55 Fargo

Hi all, made a grizzly discovery tonight, my engine is leaking antifreeze out the back, found it leaking out clutch housing vent. Now either it's a blown rear freeze plug, or a crack or something. Last year I did have antifeeze blow up and onto the back of the engine, some must have went into the clutch housing, but I am sure it must have all leaked out by now. This is either a freeze plug leaking or something, this is all I need now. Does anyone have a photo of the back of the long block engines to show me the location of the freeze plugs. What is the best method to tackle this job, how can I be sure this is the problem. Any help appreciated............Fred

Hi all, have been driving my car a bit these days (47 Chrsysler Coupe), I have in the seats, but no door panels, headliner or carpets on the floor. It is pretty noisy to say the least, have any of you had your cars on the road like this, when the interior went in, did it cut down on the noise and appear to give a more comfortable smoother ride. I am sure hoping it will make a difference............Fred

Now here is what I did with my front left minor adjuster that I clumsily broke at one time. My plan is to put it into the hole of the backing plate, use locktite on the threads, and let it set and hopefully I will be able to adjust the cam in either direction. Does anyone know if this would work, or ddoes anyone have a better idea. I would prefer to leave on the backing plate to do the job........Fred:confused:

Hey Dennis it's a dry cold here in winter too, but dang -30 is dang cold no matter how you take it, and hot is hot, I know your heat been through your parts a time or 2............Fred

Yes i did Greg, its like 6o% water and 40 % antifreeze

Dennis108 is hot, but 86 and 100% humidity is killer, your heat is at least dry isn't it..........Fred

Hotter and more huid today, went for a 10 mile ride, was going a little faster, it seemed to keep and evn temp of about 180 for a majority of the journey, but I was only going 40 to 45 mph, as it is a gravel road and it rained hard last night so its choppy topday. I can live with this temp, in cooler weather it will be fine..........Thanx all who listened to my blather onthis topic Fred

Hi all, it has been extremely muggy, lot of thunderstorms, tornadoes, golf ball sized hail, major winds and rain. It has been warm , but not super hot, mid 80s but witha humidex of 100 and UV of 9. Today and tomorow more of the same highs of 88 to 90. Here is a pic of an F4 twister that ravished a town about 20 miles west of Winnipeg in the heart of agri-country. Even though winter here is cold, summer is as typical as anywhere in the Mid western USA....Fred

I worked 11 years in a Meat Packing Plant, before I got involved in Correctional work. Seen more Offal than all of us on this forum could ever eat. That plant was small, but still killed 350 head of cattle daily and about 1000 hogs.Think of all the offal, I never had to work in the tank house under the killing floor, where the blood was dried and the guts and other innards were cooked up for further processing. But the stinkiest area of all was where the cow hides were salted and processed..........Fred ps Norm my Dad says there aint no job like harrowing behind a horse on a dusty field.

Just got back from a 10 mile ride with my son, today is 82 and very muggy and overcast,tornadoes ripped through this area last night destroying homes and businesses, thank god no one was killed, this was about 30 miles from here. The engine was at 182 on the gauge and 172 in rad after 10 miles. The only thing different about this ride is I was only going 30 to 35 mph, and finished the last couple of miles at 40 mph. I also added about 2 litres of distilled water to the rad to bring it up a little higher than what it was yesterday. I do know the heatriser is in the cold position, tried to turn it with vise grips, maybe I did close it a little, but I doubt it. So at slower speed, meaning lower rpm in engine it ran as it should temp wise. Wonder why the higher speed is causing so much extra heat. This operating temp is good, now what do I need to do to keep it that way at 50 to 55 mph, changing the rear gears will help, from 411 to 354. On a real hot day, would not the heat riser if in the cold position cause excess manifold heat, keeping the valves and that area hotter, would it not effect the gas in the carb bowl, thus running rough, or sluggish when hot...........Fred

Lat post on this issue, I have tried everything but a head gasket, went for a 5 mile run just now, its 84 outside. At the end of the run the engine is approaching 200 degrees, its hot and then it starts to run a little lousy too, I give up on this beast, maybe this one can't be corrected. Thanx everyone who has tried to help, not sure where this will end up. If I cannot drive the car on warm/hot days why bother, and heck I was only doing 45 to 50 mph, and it's acting like I amclimbing a hill with a 3000 lb trailer

How true Don, when you started to cruise at 50 mph, were you also going against the wind, that seems to help with these old cars, mine will drop it's temp down 5 degrees against the wind, evn if the wind is hot.......Fred

