55 Fargo

What for, they are able to be loosened already, I lucked out with something

Thanx Shel, I am looking forward to seein what is in there.

But having the exaust flow up and around bends have any effects on a engine running at operating temps?????

Phil, what brand of 20 W50 do you use, I am going to go with this ,my engine is a tired one too. I have Wallyworld Diesel 40 in it right now, not a wise move, she burns this oil easily for some reason, never did that much with Rotella T. I think because I have miles, it would be wise to use 20 W 50 oil in my engine.........Fred

Hi all, was looking closely at my heatriser tonight, I am convinced it is in the open cold porsition which is directing constant exhaust heat to the base of the carb. This would make sense I think, as it would have seized while sitting for an extended period of time, the last time it may have been operational, the engine may not have been used for a long time and it possibly seized open. I did a preliminary assessment of the stud bolts on the intake/exhaust manifolds, every one I was able to turn, no problem, 3 or 4 were barely tightened on, were almost loose. I am going to remove the manifolds, and deal with the heatriser, just as soon as I get the gaskets. While I am in there I want to replace the valve cover gaskets, and clean out the valve cahmbers of sludge. How should I go about this cleanout job? I still believe on hot days, if the heatriser is directing hot exhaust up through the base of the carb,that it's flow is impeded, and that this could also contribute to a hotter running engine, I know some of you gents have said this isn't a contributing factor to elevating engine heat, but it can't be good on warm days, impeding exhaust flow. Any advices on this job will be appreciated, I also belive I may have had manifold leaks, maybe that is why my idle would sometimes be higher after a brisk drive.............Fred

Once again , another Burnbomb victim of the abuse cycle, too bad he could get a lot more business I am sure.........Fred

I am going to try that infact, but with distilled water, and if all goes well a light dose of anitfreeze and water wetter. I would never take a chance here in winter with anitfreeze mixed less than for -30, even though the car is the garage where it never goes below 25. Either that or drain the system and leave it till spring, don't like that idea though, as I neeed to start and move the car in winter at times...........Fred

I used Electrosol and softened water for the chore, no spots.hehehhe

I thought of this too Normspeed, but the rad was also running hot, the coolant was flowing, unless the t/stat didn't open all the way. Last summer it would run hot with a t/stat either a 160 or 180, or without, so don't think that is the problem. I have the lower rad hose idea, mine is the steel elbow wioth 2 short straight piecs of rad hose. But after a run on the highway, if they were collapsing, the engine should have cooled down on my last couple of miles on my road doing only 35 mph. I really believe it was obstruction a blockage, flow issue, hot spots.Thanx Fred

Hi guys, went for a ride about 15 miles with the Electrosol, the temp gauge was steady at 160, meaning it was reading about 165 or so, it would not climb as I wanted it too. I came home, let her cool down, dumped the water, clean out of the rad, a little stained, a little pocket of crud, at the drain block, poked it and the block drained like a geyser. Off to work night shift at the prison, will re-fill with clean water, rinse and refill with new antifreeze, and see what happens..........Thanx for the help Fred

Hi all, using the Wallyworld Diesel SAE 40 oil, I was using Rotella T, not sure what possessed me to make a switch. M y engine burns blue on this stuff , it didn't do much burning blue on Shell Rotella T 15 w 40, infact I never noticed any blue smoke:rolleyes: when using Rotella T. I am either going back to Rotella immediately, or am going to try Castrol 20 W 50. My engine has miles on her, so the cheap oil was getting burnt, the good oil wasn't, the good oil only leaked out:D . I am at this moment running my car, with it's nose in the garage, the rad covered over, electrosol in the cooling system with water,it's cold about 45 here today, I cannot get this engine to rise up over 155 to 160. I quickly drained a sample from the petcock, it wa s hot, but I could stick my finger in there for a second, it was around 145 to 150. The top of the rad is good and warm, but was able to place my hand on her for a moment. It is cold here today, so doing my Ectrosol flush, may not work as well as a hot day. I am going totake the car for a 10 to 20 mile run soon, so far the water is crystal clear in the rad.

