Overheating at idle on really hot days

[thrashingcows]

One last thing, timing, I was attempting to use the fitech for timing with the stock chrysler electronic distributor. I did have overheating issues and went back to the stock box on the firewall. Didn't run very well. Kept misiring and hard to start. Fitech recommends getting a HEI style distributor (expensive) so I will play with that when the finances allow it. So if you tried the same thing that could be an issue. Mine runs very well without the computer control so it's not a major issue.
As I think about it I did replace the timing chain back in the mid 80's and it did help with overheating too.

I was doing some tune up work on my 440 years ago and accidentally hooked up to a ported vacuum source for the vacuum advance so i was running too much timing for a couple days. Due to the timing I was overheating and puking fluid out and it took me a bit to figure it out, but once I did no more overheating problems.

 

[Dana Goetz]

Anytime you see "smoke" from heater vents, it points to a leaking heater core. The most cost effective test at this point would be to pressure test the cooling system. If that checks out OK then start looking at other things. A pressure test will turn up a lot of things without major diagnostics

 

[Don A]

I can see by your picture you have a 26" wide core so the car should have enough radiator. If it runs cool at speed when making horse power and heat but creeps up or runs hot at low speed and idle when it's not making horse power or heat I would rule out radiator issue. If it's good enough to handle it under load it should have no problems under no load. To be sure the radiator is not clogged simply remove the thermostat and wrap a towel around a garden hose inserted into the empty t-housing. After disconnecting the lower hose from the radiator run clean water through the block until all watr coming from the block is clear. Next, re-connect the lower hose to the radiator and remove the cap and flush (back flush actually) until clean water comes out of the filler neck. This doesn't mean it's not clogged somewhere in the core. It just means no loose debris remains to the best of your garden hose ability. A power flush a better way to go but could entail buying some equipment or going to a shop to have it done. Drop the thermostat to 160 to get the system opening earlier and a Mister Gasket 160-S is my go to stat. The "S" tell you it has little larger opening than the stock stat for that car but not so much as to push coolant through the radiator to fast to cool or drop temperature. I personally don't like fan clutches on my cars because they almost never spin the fan at max RPM's at idle when I need it most. For best air-flow at idle I use a small spacer to get a 1/3 in and 2/3rds out spacing on the fan which will produce the air-flow possible. (I use an air-flow meter to check this so you don't have to) I also prefer a 7 blded flex fan over any thing else. If the new water pump is stock give it a whirl but when I do a cooling system I replace all water pumps with Flow Kooler pumps of San Louis Obispo. They increase the flow by about 10-15% and no more. High flow pump will have a tendency to increase flow to a point where the coolant doesn't spend enough time in the radiator compared to the air flow the fan produces at idle and will cause the same overheating as restricting the flow would. BTW, your overflow bottle needs to be an open system to work properly. Your bottle looks like the 2" garden variety and may not hold enough capacity for that engine. A hot system will puke when shut off under pressure because it's absorbing more heat and expanding the coolant but during cool down the sealed engine and radiator system will contract and create a vacuum that pulls coolant back into the system to keep it full and eliminate any air in the system. If the bottle ever goes empty during this process it means it's not big enough for the engine and system size and needs to be replace with say a 3" or larger bottle. Pulling air into a sealed system from an empty bottle is bad news and keeps radiator shops busy. Make sure the overflow tube from radiator to bottle has no leaks and bottle can puke out on the ground when full and never goes empty and your good to go. My go to : Mr Gasket 160-S super stat, Flow Kooler water pump, and a 7 bladed flex fan (pulls about 6 MPH air through the core at idle when measured before the grille vs 1-3 MPH for most electric fans measured the same way) and a spacer that put your fan 1/3 in the shroud and 2/3rds out of the shroud for best measured air flow. BTW, a good way to check the radiator for clogging is to simply put your hand on the front of the radiator core after it's warmed up to see if you feel any cool or cold spots in the core. Easy access to the front of the core and not yet hot enough to hurt you so check for cold spots the almost always means no flow... Don A

 

[Rusty Muffler]

FYI, I had a 66 Pontiac with this problem, searched and searched and finally discovered you could install the fixed fan backwards. Don't know if that's possible on a Mopar but the the fan had a stamp on the fan "out". When I corrected this I could really feel the air being blown rearwards and it fixed the problem. Some "mechanic" in the past had put in on wrong.

 

[JIM ROPER]

Use an Infrared Heat Gun and check the top and bottom radiator hoses. They should be about 20 degrees difference. If less than that, you need to have the radiator cleaned and rodded out.

 

[V Scott Senter]

Don't forget, a rusted closed exhaust manifold heat riser will cause an overheating engine! I had this on a 1970 300 convertible non-a/c car I picked up in TX. It boiled over going up the slow steep grade coming out of Hoover dam. When they are stuck nearly ALL of the exhaust is forced through the passenger head, under the intake and out the driver's manifold. Talk about heat soaking the heads, intake and carb! And a decrease in performance with the restriction!

 

[Snotty]

Don't forget, a rusted closed exhaust manifold heat riser will cause an overheating engine! I had this on a 1970 300 convertible non-a/c car I picked up in TX. It boiled over going up the slow steep grade coming out of Hoover dam. When they are stuck nearly ALL of the exhaust is forced through the passenger head, under the intake and out the driver's manifold. Talk about heat soaking the heads, intake and carb! And a decrease in performance with the restriction!

That's interesting; never thought if that possibility. Then again, I have removed the heat riser from my car, as well as those I had before it.