jerthemost

I have a 68 mustang coupe with automatic and 289 engine, a/c, ps.pb. I just had the heads changed out. I had edelbrock e-street heads with the 1.9 valves installed. I used comp cams aluminum roller rockers. I also had edelbrock cam installed at the same time along with new high performance water pump, edelbrock timing set. I gave the mechanic a new premium 180 deg. Thermostat to install which I later found out he did not do. Instead he put in an orifice with 5/8” hole. The car never ran hot before the head and cam change but now I cannot drive it because the temp shoots up very fast and will overheat if I don’t shut it down. I let it get to 230 then shut down. I tried putting water on the front of radiator as a test to see if that would bring the temp down much indicating that the radiator is too small. The temp only dropped less than 10 degs. The rad is oversized by the way 22”. The mechanic told me I had to buy a monster radiator with elec fans for about $1600 plus install.

I called edelbrock and discussed it with them. The first thing the guy said was did you drill the steam vent holes. I checked with the mechanic and he did not drill the holes. Edelbrock says it should not be running any hotter than before the new heads if installed correctly and that the steam vent holes not being drilled will definitely cause overheating.

Does anyone have any experience along this line? And how much difference in temp do you think it would make? And will i still need new radiator if so what kind, size and fans? All comments appreciated.

frdnut

Check to make sure he put the headgaskets on correctly.They are clearly marked with "FRONT" on each gasket.If they are put on backwards it blocks the cooling passages...If the headgasket is on facing the right way there should be a small tab sticking out at the front of the head like in the picture below..I would almost bet he put one or both on backwards...If not then replace the restrictor with the T-stat..

http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=h...0&tx=119&ty=75

JMD

That was my first thought, and the thought was further bolstered by the fact that your mechanic refused to install the thermostat, WHY???

(makes me wonder if your mechanic thinks he knows more than he actually does,,,, and/or he knew the car was overheating before he sent it back to you, and tried the orifice as a "fix".

67mustang302

Yeah, first thing I thought too was head gaskets in backwards.

jerthemost

Thanks, the tabs are sticking out of the front at the bottom of the heads on both sides. so i assume the gaskets are right. the mechanic had a reason for using restictor but he confused me with it. and he talked about making pully changes on the water pump but that could get expensive real quick. it is high flow pump so i can see where it could have too much flow and the water not stay in radiator long enough. that's just simple thermodynamics but if the restrictor is not letting enough thru that could be a problem too. so i agree about trying the 180 t'stat. but do you have any experience with the steam holes?

67t5ponycoupe

I would try putting a thermostat in first and see what happens. If the Steam holes were not drilled by the mechanic and he had the instuctions from Edlebrock then he should be the one to tear it down and drill the holes. It sounds like you might want to get away from that mechanic. If he can't follow instructions he may not be very good.

Derf00

+1 thermostat first.

If that doesn't fix it, what part number were the head gaskets your mechanic used?

If I recall correctly there are a couple of different part numbers for Head gaskets you can use depending on the year of block and the type of heads you are using. They are all interchangeable in terms of they will bolt on and seal the cylinders but the coolant passageways are punched out differently.

Whatever part number the mechanic gives you, double check with Edlebrock it's the recommended application.

jerthemost

i sent email to mechanic asking him to contact edelbrock and fight it out with them. i will expect him to tear it down and drill the holes and install the tstat. but i wonder if the boost in performance is still going to require new radiator? this guy is supposed to be very professional, builds racecars and races. has nice website which doesn't mean crap i guess. it's bumberas.com in houston texas. even sells edelbrock but i bought my stuff direct.

67mustang302

What radiator do you have now?

jerthemost

i provided all parts straight from edelbrock to avoid just these issues. part number is 7364 which is a complete gasket set recommended by edelbrock.