Overheating - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

Cris · 07-11-2004, 23:29

I have a fresh modified 351 Cleveland in a 67 Mustang Show Car. It is having a overheating problem. I have installed a new Slant 13469 195 degree (Cleveland) thermostat and it has not helped. I hear that a Robertshaw 180 is teh way to go. Any thoughts? The brass bypass is in place. Cooling is being done by a 4 row aluminum radiator with 2 10 inch electric pull fans with a shroud. I have also added Redline Water Wetter.

I keep hearing that the head gaskets can be installed backwards which will cause what I am experiencing. Is this true and what is happening? Closing off water jackets? Is there a way to check this without pulling the heads?

What other areas should I investigate?

svo347 · 07-11-2004, 23:57

feel the front of the heads for a tab, all windsor head gaskets have a tab that pokes out the front alittlebit , it basically says front with an arrow <=====. Im not certain about Clev gaskets tho mate ...
As you stated mate if it is backwards your blocking off water passages, mind you one would think you would also be blocking off oil galleries also???
Good Luck & let us know how you get on.

brenx · 07-12-2004, 00:28

Water pump is where I'd be looking. You can get ordinary pumps that are new. They'll cool a stock engine fine but not a modified one. There was a thread on it @ www.351cleveland.net

Brenden

TD302 · 07-12-2004, 00:58

I've heard if a Cleveland head gasket is on backwards it'll spit a huge amount of water out of the radiator with the cap off like an upside down water fall.
Cheers Brett

xdclevo · 07-12-2004, 01:25

Yeah, the clevelands have the little "tab" at the front on both sides. Get a torch and have look rite at the front where the head bolts onto the block. The "tab" is about 10mm wide and sticks out about 5mm. I would go a bit cooler in the thermostat too. I run a 160 deg to keep cool. I may change now as i have a row aussie cooler and it runs so cool now...

72 xa coupe · 07-12-2004, 03:58

i have had success with plugging the brass bypass hole then redrilling with a smaller hole.also i caught up with a mate the other day and while dialling a cam for him we got to talking on this subject.he was running a so called "proper" ???? cleveland thermostat that looked like a normal brass one but had a small extension that came from it with a ring of steel and a rubber seal around this ring.so when it got to op temp the ring would come down and seal off bypass completely.he does alot of main street idle cruising in summer and has not had any problems since he fitted this thermostat,which got recomended to him by someone else that came across it.
i hope this post makes some sense to you if not i will try to get some pics of it, if no one else can shed some light on this thermostat.

ESP · 07-12-2004, 04:56

Is it bored out more than 30 thou
How high is the compression.
If auto, what stall speed are you running. ( car might be revving high all the time )

Does it overheat on idle or when cruising ( different problem associated with each )

A bigger radiator can sometimes aggravate the problem as a standard Water pump just can't shift the additional volume of HOT water around.

The guys at ECOTRANS in Melbourne make a good modified Water pump for the clevo. Better Impeller design with less potential for cavitation.

Check your bottom hose to see if it is being squeezed under mid throttle.
( hose may not have a spring in it !!!!!!!!!!! )
This will stop waterflow and contribute to the problem.

Aluminium radiators also have a BAD tendency to corrode inside real quick if the car is not earthed REAL well. You may find that the inside of the RAD ain't all that healthy. It acts as the sacrificial anode and electrolysis will kill it real fast. ( It may still look OK on the outside and have trashed cores on the inside )

Let us know how you go

xdclevo · 07-13-2004, 06:54

Yeah, i had the option of alloy when i bought my 4 row a few months ago. The guy who builds them said you cant repair the alloys ones as easy as the standard ones so that made up my mind. The only running of my motor so far is running in the cam, and it didnt go over 180 deg in the 20 minutes.

wartide · 07-13-2004, 15:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by ESP

A bigger radiator can sometimes aggravate the problem as a standard Water pump just can't shift the additional volume of HOT water around.

I can relate to that. Was running a standard 2 core on mine and it would overheat badly on the highway but wasn't so bad in traffic. Upgraded to a 50mm 3 core and all of a sudden it was great on the highway but really bad in traffic.

ClevoCapri · 07-14-2004, 01:15

Two 10 inch thermos arent going to do the job of drawing enough air through a 4 core radiator IMO. I think a 160deg thermostat works best. Redline watter wetter is definately a good thing. Do you use it with distilled watter?
Also, make sure the cooling system is bled properly.