Just refilled system with clean water, started the engine, let her warm up and filled cooling sytem up. After 20 munutes, reading 160 on the gauge, 160 in the rad with thermometer, every time I would rev up the engine, the temp gauge would drop to 150, but its cold here today about 45 above, need to go for a ride and see what happens. I am ready to dump in the Electrosol, but want to generate enough heat, to do justice. The rad was able to suck a towel against it no problem, so the fan is good....................Fred

Not yet, but hopefully today or tomorrow................Fred

Hi all, going to try this method on my engine today, need to know all the deatils, on the procedure. This is what I have read from Lou so far, use pure clean water, 1 cup Electrosol, run in engine 2 to 3 hours, drain, add clean water run , then drain, then repeat. What happens next?, do you now add coolant and try things out? Does the system need a reverse flush after this, or am I good to go after the system has been rinsed a few times..........Thanx Fred

Don, I know its hard to help from just reading posts, as sometimes all the details are not evident. I have had my car on 30 to 40 mile runs, if the ambient temp is below 55 to 60, no problem, it's when the weather gets warmer, ie 65to 85, that on higher rpm, ie highway driving the temp shoots up. Maybe I have poor airflow coming through the front of the grill, nothing is blocked, I do hvae a 1 inch open gap along the rad where it mounts to its frame, as the rad I am using is from a 47 D24, it is essentially the same rad, but about an inch or so narrower, I need to fill in this gap to make sure air moves through the rad. The day I had the tempshoot up to 200 was like this, ambiet temp around 70, winds from the souteast about 25 to 35 mph. I drove 8 miles to town, 5 of which were highway, stopped and bought KFC, then drove bcak home, the 8 or so miles, once on the highway, travelling in a north west direction, is when the engine heated up to 200, the last 2 miles I dorve on gravel road, about 30 mph or so, the temp did not come down, it went up a notch, I parked, let it a idle a bit, sped up the idle, it really did not bring down the temp, but there was no boiling hissing etc. The next morning ambient temp 50, drove the same route , absolutely no overheating, temp steady 165 to 170. I want to do the Lou Earle dishwasher treament today, I just need to know how long to run the engine, with the soap in her, how many times to change water and flush before adding coolant, and do I need to pull t/stat and reverse flush again or not.....................Thanx Fred

Hi the rad wasn't leaking, it was a rear freeze plug, I have since replaced the plug, I used GM Delco seal tabs, they are apprently used in some of GM s engine right from the factory, see thats whats wrong with GM engines..........................LOL

A little, but some is staying in the rad, I would say a very small amount, but I can hear it.

Hi all, thanx for all the great advise and thoughtful insight to my chronic summer heat issue. Tonight I reinstalled the rad, I had installed the waterpump early today, hooked up all the hoses, and filled the rad and block with clean rainwater. Started the engine, no leaks, good flow across the top of the rad, once the t/stat opened, no bubbles in the rad, so don't think a head gasket is my problem, but who knows. I let the system warm up, I then drained the water out, it was very clean out of the rad, although I did see some rust scale, a bit in the top of the rad, when the engine was running. The block drained fine, it was clean water coming out, slow though, but the petcock is quite small, a steady stream of water came out till she emptied. I want try the dishwasher soap run tomorrow, that may loosen up and scrub the gooey and greasy carap out the system. Dodgeb4ya, not to be a smart allec, but I can tewll the flow is a little off on the rad,most shops , will only want to re-core, some may attempt to clean it. I am alittle ticked off with the rad shops around , as they have no time for old stuff it seems, unless you want to spend $400 for a re-core job. One thing about the rad, I have flow tested it and flushed a number of times in 2 days, but there is always a little water it seems stuck inside that never comes out, you can hear it when you shake the rad, is that indicative of plugging............Fred

I have tried that test, also at 140 degrees, at 180 degrees and boiling. The temp gauge in the car will read 170 for actual 160, not sure if that gap widens or lessens after that. The other day when the temp gauge read 205, it was reading between 195 and 200 in the top of the rad,. It was only 70 that day, I only drove about 4 or 5 miles at highway speed for this to happen, I also drove for 10 to 15 minutes in town just before, the temp was at 180 on gauge, which is 170, that is where I would like to keep it, between 165 and 180............Fred