Just went on 6 mile road test,( all the time I have right now). Outside temp is 82, with humides it's 90, breezy for the south, severe thunderstorms expected today. Car ran at 200 on gauge once warmed up, tis is 188 in rad with thermometer.if I drove with the wind it was this temp, against the wind it would cool back 5 degrees. Another thing, after a run, the idle was higher when the engine was running good and warm, what cause this, as once she cooled a bit, the idle would retturn to normal. When I re-installed the t/stat today, the antifreeze looked nice in clean in the head. The underhood heat is quite hot, the heat riser is frozen closed, if it is closed in the cold position, would this not contribute to higher heat under the hood. Was thinking of getting a 6 blade fan, would this help. After the run, I let the car idle a bit, giving it gas once in a while the temp in the rad was reading right around 185. If this is as high as it would go, on warm days I would be a happyman..........Fred

Just started car , did not go for ride yet. Looking in the top of rad, when the engine is revved you can see the coolant flow like crazy now, but when I revv the engine up, I see big bubbles on coolant surface in rad, now is this just the force of liquid, as there is no t/stat in there yet, or is the headgasket faling somewhere. the last compression test, indicated cyl3 5 was only 96, while the others were 100 to 110 psi. Any ideas on this one guys.Thanx and have a great day

Hi Lou, wil atttempt to answer all the above, I really don't plan on a rebuild orengine swap at this time, even though I could get a decent 265 about 5 miles from home. The engine is a 218 6cyl, it is from a 1951 Canadian Dodge, it is a long block, all Canuck 6 cyl flathead engines are the same block, the bores and strokes were diffferent to handle the engine sizes, ie 218,230,251 and 265. This engine is a 218 D40 engine, it is coupled with a dry clutch 3spd trans and 411 rearend, the entire drive trainwas from the1951 dodge and my uncle and I transplanted it into the 47 Chrysler years ago. The Chrsyler had no drivetrain in it, if I had known better, I would have put a fluid drive, clunkomatic in it, but to be honest i like the dry clutch and 3 spd trans for now, not crazy about 411 gears, but I have a 354 here at home I could transplant. This engine has the built in by pass for the water pump,it originally came with a pressurized rad, it had a 4lb cap. I have run both 160 and 180 thermostats, to be honest the engine once warmed up and getting hot, will continue to go above these ranges anyway, my car will never be winter driven as the roads are full of salt, slush and snow, just an invatation for rust and a car accident. The gauge is a cheap after market type form Wallyworld, it is out a bit, the reading I get is 180 on the aftermarket gauge and about 168 in the top of the rad with a meat thermometer, as it gets closer to 200 they both seem to be more evn, ie 205 gauge 195 in rad. The brakes are not dragging, so I have eliminated this. Did not flow test, but before it went to the rad shop, the flow was marginal, the guys in the shop, stated it was decent flow, or I am sure they may have tried to sell me a recore job.Telephoned rad shop 5 minutes ago, they confirmed it was flowing very well, only other option would be a recore, but he said it flows well right now. When you mention reverse flush of the rad, do you have to turn the rad up side down, I could not get it to flow up and out, with the rad right side up. Also it was taking at least 30 seconds to drain out the water, it was flowing, but did take a bit flow, this was all before the rad was boiled out. As there is currently no t/stat, will put back in either the 160 or 180, and plan to drill a hole in it, mine is the modern type, fits right on the head, regular t/stat housing, because the water pump is an internal by-pass type and so is the engine, because it is a 1951 and later type. The water tube was pulled, the 3 freeze plugs on the side, it was then pressure washed, and the freeze plug holes were rodded out, when you drain the petcock on block, it pours right out of there very quickly. I am not sure where else to look, other than a head gasket, the tiing seems fine, it starts and runs great..........thanx Fred ps one other thing, when I filled the systemback up again, i did not fill the rad quite to level at first, after the engine was started, you could see the coolant moving in there like crazy, when you revved her up, so the anti-freeze is moving.

I have 3 of these engines, a rebuild, with the money and time are just not in the cards right now, this engine has good compression and oil pressure, and runs well. If I can't resolve the cooling isssue, the whole dang project will go on the shelf

Hi Lou, I have no t/stat in there right now, I have run a 160 a 180 and none before, I always get the same results, a hot running engine. I like the idea of a longer run, may do that tomorrow, it's supposed to be about 82 outside. Now not that I want to lead with the chin, but say I do boil over, where do I look next. I also have a 50/50 mix in the rad right now, used clean rain water to cut the antifreeze. I will also return to a t/stat, probably a 180, do you think by running without a t/stat it could now make the engine run hotter, especially at higher speeds. Not sure I want to go for my first long cruise at 60 mph, the diff is a 4.11, the trans and diff have new lube, but I am not sure how good a shape there in, so far no problems. Iam also running with a portable fuel tank right now, as I have yet to find a decent tank for my car, will probably have to buy a new one.But the car has good brakes, decent tires, new exhaust, should be okay to go for a 1/2 hour run down around here on a quiet road..........Fre

