Water temp. How hot is too hot?

sixtynine Mach · Dec 3, 2005

I accidentally let my car heat up to 240 degrees while stuck in terrible traffic in L.A. I got off the freeway as fast as I could and by the second green light I was back down to 185. My baby was probably at 240 for about 15 to 20 minutes. It never stopped running fine but for a short time I could smell rubber burning. Later, I opened the rad. cap and the coolant smells like burnt hose. I'm going to replace the hoses and coolant but any chance I did more serious damage? Everything else seems fine. At what temp should I worry about blown head gaskets and such? Also can anyone recommend high quality hoses? Thanks.

redhotcomet · Dec 3, 2005

The temperature depends on how much pressure you can sustain in your cooling system. If its running good still its probably fine. Blown head gaskets usually become apparent pretty quickly.

10secgoal · Dec 3, 2005

Yeah, if it's still running fine, shouldn't be many worries

iskwezm · Dec 3, 2005

mine has hit 240+several times,not that i like it,just the way it was till my radiator swap

Crs · Dec 4, 2005

Take a look at your fan and/or fan shroud.

HistoricMustang · Dec 4, 2005

A good rule of thumb is when the H2O and Oil stay above 240 for any length of time, begin to get nervous.

HistoricMustang
www.historicmustang.com

69Rcode_Mach1 · Dec 4, 2005

HistoricMustang said:
A good rule of thumb is when the H2O and Oil stay above 240 for any length of time, begin to get nervous.

HistoricMustang
www.historicmustang.com

I agree I like to keep mine no higher than 210. It can occasionally go up, but that usually won't do anything so long as it doesn't stay that way.

KillerKittyCat · Dec 4, 2005

Remember the boiling point is 212 degrees (water). One pound of pressure is good for 3 more degrees. So if you have a 15 pound pressure cap then your boiling point becomes 257 degrees. Pure rubber melts at 350 degrees. However your hoses are not pure rubber. There are additves in that hose. A quick search indicates that the melting point my be closer to 275 degrees. Also since rubber is organic it will breakdown. That is why it smells like burnt rubber.

Flush you system and replace your hoses. I do mine every two years.

Now if you have aluminum heads....................

sixtynine Mach · Dec 5, 2005

Crs said:
Take a look at your fan and/or fan shroud.

I have an electric fan but I think my alternator doesnt produce enough charge at idle, especially considering it was at night, I had the stereo (with amp) going, the lights on, brake lights on, you get the picture. And traffic kept me stuck in place for a long time. I'm thinking the fan just wasn't getting the juice it needed to spin fast enough.

sixtynine Mach · Dec 5, 2005

KillerKittyCat said:
Now if you have aluminum heads....................

Uh-oh, I do have aluminum heads (edelbrock rpm's). Anything in particular I should watch out for? Also, are all hoses pretty much equal, or can anyone recommend a good brand? Thanks everyone, the combined knowledge around here is awesome!

Hack · Dec 5, 2005

As long as you don't lose coolant and you have proper oil pressure, the hotter the better.

86bluecobra · Dec 5, 2005

why don't you upgrade your alt so that you don't have that problem is you electric fan on a thermostat? mine is i found that if you turn the fan on sooner the car doesn't get as hot in stop and go traffic. I got a toggle switch so that i can over ride thermostat and just have fan running all the time. it works well. seems like once the temp gets up to certain lvls the fan can't cool it it need the car to be running with the colder air blowning through and the water pump turning a bit quicker. but if you flick fan on at lower temps it seems to be able to maintain them.

65ShelbyClone · Dec 5, 2005

If you're overheating at this time of year(even in La-La) and your fan is in fact working, then you need more radiator.

HistoricMustang · Dec 5, 2005

sixtynine Mach said:
Uh-oh, I do have aluminum heads (edelbrock rpm's). Anything in particular I should watch out for? Also, are all hoses pretty much equal, or can anyone recommend a good brand? Thanks everyone, the combined knowledge around here is awesome!

You are OK.........relax! Think about an upgrade with the radiator if possible.

HistoricMustang
www.historicmustang.com

sixtynine Mach · Dec 5, 2005

All advice taken into consideration! Thanks everyone.

RGS0907 · Dec 5, 2005

sixtynine Mach said:
I accidentally let my car heat up to 240 degrees while stuck in terrible traffic in L.A. I got off the freeway as fast as I could and by the second green light I was back down to 185. My baby was probably at 240 for about 15 to 20 minutes. It never stopped running fine but for a short time I could smell rubber burning. Later, I opened the rad. cap and the coolant smells like burnt hose. I'm going to replace the hoses and coolant but any chance I did more serious damage? Everything else seems fine. At what temp should I worry about blown head gaskets and such? Also can anyone recommend high quality hoses? Thanks.

If you ever get in that situation again, don't forget the old trick to turn your heater on... that should lower the temp. somewhat.

iskwezm · Dec 6, 2005

sixtynine Mach said:
All advice taken into consideration! Thanks everyone.

Saw your pics,very nice,but your radiator is small,i just recently put in a Summit brand and it made a world of difference

sixtynine Mach · Dec 6, 2005

iskwezm said:
Saw your pics,very nice,but your radiator is small,i just recently put in a Summit brand and it made a world of difference

Thanks, good idea about the alum rad. but the wife will kick my arse when I drop that bomb on her. Time to save up

Jester67 · Dec 6, 2005

RGS0907 said:
If you ever get in that situation again, don't forget the old trick to turn your heater on... that should lower the temp. somewhat.

And turn the stereo off. You might also wont to consider changing the oil I know oil will take more temp that this but the additives they use will break down.

jbuening · Dec 6, 2005

sixtynine Mach said:
Thanks, good idea about the alum rad. but the wife will kick my arse when I drop that bomb on her. Time to save up

I didn't check to see if you have an automatic trans but the Northern brand radiators are actually cheaper than stock replacement 4 rows. One without the trans cooler can be had for $180 (summit house brand is Northern). See my post and picture a few posts down about someone choosing an aluminum radiator. This is in my 70 mach with the 351w

Water temp. How hot is too hot?

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