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Wassup people,
So i bought this 1970 mercury cougar from the original owner for a good price. It was garage kept and Everything is in pretty good condition. I do have one problem, its overheating. It has a 351cleveland. I have taken the thermostat out and checked if it works by putting it in boiling water, it works, Seems like the water pump works, No milky oil or smoke from tail pipe so i dont think head gasket.
I did notice that the radiator has only water in it. Could there be a clog or some type of build up somewhere from it only having water in it for so long. If so what can i do about it?
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Does it actually overheat or does it just show HOT on the gauge? Does it overheat in traffic or on the highway?
In my experience the most likely cause for an overheat on those older cars is a plugged radiator especially since there is only water in it.
Start the engine with the thermostat out, and radiator cap off, and watch for coolant flow in the radiator. There should be a pretty strong flow. If not, I would suspect that either the radiator is gunked up from having only water in it, or the impeller has rotted apart on the water pump, making it ineffective.
I dont even have to drive it , overheats just letting the engine warm up while idling. thanks guys ill look in the radiator and see if there is any calcium deposit and ill check the flow while the engine is running.
[quote=”ainokea96744″ post=76565]I dont even have to drive it , overheats just letting the engine warm up while idling. thanks guys ill look in the radiator and see if there is any calcium deposit and ill check the flow while the engine is running.[/quote]
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/what-to-do-when-your-engine-overheats
With a vehicle that old, deposits in the cooling system are not that uncommon, especially if a lot of water was used in the coolant. You might consider a cooling system flush. To be honest, the kits with the garden hose may not cut it. You might consider taking it somewhere that has a professional flushing machine as these are really the best for that kind of work. Worst case, you might have to take the engine out, disassemble it, and have the block and heads cleaned by a machine shop. Lets hope it doesn’t come to that.
Keep us posted.
P.S. I just had another thought. If the water pump isn’t working properly it could also cause this issue. You might consider removing it to inspect the impeller. This will also give you a very good idea of what kind of shape the cooling system is in. If you see a lot of rust and gunk, then you probably have a buildup somewhere in the cooling system.
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