty much and I want to keep I alive and out on the street. I'm trying to make it more of a street car now because I don't have much experience with a car like this. Right now it overheats at idle to about 250 then it pukes out coolant. I don't know if I need a whole new radiator, fan thermostat or what. I'm only 17 and I'm new to this and will have a lot of questions. I don't know much about it because my uncle didn't have time to show me. Anything would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
71 dodge demon 440
- Thread starter Joep
- Start date
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challengergary
Well-Known Member
First off - I am sorry for your loss but congrats on keeping your uncle's dreams alive. As far as your cooling situation, Have you checked to make sure the cooling system is topped off? Does the car have electric fans or a regular belt driven fan? Is there a fan shroud? Do you know if the temperatures cool down once the car is moving with air flow across the radiator?
Yes it was topped off but I don't know if there was any air in the system. From what I've been reading that could prevent the thermostat to open correct? It is a regular belt driven fan but there is a switch for the fan so I believe that there was an electric fan on the at some point. Yes there is a fan shroud but I think the fan might be a bit small for the size engine it is. I think it does cool down when on the road because my uncle was driving it around last summer and I don't think there were problems with it.
challengergary
Well-Known Member
OK - so if the engine cools down when being driven, the radiator and water pump are doing their jobs. Sounds like an air flow problem at idle. Is the fan a factory fan or is it a narrow blsded/aftermarket flex fan? If so, sounds like that may be the culprit.
I ran it just the other day with the radiator cap off and it ran fine it warmed up to about 190 and stayed there for 15-20 minutes at idle. I shut it off because the oil pressure dropped to around 30 lbs and coolant gushed out the radiator. I'm not sure if that's like a normal thing or what
challengergary
Well-Known Member
Coolant gushed out because the thermostat opened up and the system probably burped out some air as well. Oil pressure at 30 when warmed up and at idle should be fine. Does the car have a coolant recovery/overflow canister? If not, you might want to add one.
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