Let me rephrase - I think i saw the drop one time because the water in the radiator was much colder than the water in the block. The temp needle does a slow and steady rise.

I just now got back in the house after looking at how the temp raises. It sat at 190 for about 7 minutes and then it started climbing to about 200. I left the radiator cap off and I most definitely saw current.

Underdrive pulleys? Not sure what those are but if you tell me I could take a look. To me, all the pulley's look stock. Airflow is ok, I need to put the shroud on but the space between the fan and the radiator is a little tight.

Should I take off the radiator to put the shroud on?

Also, the water pump also looks stock as well. Well, at least the water pump housing does...

I have about a gallon of coolant in there right now. Does anyone know how many gallons/quarts of fluid it takes to fill a 3-row and a 289 engine block? Also, I have no heater core installed, it's just bypassed.

Thanks again.

 

Take the fan off when you put the shroud on, not the radiator. You'll have to get different spacers for the fan to get it to stick halfway out of the shroud.

 

throw some water wetter i that bad boy, the sutff workes wonders!!!!!!!! ive heard a bunch of stories about how one bottle lowered the temp 20-30 degrees. not cheap, but its worth it. i run it in my race car too

 

I'll give water wetter a try. At this point, I'll try anything.

The frustration is starting to set in, I advanced the timing - nothing. I removed the thermostat to see if that was the problem - nothing. I replaced the radiator cap - nothing. I just ran my first flush - nothing.

(Sigh)

I just want her to run cool, on the way home she was up to about 225 - WAY too hot. I'm not really sure where to go from here. Sure, I can put on the shroud but is that really going to get me where I need to be? I don't think so. There is something else going on in there and like I said, I am at a loss and have no idea what to do at this point.

This is the classic car blues I guess. Once I get the heat thing taken care of I plan on handling all of the body work. Every single new part is sitting next to her, waiting to get put on.

Please help Mustang Gods, I could use a little mojo.

 

If it's getting that hot on the freeway, a shroud isn't likely to help. I'd still strongly recommend a shroud, but the shroud helps more at lower speeds where airflow isn't as great.

This may sound like a stupid question, but you're not running pure coolant, are you? "Proper" mix should be about 50/50, although I like to run closer to 60/40 (favoring water). Water actually cools better than coolant, it just boils sooner, requiring coolant to raise the boiling temp. You shouldn't need water wetter. Not saying it won't help, just that you shouldn't need it if everything was working properly.

You may try swapping out thermostats for a high flow unit. I run a high-flow 195 in my 331 and I like it. It works really well with my high flow water pump. That's another thing, how old is the water pump? I suppose it's possible the impellers are rotted away.

Have you checked your timing yet? How about your plugs? Lean mix will cause a hot condition as well.

 

Thanks for sticking with me Starfury.

I adjusted the carb to get it to run rich.

My uncle - who is a pretty darn good car mechanic - and I adjusted the timing by a couple of degrees today as well. Still, no change.

Right now, it's 100% water with some flush in there - same outcome.

Plugs are new.

The thermostat is completely out now.

I'm not sure about the water pump. When I bought it they said it had been replaced. Is there an easy way for me to tell if it was replaced while looking at the outside?

Here's where I am completely baffled - the 2-row and the 3-row performed EXACTLY the same. It starts out at about 190 for a while, but then after about 15 - 20 minutes it starts to slowly climb. What the heck can it be?

Do you think I should take off the water pump and look around?

What about freeze plugs? Any advice on those?

Thanks again for your help, I REALLY appreciate it.

 

How is the vacum advance? I would guess that it has something to do with your timing and carby settings. If not try a new hiperformance water pump. I would also think about getting the radiator checked out.

 

You shouldn't run pure water for any length of time. 60/40 mix is pretty good, but pure water will boil too easily. It's not that the entire system will boil, it's that you get point boiling in the heads which leads to pressure increases beyond what the system is designed for. At the very least you should be running 60/40 coolant/water mix. Not to mention the corrosion issues pure water causes.

Removing the thermostat completely is likely to make things worse, as it speeds up coolant flow through the radiator so much that you don't get adequate heat dissipation.

I'd consider forking for a Weiand high-flow water pump and a high flow 180 or 195 t-stat, as well as a fan shroud and clutch fan. If those don't fix your problem, I'd bet on the new radiator.

 

Hmmm, make sure you let us know what you finally figure out. With your uncle there yall shoul get it figured out. With the timing set right and a new aluminum radiator I say you have some stoppage in the water jackets. You can have a blown head gasket also and not see any evidence. Can you smell any gas fumes in the water in the radiator? I am sure you have checked that. Did it just start this all of a sudden?
Dan

 

No fumes in the gas.

This is how the car has always ran ever since I got it - HOT! I thought it was due to the fact that it had a 2-row, but like I said, the new 3-row that I installed didn't really change anything.

Today I bought a new Edelbrock Water Pump - Model 8841. I think I may install it tomorrow, but I need to get some new screws since the cast on the Edelbrock is thicker than the stock.

If this doesn't work, then I think it's definitely a problem in the block.

Wish me luck!