After having gotten the clutch problems fixed, The son took our '65 coupe out for a test drive. When he got back he claimed that there was a hole in one of the radiator hoses becase there was some anti-freeze on the ground when he was at Subway. Opened the hood and there was no water or coolant on the hood or on the frame rail on the right hand side....pretty much tells ne that neither of the hoses was leaking, but there was some residual coolant on the left hand frame rail underneath the radiator overflow tube. I grabbed the upper radiator hose and it was very hot......(heres your sign).....then I grabbed the lower radiator hose and it was warm to the touch but not as hot as the upper. We had the engine out a week or so ago for the clutch change, and everything went back together perfectly. Watching the water in the radiator, it doesn't look like it is moving at all, but the water pump is tight withno wobble. What should I do??

 

well the top should be much hotter than the bottom as that is return from the engine and the bottom is the cooled off water used to cool the engine.

whats the engine temp gauge do?

Did you remove the thermostat housing at all during the repair? As in did you install the thermostat in backwards (Although I dont think this would prevent coolant flow..as i have installed one backwards before and it appeared to work for the the 2 mile trip to get a new gasket so I could flip it around [&:])

sounds like there could be air pockets perhaps in the block still.

-Gun

 

We didnt remove the thermostat but I was jsut thinking that maybe it is stuck or frozen and not opening aloowing water flow. *laughs* The difference in temp of the hoses didnt even occur to me bacause of the flow and cooling....(duh). The temp gauge??...itssupposed to work?? Gonna take the car to work tomorrow and see what happens.

 

it might be working just fine...the coolant could indeed have come from the overflow.

-Gun

 

It is summer, just remove the thermostat all together and button it back up. See what happens. You should get a whole lot more water flow without it there.

 

And a whole lot less cooling power. Removing the thermostat often causes the coolant to circulate too fast for heat to properly dissipate through the radiator.

If you're concerned about it overheating, check the temp with an accurate gauge. Some multimeters have a contact temp device, and infrared guns are pretty nifty. You could also just install an aftermarket gauge.

 

+1 on not removing the thermostat.

-Gun

 

Another +1 on NOT removing the thermostat. But not for the reason most people think.

Removing the thermostate DOES NOT cause the coolant to 'move through the radiator too fast to transfer heat' Simply not a valid statement. The reason the engine will overheat when you remove the thermostat is that with the back pressure provided by the thermostat orifice gone, the water pump will cavitate causing small bubbles (steam) to be entrained in the coolant flow. The steam does not transfer heat nearly as well causing the engine to heat up. If you want to run no thermostat, install a restriction orifice in the thermostate opening.

 

Thermostats should always be changed if you're doing work on the coolant system. They are notorious for going bad with time. It takes 5 min and costs less than $5.

CP

 

probably a air pocket. I would replace the thermostat.. don't leave it out...

do you have a radiator overflow?