Tim, I am going to try the Lou Earle method, 1 cup, of electrosol, plain water, run for how long???. The I would imagine drain and refill with clean water run, then drain, then add coolant, is this sounding right. I used a little dishwasher soap on my greasy hands, man did they come clean real easy like....................Fred

Hi Phil, just got off the phone with the owner of a big repair shop, he figures it is hopeless to rty and cure this problem with out the engine being tanked, maybe he's right. He also suggested running vinegar and water through the system, then rinsing a few times, not sure I like that idea. I am getting ffffffffiiiiiiiinnnnnn fed up with this project, might just toss it soon........Fred

Lou and others, therew is no crud or build up in the rear drivers side of the head, ran a probe in there and nothing, in either hole the heater hole or the tempgauge hole. I did probe into the wtaer jacket, drivers side front of the engine, there is a little stcky greasy type crud in the bottm in this area. I have had 3 freeze plugs out before, do I need to do this again, or might the disahwasher soap work in cleaning this crap out.

Hi all, phoned the oldest amost reputable rad shop in town. The owner says he can't rod a honeycomb rad, I thought this could be done. They also don't have a hot tank anymore, asked about re-coring, not a staright answer was given, he said depends on the shape of the tanks etc, making it sound like a big deal. He suggested I buy rad and block flush and run it through the system, I like Lou Earles dishawasher soao idea better. I did another flow test, the rad emptied in just over 10 seconds, then a couple more to finish up, so about 12 seconds or so, completely emptied, so that is good flow. But there is sticky good inside, greasy sticky like, cores must be coated too..........back to the drawing board

Thanx Lou, I agoing to try that, did you read my update post. Last night pulled off the water pump, it is fine, its the 2 blade impellor type. I also pulled the water tube, it was clean as a whistle. Probed the back of the head in the temp gauge hole, no crud or lodging in there. Did the same thing in the block drain hole , a small amout of fine pepper loooking particles, kinda looks like the rad stop leak I used in there last year to fix a leak, I ended up fixin it the right way. Gonna take the rad in today, and have it checked out..........Thanx Fred

Hi all, okay this what I did tonight trying to eliminate things by process. Pulled waterpump, this unit appears to be in good shape. 1 thing to eliminate Pulled water distribution tube, it came out with one gentle tug, I have had it out before, it was clean as a whistle 1 thing to eliminate. Pulled Temp Gauge sender, the hole in the head was clean, fished around in there, all is clean, tested gauge in a pot of hot water against my thermometer, the temp gauge is out about 10 degrees reading 10 too high.Another matter cleared up. Removed block drain cock, fished around in there, a little bit of crumbs, some which looks like the rad seal stuff I poured in last year. Not sure if I should give the block a green light, but it is not loaded up with crud in the drain cock location. I did not pop out a freeze plug, as I don't have any, and not sure I want to go in there again yet. The radiator, water flows out well, but does not rise up like a drinking fountain, takes about 20 to 30 seconds to fully empty, there is a lot of gooey solder bloom like coating on the inside of the top tank and in the outlets, wonder what the cores may be like. The other day when it was running hot, on my last 2 miles home, I was only going about 35 mph, the temp gauge was not coming down, it was acutally getting a little hotter. When I got home, I let it idle a minute, brought up the rpm, it did not bring down my temp. Another thing that happend late winter, was driving the car on a -2 day, I decided to put a piece of cardboard in front of the rad, wiht a big 8 x 8 inch hole cut out in the center, the temp gauge shot up to 205 on the highway in a couple of miles, I was doing about 55 mph, I pulled over removed the cardboard, within a mile my temp dropped to 170. This leads me to believe, I had a heat transfer problem. Not sure if this is an issue, I am going to take the rad into a shop in Winnipeg, that has been around a long time for a 2nd opinion. Well thats my update, I still need to set my timing, to rule that out also. Thanx you guys for your help and patience............Fred