My car overheats randomly.....why?

fordman54935

Member
Jan 10, 2003
301
0
16
Wisconsin
I've been having trouble for months with overheating. Water pump, t-stat, cap, hoses and fan clutch are new. Last night I drove the car 60 miles and got on it ONE time through the gears and it overheated, and puked a bunch of coolant out. Compression is 155-170 psi, and I know the head gaskets were put on right when I put my thumper heads on. What could be causing this? I'm really fed up with this car! The car has been doing this for a while. What gives?
 
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What kind of T-stat did you use? If it was one of the cheap one at AutoZone, that could be your problem. I was having the same problem a few months back, swapped out to a Mr. Gasket T-stat and haven’t had a problem since. Good Luck
 
They're aren't to many things that could cause your problem. Is your car running really lean? How much timing are you running? Could you have a vacuum leak? Does the car idle normally? If the timing is really advanced pull it back 5 degrees when your not in "race" mode. Also, is the block standard bore?
 
T-stat is a new Stant 180 deg. (installed correctly with the spring in the manifold)- I drilled a small bleeder hole (1/8") in it to help burp it. I burped it several times for a total of about an hour's time. Its not lean, idles great, runs hard, doesnt smoke, no oil in coolant. However, I just got a call from my dad and he said there was no spring in the lower radiator hose. What the heck is that about? Its a brand new MOTORCRAFT hose!
 
Get a block tester kit and check for HC's in the radiator, if the test is positive, you have issues with cracked heads or a bad headgasket. Also check to be sure you are getting plenty of flow through the system.
 
Mine was a blown head gasket too. I didn't get any oil in the coolant and there wasn't any white smoke so it took a while for me to figure out but that was the problem.
Kevin
 
Well some scholars beleive that the Universe is based on Chaos Theory. Randomness as a theoretical principle is quite reasonable, perhaps you car is just ascribing to the "random" theory.
 
jaymac said:
how'd you figure it out? Pull 'em and then see it? Or compression test?


Well the compression test didnt indicate things were too bad - 155-170 psi cold, but the block tester kit from Napa told a different story. It goes to show you dont need to have white smoke from the tailpipes to have a bad head gasket - the compression was leaking into the coolant passages, not the other way around.
 
bump.
1. For the price of block testers.

2. For a description of "bubbes in the rad.". Is this a constant bubbling we're talking about, or just when you pour in new coolant, or when the stat opens and the level drops, or even when you have it topped off w/o the cap and just watching it sit there, would it have constant bubbling? Big bubbles? Little bubbles??
thanks