Hi There!! Newbie with a Hot question.

[Avenger2040]

Hi everybody, I just adquire a ´84GT Mustang transmission converted from standard to automatic, Mustang goes well and smooth, the real problem is that it really gets hot easy and fast!!!

If I get the car stop and engine running I don´t need to wait long time to see how temp gauge rise, and rise, any ideas?

 

[ram360]

Could be your fan clutch. Is your fan spinning when the engine is running? Might also want to flush out the radiator and refill.

 

[jmuva44]

If it gets hot when you stop, i'd think that it was an air related issue. Is the fan working properly?

Also, before you do anything, i'd buy a cheap aftermarket water temperature gauge from an autoparts store and hook that up to make sure that the stock gauge is accurate. Those gauges arent accurate at all and yours is two decades old.

The most common cooling issue would be a bad waterpump. Check the bottom of it at the wheep (sp?) hole to see if there is any residue or leaking.

 

[Avenger2040]

Ok, about Fan.

Fan works pretty well and temp gauge works well too, I have check for leaks and no one appears, last week I have flushed and refilled radiator, and only archive I get is that takes little more time to overheat and flush coolant, radiator cap is new and 10 pounds more resistant, the only way I can "avoid" overheating is keeping engine acelerated any time, this for making fan rotate faster.

I got 1 month with the car and I really like it, but I don´t know what to do with this problem.

 

[jmuva44]

How do you know that the temp gauge works well? I've had several that appeared to work well but in reality were showing overheating conditions when the car was running at a normal temperature.

 

[Avenger2040]

How? well when gauge gets at 90% of scale I can see how coolant starts to flow from radiator cap. Also I removed thermostat

And I have found that mopar gauges fail more easy that motorcraft gauges

 

[Avenger2040]

Hey people!!!

Anyone got an idea of what is happening to my Mustang??

 

[rd]

Do a compression test to make sure you do not have a leaking head gasket. That will make them overheat faster than almost anything else.

I would put the thermostat back in, either a 180 or a 192. You can't trouble shoot with it missing. Fill it a couple times to make sure it is full and you have all the air out of it. Make sure the fan is working and the shroud is
ok.

Do you have what appears to be a stock 2 core Ford radiator? These were ok when new, but with age they don't cool as well. A new stock replacement is about $100, a 3 core upgrade is not much more. While you are at it, get one with a trans cooler.

Make sure the hoses are ok, and that the lower one is not collapsing.

If you are sure the engine and fan are ok I would take the radiator to a radiator shop for cleaning and flow checking. Or just replace it.

 

[rd]

Some more suggestions, with the car cool, remove the radiator cap and start it.

With the car idling, when the thermostat opens, you should see water flow in the radiator.

Actually, if you have the thermostat out, with the car cool and the cap off, see if coolant is circulating with the engine running. This will tell you if the waterpump is working.

One really last idea. You should have a reverse rotation waterpump and serpentine belt. Did someone somehow swap a standard rotation pump onto your car? Only real way to tell is to remove it, but your near that point anyway. These may not pump well when spun in reverse. Its hard to do, because the fan bolt spacing is different between them, but it could happen.

 

[gregpro50]

This may sound stupid but I bought a car that was overheating too. The guy put on a fan for an older mustang which was blowing air out the front of the radiator when running and not sucking it in. The serpantine belt ones go the other way. Make sure your fan is blowing the air the right way.

 

[Avenger2040]

Ok, I will drain radiator two or three more times and check vent blowing direction, also I don´t know what kind of mantinence previous owner gave to the car.