Re-installed rad, love this design takes about 10 minutes to get it back together filled and running, well maybe 15. I did not fill to level in rad, at first just above fins, started car, no leaks, lots of bubbles at first in rad, filled to proper level, no bubbles after this, so it was probably just coolant hitting the inside top of rad. Let the engine run a bit, no leaks and no boiling over. Went for a 3 mile ride, she was around 180 on the gauge on my return, and 168 in the rad, let her idle a while, no change in temps. the outside air temp today is around 75 degrees. Wil go on a longer run tomorrow, if this does not solve my heat problem not sure what will. The rad shop said the rad had good flow after it was boiled. One other thing, I hear what sound like a shot of steam coming from the top of the engine after Ishut it off when she is warmed up, any of you guys experience this, wonder if the headgasket is leaking, will change it if necessary............Fred

Hi all, took my Rad from my 47 Chrysler to an old time rad shop, complete with hot tanks etc, could tell as all the equipment looked old, the place has been in business 75 years. It was boiled out successfully, does not leak, and flows well. Will install it inot the car later today and report the results. As this is a honeycomb style rad, it cannot be rodded out, so if this doesn't work, the rad will need to be recored. Have many of you guys had success with having your rads boiled out, hoping this does the trick........Fred:)

Louman, it is going to be boiled out for the day tommorrow, this rad was from a 47 D-24. If this doesn't work, I will have the 47 Chrsyler rad recored, but I am sure if this rad is cleaned, and it doesn't leak it will be fine.........Fred

I have pulled my rad one more time today, it's flowing but it does not shoot the water up like the pic, it will also overflow with the garden hose pumping water into the top, while the water flows out the bottom. I am bringing it into a rad shop tomorrow morning to be boiled or pressure washed. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hope they can improve the flow and not cause anyleaks. I did notice there is a brown sticky subsatnce in the water outlets if you stick your fingers in there, probably old glycol antifreeze, it almost seems greasy, but a gooey sticky greasy. If the tubes are coated with this stufff, it would surely impede flow and cause a thermal effect, lessening the heat transfer......Fred

Here is a pic of the rads, and one of the water pump, is this a honeycomb rad design.Fred

Greg tried this test, the water did not stand, you mean like a water fountain correct. It was flowing away at about 3 inches, it took a bit to drain down, I could not reverse flush the rad, the water kept flowing back down and out the bottom outlet, I was also running the garden hose in the top of rad, it would fill up the rad, and overflow faster than it would drain at the bottom, not sure if that is normal though. If I tipped the rad over toward the bottom outlet side the water would come out a lot better, there were some particles coming out, but nothing significant. Maybe this rad could be boiled out, I think it is a honey comb type, at least it loks like one, apparently they are very difficult to clean and rod out..Fred

Thanx a lot Lou, for all of the good advice, removed rad this morning, the water pump impellor is okay, after jamming the screwdriver in it, the fan would not turn. Did a flow test on rad, the water was flowing about 2 to 3 inches away from the bottom outlet. I could not reverse flow with the hose, the water just kept running back out the bottom outlet. I rinsed the rad quite a bit form the top, it seemed to have a lot better flow, after it was rinsed a number of times. I did not notice any crud coming out, there were some particles flowing out, but nothing significant. While running the garden hose in the top, the rad would fill up and overflow through the top even though it was draining from the bottom, is this normal, or is it not flowing enough through the cores, maybe my engine was dirty and started to plug the rad. I drained anout about 1/2 gallon from the block petcock, it was draining as swift as I used to do on 6 beers, and the anitfreeze was pretty clean. Put everything back together, started engine, let warm up, went for a 2 mile ride, came back and she was running at 180 on gauge and 160 to 165 in the rad with thermometer, but it is on the cool side this morning at about 64 degrees. I will go for a longer run, later today and report the results. Will look at the timing on engine and set correctly. Also will try brake drag test...................Thanx Fred

Just went for a run only about 3 to 4 miles tops, speeds up to 50 or so, temp was up to 200, coolant in rad was flowing, would flow faster with engine revved up, the rad was hot on top progressively cooler to the bottom. Just can't help to wonder if the block and water passages are still or partially plugged yet. I had out the water tube and 3 freeze plugs out in the spring of 2006, flushed with pressure washer and warm water, everywhich I could, maybe it wasn't enough.........Fred