BAD MECHANICS - Thermostat and Radiator Fan Blade

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Whoa. maybe ishould have read more before chiming in.
That little error is not just a little oops. Folks here are seeing (from experience) some things were not fully thought out. Some really good suggestions were made. My suggestions is to take your time and go through them. There may be some trial and error. In fact expect it. But folks are telling you some things that are or will be definate errors. For example 16" flex fan - almost certainly a fail. IIRC Minimum factory fan was 17". That means that even with a shroud there is an 18" dia or larger opening. Also, "Kickdown linkage" setup. Absolutely critical. Through it, the throttle position changes the pressure in the transmission circuits to match the load. There's more, but those two stood out.
 
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Mattax said:
For me, I always hit a point where I want to drive it and not tinker. But the journey was and is part of why I own cars like this.
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Well, I do agree with this part of your earlier comment. I have never understood those who want to be involved with older cars but absolutely hate working on them, tinkering with them, trying to improve them.
 
I bet it's going to run hot with a 180-190° thermostat, a smaller fan and that radiator. Your temperature sender really needs to be in the intake up stream of the thermostat. A shroud will help alot and a thinner fan spacer, generally a 1" minimum gap between the fan blades and the radiator is the target area.
 
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Dana67Dart said:
The reason the fan is hitting the hose is that it is almost center on the rad

The usual location is a few inches from the far left or right giving plenty of room for the hose to route correctly

Another strike against the "cool" aluminum radiators :poke:
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I was going to say the same. Wrong radiator for the app. I believe this radiator could be used for an electric water pump, as used in track racing. Possible have the input connection moved over and out of the way from the fan blade. Less of a cost than buying a new radiator. I would not cut the blades down for clearance, due to being out of balance and destroying the water pump seals and bearings often.
 
First make sure your engine is in the right location then start seeing if your rad needs to be moved some or if you have the right sizre stock fan that fan loos to have a long spacer on it
 
OK! PROGRESS REPORT on my mal-mechaniced 67 Barracuda.

Had a routine eye exam, and they discoverd a detaching Retina in my good (left) eye.
So, glad I had the Barracuda at my fav dealer, as I have no depth perception for a while.

They found a port on the manifold for the aftermarket temp sensor.
So, That allowed them to put in the 180 degree thermostat.

Called a local radiator shop with a good rep, and they weren't too busy, so drove down yesterday afternoon.
By this morning it was done......moved the upper radiator port near the extreme driver's side, installed a molded rubber hose, and put the 18 inch fan back on.

Even driving it back from my fav dealer 40 miles away with the 16 inch fan, the temp never got past 190.
AND I HAVE HEAT!!!!! :steering:
We'll see ow it does whwn the wqeather warms up.

Now on to the rear squeeking brakes; before I get to the Kicback cable.

After rad hose moved 1.jpg


After rad hose moved 2.jpg
 
Glad ya got rad fixed, but I bet i ain't the only one thinking you shouldn't be driving it without fixing the kickdown.
 
Kick down first.

Or you could fry your trans in a short time.

Squeaking rear brakes will still stop the car
 
Too late. If it got driven long enough to blow heat, that transmission is doneski.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Some people you just cannot get through to. S'why I stopped responding.
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Yup.
I can't be too harsh because I did the same thing when I got my Dart. I was rebuilding the trans within two months. Previous owner forgot to hook the kickdown back up when he swapped the carb.
I test drove it a few miles (he had supposedly only idled it after the carb swap, and I had reason to beleive him). I hooked it up for him before I left and then bought the car the next day.
That test drive was enough. I made it a couple hundred miles before it was roached, but roached it was anyway.
 
The only posable thing is the rod on the carb seems to be pulled toward the rear of the car so it might be in a high pressure position making for harsh shifts but might have saved the trans!

Fingers crossed
 
SOOOO! You so-called experts!
Beating me up about the need for the kickdown linkage or "DEATH" to my transmission!
(And, I'm sure you still will find your reasons to kick me anyway.)

What I am guilty of as a rookie, is mistaking the kickdown rod for the throttle cable behind it on my Edelbrock Carb..
And, I had posted plenty of pictures that some of you guys should have caught this!

A guy working on my brakes and painting the engine bay says..."you've already got a kickdown cabe. And the original ones work fine!
The picture that I posted, I attach with an arrow to the kickdown rod.
Yellow arrow = kickdown; Green arrow = throttle cable.

Knowing that I was being confused by some of the posts on this...I FOUND A GREAT BASIC EXPLANATION OF KICKDOWN MECHANISMS on the web.
I include the link here....


pointer to kickdown cable.jpg
 
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Did you take a picture out of one of your earlier posts? I swear there was a photo showing what looked to be the kickdown linkage sloping down at a very unusual angle, thereby prompting the responses to get it looked at. It was there, it just didn't look right.
Nobody was kicking you, they were responding to what looked like a problematic situation and hoping to prevent you from unnecessary repair costs.
 
Yes, you have a kickdown rod. It's really not set up right, although looking at your picture in post 66. it's not as bad as it first looked like it was. The KD rod should be pulled forward with a light spring so that it moves instantly with the carb's throttle, and also give you full travel on the trans lever at full throttle. Apparently you are still not understanding that.
 
It's also important that slider functions in a manner that will not allow the throttle to jam open, so you have to shut it off to stop/idle.
 
volaredon said:
Small block? There's usually at least one pipe plugged off port in the intake that could be used. But as long as the bulb lead (I'm assuming mechanical gauges since that's what I use) into the block drain? Once the engine is up to temp the water should be the same temp anywhere in the system. ( I've never had to do that but just an idea)
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Thanks belated.
He did find one port in the manifold.
 
RogerRamRod said:
Did you take a picture out of one of your earlier posts? I swear there was a photo showing what looked to be the kickdown linkage sloping down at a very unusual angle, thereby prompting the responses to get it looked at. It was there, it just didn't look right.
Nobody was kicking you, they were responding to what looked like a problematic situation and hoping to prevent you from unnecessary repair costs.
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Post #5 and 20 had a good enough pictures to at least see that i did have the kickdown rod istalled on the carb.
Now, the remaining issue to resolve is the proper adjustment.

But, as a rookie, I have obviously been missing a few things.
Just because I have not jumped, and posted an update after every suggestion ya'll have made, does not mean that I blew them off!
The transmission seemed to be shifting just fine to me; although I'm gentle on her.
And, I did drive her from upper Iowa to OKCity after I bought.

From all the posts I have seen on several forums, it may take some trial and error to get it right, if it isn't right.
The one "no no" I had seen was in the video link that I linked several posts back is.....that the bolt/nut should probably NOT BE at either extreme end of the slider (forward or backwards toward the transmission). And there is supposed to be some adjustment on that slider built in by twisting the slider on the cable threads.
Will work that one over when I pick up the Cuda in several days.
But, even the picture of the video link in post #66, the guy is showing his 67 Coronet with the bolt at the far rear of the slider arm.
My guess is, that evey application is a little different, and parts like the lever arms of the linkage can be accidentally bent over time to effect the visual picture one sees of the tightening bolt's position on the slider arm.
 
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