oxfordbp

I watch my mechanical gauge which the sender is installed to the right of the Dizzy, at the front crossover and it goes up to 240 or so before the thermostat kicks open then will cool down to 190 and stay there. I figured bad thermo...well nope. I just installed a new one and im getting the exact same results. WTF? Air pocket? Im stumped.

Also after I let it warm up and sit at 190, I shut if off, purge the pressure with one of those rad caps with the lever on it, take off the cap and start it again. Am I not supposed to see water flowing? I dont really see it move. I have some froth on the top but dont see movement, but im staying steady at 190...WTF?

I think the fine bubbles are from a fresh flush I did while changing the thermo today. At the moment I am just running water, just to get more junk out of the block and rad. Then I will do another flush and fill with the proper mix.

Gun Jam

its not installed backwards is it? The little round thing point into the engine the piece with the larger circle and the little metal arc (bridge) over the top that supports the guide pin thing points out of the engine and should be visible with the rad hose off the water neck.

If that's correct you could always verify results with non contact IR thermometer

It could have been air now that its cooled off can you still see water when you remove the rad cap??

oxfordbp

Hey Gun.

Im pretty sure I installed it correctly. Same way the old one came out, spring side facing the motor and the "bridge" facing the rad. The little hole facing upwards for the air to escape.
When I take the cap off, yes I can see the water no problem. Then again, I did top it off.
Is there another way for me to verify my gauge? I dont have an IR gun and dont have the funds for one right now.

oxfordbp

Another question...my fan is clockwise correct? not a 5.0 conversion motor.

Gun Jam

240 is really hot....I would think the rad cap would pop even before that temp if its a 13lb cap. water should boil rapidly off the intake at that temp.

If you are getting vicious water boil at the location of the temp sender that could back up your readings....also at that temp things are going to smoke do you notice any blue smoke coming off the block?

I would avoid ever getting it that hot again. heat it up until it reads 225 and if its still trucking on its way to 230 shut it down and see if you get water to boil off the intake near the thermostat.

I cant think of anything else to suggest at this time.

-Gun

oxfordbp

I found an old temp gauge and used it to check the old thermostat over the stove and they both worked perfectly. I am going to swap gauges and see what happens.

oxfordbp

OK, so installed the old gauge in the same spot as the other one and tested it.

Fan off warming up, she get to 210 then the 180* thermostat opens this is where I turn on the fan and she sits steady at 190*.

Im still stumped. The only thing I can think of is that the water pump isnt flowing properly, or fast enough.

Lets say he thermostat cracks at the proper 180* but the water flow is too slow and takes a while to circulate. Makes some sense to me.

What do you guys think? This is the last piece to my puzzle!

Gun Jam

Sounds like its working perfect.

The Tstat opens at 180 but may not fully open until 200 to 210. By the time it fully opens or opens enough that there is significant water flow engine temp could reach 210 no problem and it takes a minute to stabilize around 180 especially if the fan kicks on at 190 to 200.

Reaching peak temp of 210 and avg temp of 180 to 200 is totally fine especially for an idling engine with an electric fan that cycles on and off.

Temp should stay very consistent on the freeway +- 5 deg of some base number say 180 to 210

-Gun

oxfordbp

Hey Gun, I really appreciate your input. This motor is so trick that It just makes me sick to think about messing it up.

The fan is on my lucky finger manual switch. Im too nervous to trust it to kick on via thermostat...haha.