Hi, my 302 cleveland is running hot. It's running a little over the half way mark. I've had the thermostat changed by my mechanic and its no better. It gets really hot after you turn the engine off, over 3/4 towards the hot mark. It has boiled previously when i turn it off, this is before the thermostat change though.
Hi, my 302 cleveland is running hot. It's running a little over the half way mark. I've had the thermostat changed by my mechanic and its no better. It gets really hot after you turn the engine off, over 3/4 towards the hot mark. It has boiled previously when i turn it off, this is before the thermostat change though.
I would not be to caught up where the guage is pointing on the factory unit. Saying that mine runs just under half and I know its ok as I also use an autometer mechinical guage. If the guage is constantly just over half it may be ok. If you can spare the cash fit an autometer or similar temp guage, that way you will know your exact temp. Its normal for the temp to rise when you switch off the motor. Have you flushed the radiator ? Are you running the standard fan ? Do you run coolant ? Do you have a recovery tank ? Does the weather make any difference to the temp, ie if its a cool night are you still running hot ?
One of the most common reasons is people fitting non-clevo thermostats. The other big no-no is removing the thermostat. The cleveland cooling system has a bypass to allow water to circulate through the block during warm up, and when the thermostat opens, the little hat on the bottom of the thermostat closes the bypass. Windsor thermostats lack this feature.
I think the Thermostat of choice is the Dayco DT66a (anyone remember exactly?)
Bout $25ish from Repco.
I think the Thermostat of choice is the Dayco DT66a (anyone remember exactly?) Bout $25ish from Repco.
Yep - that's the one. There's a "high-flow" version, so get that one. While you're there fiddling with things, also do the following:
1. Check (or replace) the bottom radiator hose. If you can squish it together at any part over its length, the coil inside it has either moved or has rusted out. $20 for a new one, and the coolant flow will be helped no end.
2. Re-torque your cylinder head bolts. If you have a minor head gasket leak, this will make your engine run hotter.
3. When you're replacing a hose, flush your radiator. Undo the top and bottom hoses, get a mate to hold his hand over the bottom hole and fill it up with water to the top. Then get your mate to take his hand off. You'll be amazed at what gets flushed out. Rust bits, sludge, small dingies... If you can, take the radiator out and do the same thing with it upside down. Or just take the car to a place and get the radiator properly flushed instead...
Yep - that's the one. There's a "high-flow" version, so get that one. While you're there fiddling with things, also do the following:
1. Check (or replace) the bottom radiator hose. If you can squish it together at any part over its length, the coil inside it has either moved or has rusted out. $20 for a new one, and the coolant flow will be helped no end.
2. Re-torque your cylinder head bolts. If you have a minor head gasket leak, this will make your engine run hotter.
3. When you're replacing a hose, flush your radiator. Undo the top and bottom hoses, get a mate to hold his hand over the bottom hole and fill it up with water to the top. Then get your mate to take his hand off. You'll be amazed at what gets flushed out. Rust bits, sludge, small dingies... If you can, take the radiator out and do the same thing with it upside down. Or just take the car to a place and get the radiator properly flushed instead...
Good luck!
Thanks for that. I'll go chase those parts up... i think they mightn't have flushed the radiator out properly.
It does have an overflow tank. The first time this happened coolant flowed slow out the overflow tank. I though it seemed to be s sympton of air in the system... and then i had bubbles come out the second time it happened. Retorquing the head bolts might be the way to go. I'll give it a good flush and put a good thermostat in it and fingers crossed... problem solved.
The fan in the system is a crank driven one with a shroud. I was told this is the best for V8's.
Go to the wreckers and but a radiator overflow tank. You can bolt it anywhere near by the cap. Whats your 302 in?
The radiator spitting out a little water from the overflow pipe on a hot shutdown is nothing abormal. With the overflow tank, you'd never notice.
Is your water/coolant brown and sludgy?
Its in an XA Fairmont Auto. I've got an overflow tank on it, its not a factory thing, but it does the same job. When it overflowed, it did so over about a 1 minute period. Just slowly (theres about a 2mm hole in the top of the overflow tank, and it shot up 10-20mm, with no real force), but it was over 4 litres of coolant. Then it started to suck the coolant back in from the overflow tank and i filled it up with water until it stopped sucking. (turned the engine on the speed up the process)
The coolant was as green as it went in, it wasn't very old. The other thing i've been told is coolant doesn't transfer heat so well, so maybe my mechanic is putting to much concentrate in... I'll mix it up as per directions when i do the job myself... so i know its done right.
An XA shouldn't need an overflow bottle; they didn't need it when they were designed. Don't muck about doing little bits and pieces.
If the radiator doesn't look like it's been cleaned for some time, take it to a radiator specialist.
Get the right temperature thermostat for your part of the country (must be Cleveland one not Windsor), make sure the belts are tight enough, flush the block properly, check hoses (heater hoses as well). Also make sure ignition is not too far retarded.
Everything needs to be checked. Engines don't like being overheated too much. It might sound like overkill but you'll be glad you did it all in the long run.
I had the same problem with my 351 P6 LTD, got hot and over flowed aftre shutdown. I had a windsor thermostat in it. So I flushed the system, replaced with the dayco high flow, Bobs your Uncle. Also found out that the radiator should only be filled up approx 50mm from the top as no matter what you do, it will spit this out. Someone pointed this out to me as being an original Ford procedure.
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