Stuck in traffic 340 got up to 220

-
Lol. Man, it was bliss to be young and have no fear!! Around 1979 I drove a girlfriend from PA to CT in the winter, in a Dodge van with L60 tires...and it snowed halfway!!

Now we have more regard for hard-earned money and worry too much.
I totally understand having a lot of money in an engine. I quit keeping track of my build when I hit $6k, but that includes headers (Dougs) and torque converter.

Yup, it really adds up quick. I saw early on I was going to bust my 2500 dollar goal with the 400 build so I just said "screw it" and kept going till it was done. ...and now I'm not gonna use it. LMAO
 
Lol. Man, it was bliss to be young and have no fear!! Around 1979 I drove a girlfriend from PA to CT in the winter, in a Dodge van with L60 tires...and it snowed halfway!!

Now we have more regard for hard-earned money and worry too much.
I totally understand having a lot of money in an engine. I quit keeping track of my build when I hit $6k, but that includes headers (Dougs) and torque converter.
I've got some of those Doug's ceramic coated headers. They sure tuck up well underneath. Really glad I got them
 
Well that will be an improvement over what you currently have.
Keep your eyes open for a 7 blade 18 Mopar clutch fan, if you see one get it and add it in the the future, I am confident that it will perform well in your application. The factory used them for a reason.
What is the pitch/depth of the factory 7 blade? I’m not sure myself but am wondering if is it more or less than the 6 blade Derale he is using which has a depth of 2-5/16” (28 degrees) The 17” aluminum blade version (that I have on a 78 D150) moves some air, but actually has slightly less pitch. I always understood it’s not so much the number of blades rather it’s the pitch. The one he is going to use is IMO a “heavy hitter” of a fan

1262FE04-8B3C-4036-AB71-42105DD06113.jpeg
 
What's straight water boil at?
Really? 212F at sea level, thats 100C for our Canadian friends. Any antifreeze/coolant will raise the boiling point. Hot motors run great, its when the coolant boils out and leaves you nothing is when you get into pinging. An all iron motor is pretty hearty when it comes to heat, just don't add water to a scalding motor. Let it sit for an hour. Cracked a Cleveland head doing that and I knew exactly when it happened! Glurg glurg glurg...CRACK! F.......not the end of the world, they were $35 a piece off all the 400Ms in the bone yard back then.
 
Really? 212F at sea level, thats 100C for our Canadian friends. Any antifreeze/coolant will raise the boiling point. Hot motors run great, its when the coolant boils out and leaves you nothing is when you get into pinging. An all iron motor is pretty hearty when it comes to heat, just don't add water to a scalding motor. Let it sit for an hour. Cracked a Cleveland head doing that and I knew exactly when it happened! Glurg glurg glurg...CRACK! F.......not the end of the world, they were $35 a piece off all the 400Ms in the bone yard back then.

It all depends on the combo. Lower compression engines do run well warmer. High compression engines like it cool.
 
What is the pitch/depth of the factory 7 blade? I’m not sure myself but am wondering if is it more or less than the 6 blade Derale he is using which has a depth of 2-5/16” (28 degrees) The 17” aluminum blade version (that I have on a 78 D150) moves some air, but actually has slightly less pitch. I always understood it’s not so much the number of blades rather it’s the pitch. The one he is going to use is IMO a “heavy hitter” of a fan

View attachment 1715763139
I also have no idea what the pitch is of the Mopar 18 inch fan.
I do know that they move a lot of air and were used on many cars.
I also prefer the clutch drive over direct drive.
 
That Dodge Ram must have hit the high 290s and it made it
IIRC 270 is the upper limit of my Silverado. Every lb of pressure the cap can maintain raises the waters boiling point 3 degrees. That's a 17 lb cap. If a hose blows at 17 psi its rotted, they are rated at >200 psi new! And a heater core is capable of ~100 psi...C'mon guys give these a little credit. I dont think either is the weak link. I would think the OEM spring "constant pressure" type clamps would blow the hose off before a decent hose lets go. And yeah, they do wear out, change them out at 100K or whenever the hose tells you. They usually start to bulge when they start losing strength.


automotive grade coolant hoses Grade 1
https://www.goharlows.com/fckimages/pdf/IC_Coolant.pdf
 
It was a rhetorical question.
Really? 212F at sea level, thats 100C for our Canadian friends. Any antifreeze/coolant will raise the boiling point. Hot motors run great, its when the coolant boils out and leaves you nothing is when you get into pinging. An all iron motor is pretty hearty when it comes to heat, just don't add water to a scalding motor. Let it sit for an hour. Cracked a Cleveland head doing that and I knew exactly when it happened! Glurg glurg glurg...CRACK! F.......not the end of the world, they were $35 a piece off all the 400Ms in the bone yard back then.
 
get a 7 blade clutch fan with shroud you'll be fine my 340 never overheated with that combo sitting in traffic for hours in 95degree heat . as long as the rad is clean and flows it should be fine , plus i use distilled water with the antifreeze 50/50
Exactly what I have on my current Dart.
 
Just took it for a drive 10pm Was about 80' F out with no traffic. Stayed on 185 and ran like a top so I think it's okay
 
Last edited:
It's okay....until next time.
80*F, no traffic, & it's ok?
You want your cooling system to work on the hottest days, not lower temp days.

You mentioned using 50/50 coolant. I presume that means 50% water & 50% antifreeze. Pure water is one of the best conductors of heat for a liquid. When you add 'something' to it, it is contaminated & it's ability to transfer heat is reduced. Anti freeze is a poor heat conductor & the more AF you add to the water, the more you reduce the heat transfer ability of the water. The moral of the story is to use the lowest percentage of AF for the expected minimum temperatures in your area to stop the coolant from freezing in the block.
Use a good 6/7blade clutch fan & shroud to help with idle/low rpm cooling.
 
