Barracuda running hot

[Badfish1]

Hello, car was running hot but not overheating. Changed thermostat, drove car and no change still running hot. Motor is stock 318 just a 4barrel carb. On the gauge it goes to the line right under the H. The car had not been driven very much in the last 10 years. Could having the radiator flushed help? There is no leaks. Heater is working good. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[67fbcuda]

Does your coolant or water look real rusty? Did you check your water hoses? If they are old and worn they can get soft and collapse especially the bottom hose when it heats up.

 

[RedFish]

so many little things that make a difference. The water needs to be under pressure to cool more efficiently. Thus a bad radiator cap can be a factor. A coolant recovery system is highly recommended. Without it you loose water and pressure to the ground. Air in the system causes rust. Freeze plugs rust and begin to seep pressure and coolant which evaporates leaving you unaware of that loss. These things along with the previous owners annual dose of stop leak were all players in my "a little too hot" 67 273. I did put a good bit of time and money into fixing and improving what she came with and/or didn't come with. Zero problems around town on a 96 degree day. Never needed to install the shroud I purchased. It remains on the "someday" shelf with a/c components.
While I'm typing/bragging... I have lovely pink Toyota coolant in the system ( not that that's a factor, just sharing ). A quick glance at the reservoir shows me the coolant level is where it should be and there is no oil or other nastiness in it. Money well spent

 

[halifaxhops]

Is the anti freeze still good, test it with a tester.

 

[Badfish1]

Antifreeze is brand new. would a radiator flush help an older radiator? could a bad radiator cause running hot? radiator is not leaking everything looks good.

 

[autoxcuda]

Could very well be a clogged radiator or partial clogged. Even the blocks get clogged with junk.

Flush could absolutely help. When was the last time you flushed it?

Car sitting around get sediment/gunk.

 

[Badfish1]

it has been a long time since flushed. is that something I should do my self or is it beneficial to have it flushed at a shop. I mean does the shop machine flush block and everything. thanks for all the help.

 

[Breadburner]

See what the flow is like with the cap off....Could the impeller be corroded....???

 

[Badfish1]

Gonna do the radiator flush soon. my dad seems to think the timing could be off causing the car to run hotter than it should. I turned the distributor to the left counter clockwise a little and now the car is running even hotter. I guess go back to where I was at and go the other direction a little? Man I have to get the old Cuda going I love this car. Thanks for all the help

 

[66fyssh]

Definitely get the timing set.

If you can swing the cost, I think it well worth having a radiator shop clean it up. I think mine cost $90. They have a couple of different options based on how solid they think the radiator is. When I took mine in a couple years ago, they didn't want to rod it out, but they ran it through a boil out tank. Said it was flowing well after they were done.

I have a Commando 273, running a shroud and a 180* stat. No overheating issues.

 

[autoxcuda]

Get a timing light.

Yes try to back flush it yourself. There inexpensive backflush kits at the parts store. Use a chemical and drive some with it in there. That gets the whole system.

You can still remove radiator and have it flushed and rodded out. Like was said they can test the flow before rodding it out.

 

[64conv65hard]

Use a meat thermometer and find out exactly what the coolant temperature is compared to the gauge. I thought I was running hot because the gauge was reading near the hot mark but using the thermometer it was actually 190.