If a hose blows at 17 psi its rotted, they are rated at >200 psi new!

How much pressure do you think a hose clamp clamped around a hose with a slight barb on it can stand? 200 PSI? Not hardly.
 
Last edited:
It's okay....until next time.
80*F, no traffic, & it's ok?
You want your cooling system to work on the hottest days, not lower temp days.

You mentioned using 50/50 coolant. I presume that means 50% water & 50% antifreeze. Pure water is one of the best conductors of heat for a liquid. When you add 'something' to it, it is contaminated & it's ability to transfer heat is reduced. Anti freeze is a poor heat conductor & the more AF you add to the water, the more you reduce the heat transfer ability of the water. The moral of the story is to use the lowest percentage of AF for the expected minimum temperatures in your area to stop the coolant from freezing in the block.
Use a good 6/7blade clutch fan & shroud to help with idle/low rpm cooling.

It's Prestone premix. No I'm never driving around in that boiling hot stuff again and that good fan is on it's way. I'll get the shroud made at the shop when it comes. The reason why I took it out at night was because I just wanted to make sure I didn't screw anything up and I didn't want to worry about getting stuck somewhere behind a bunch of cars with that shitty flex fan and no shroud.
 
Ignition timing is a big deal too.
If you don't start the combustion process soon enough, then the mixture keeps on burning as the piston is heading for the bottom. This puts extra heat into the cylinder walls and into the cooling system.
Under no-load or low-load situations below say 3000 rpm, your engine might be wanting 45/50/55 or more degrees of lead, to get the job done. So for sure, you need a working vacuum advance system.
 
Not only is the flex-fan unable to pull a lotta air thru the rad, it also cannot push that hot air down and out. And the more you rev it, the worse it gets, cuz the blades loose their curvature with rpm.
And of course if the carb is sucking that hot and climbing hotter underhood air, the whole thing becomes like a runaway nuclear reactor.

I got stuck one time, in this situation, far from home, when the ambient temp sky-rocketed. What I did was loosen the hood and lifted the back high enough to exhaust some of that hot air, and then I slowed down to find an engine rpm, that allowed that stinking combo to move air. That got me moving to my destination, and allowed me to finish my vacation. But when I got home, that fan came off immediately. and then I set to work, solving this problem, once and for all.
When I finished, I got her to run at 205/207 no matter what, and with a 7psi cap. That was about 2002.
 
Last edited:
Not only is the flex-fan unable to pull a lotta air thru the rad, it also cannot push that hot air down and out. And the more you rev it, the worse it gets, cuz the blades loose their curvature with rpm.
And of course if the carb is sucking that hot and climbing hotter underhood air, the whole thing becomes like a runaway nuclear reactor.

I got stuck one time, in this situation, far from home, when the ambient temp sky-rocketed. What I did was loosen the hood and lifted the back high enough to exhaust some of that hot air, and then I slowed down to find an engine rpm, that allowed that stinking combo to move air. That got me moving to my destination, and allowed me to finish my vacation. But when I got home, that fan came off immediately. and then I set to work, solving this problem, once and for all.
When I finished, I got her to run at 205/207 no matter what, and with a 7psi cap. That was about 2002.
How hot did it actually get? Just curious.
 
How hot did it actually get? Just curious.
Can't say; only had stock gauges, and that was about 20years ago.
But it was hot enough to lock up immediately at shut down, and requiring 30 minutes to cool enough that the starter could crank it again.
That winter, during the annual freshening, I had the cylinders honed out a bit, replaced the rings with file-fits, and opened up the ring gaps about .005 .. With the other changes I made, the Problem was solved. The KB107s survived just fine, and are still in there. So my diagnoses was that the ring-gaps were just too tight.
 
Can't say; only had stock gauges, and that was about 20years ago.
But it was hot enough to lock up immediately at shut down, and requiring 30 minutes to cool enough that the starter could crank it again.
That winter, during the annual freshening, I had the cylinders honed out a bit, replaced the rings with file-fits, and opened up the ring gaps about .005 .. With the other changes I made, the Problem was solved. The KB107s survived just fine, and are still in there. So my diagnoses was that the ring-gaps were just too tight.
I was worried about the main bearings but I guess they would be okay? One vehicle I saw where I guy just kept driving and driving and they just melted away. The crank shaft was a mess. It was a GMC suv from the early 80s
 
Last edited:
How much pressure do you think a hose clamp clamped around a hose with a slight barb on it can stand? 200 PSI? Not hardly.
What size...? Barb or bubble? I think I hit >100 psi on my rigged up A/C manifold that was a 3/8 hose on a barb and a worm clamp. It usually lives under 50 but it spiked for some reason. Obviously the hose isn't a 1 7/8 radiator hose on a bubble flared radiator spud but those smaller hoses reduce the pressure at the clamp. Just sayin a heater core should not fail at <50 lbs unless its paper thin from internal corrosion.
 
What size...? Barb or bubble? I think I hit >100 psi on my rigged up A/C manifold that was a 3/8 hose on a barb and a worm clamp. It usually lives under 50 but it spiked for some reason. Obviously the hose isn't a 1 7/8 radiator hose on a bubble flared radiator spud but those smaller hoses reduce the pressure at the clamp. Just sayin a heater core should not fail at <50 lbs unless its paper thin from internal corrosion.

I believe we were talkin about radiator hoses, no?
 
I agree 100%. With the other one.... he just looked like a big meanie :(
 
Last edited:
-
Back
Top