Overheating problem

[preferredracing]

Hey everyone, new to the forum, wanted to say hey and ask for some help with my newest problem.

Just picked up my new '92 stang GT. It's got a March 5.0 Ram air kit, Pro 5.0 shifter, BBK lowering springs, BBK headers, Ford racing dizzy and wires, flowmaster (40) series i believe exhaust. anyways, when I bought it, I knew it had an overheating problem. I put a new radiator in this weekend, and when I took her out on the road, she still overheated. The upper rad hose had a bunch of pressure behind her, and the coolant in the overflow tank was rising quickly. Not extreme bubbling in the tank, but there were a few while it was filling. Water pump is recently new. I am going to swap the T-stat out this weekend with a 180deg. F stat, and hopefully that fixes the prob. If not tho, sounds like I blew a headgasket right?

Anyone have any hints or tips on doing the head/intake gaskets on the 5.0 beast. I am new to the ford world, and have stuck with GM until now. Any help you can give is very welcome, and I am excited to be a part of this forum.

thanks again,
alex m

 

[Marph]

IT could be a million things, coolant leak, water pump, coolant/water ratio is off specs, etc. take it somewhere

 

[Rynb15]

does it loose fluid? If it always stays full then it would not be a head gasket. Is there a lot of steam comming out of the exhaust? That would deff be headgasket.

 

[TrickStang37]

if your ratio of coolant/water is off, its better to lean towards more water. before you start the car, open the radiator cap and have someone else start the car. if you see bubbles in the coolant, you probably have a blown head gasket. does the car pass smog as is right now? if it does, then its most likely not a head gasket. does it have underdrive pullies? whats the condition of the fan? could be thermostat not opening enough, its possible for them to just stay shut (had that happen to a friends car before).

 

[Keith4452]

same prob

I have a 90 GT and she's running hot as well with the same symptoms. Mine does have a good amount of steam blowing out the exhaust and when I did an oil change the other day the first quart or so was like chocolate milk. The thing runs so hot that it blows rad fluid out the top radiator hose at the connection. I just bought it and knew as well that the thing needed work associated with running hot. I see the water pump is sealed with something so I bet there is a lot of pressure running through the system. To be safe I'm not running her until I replace the head gaskets, radiator, and water pump. I with you on this one....any advice on changing things is greatly appreciated!:SNSign:

 

[peonslayer]

You have to purge/pressurize the system or something like that. I put a new radiator on my car and had the same problem. When you do the job air pockets form that will cause the coolant not to cycle. I took it to a shop and they did it for me. Also a thermostat when not in water for a bit can stick.

 

[Deleted member 87397]

Warm it up to operating temp and then touch the upper rad hose. If it's hot then your t-stat is most likely working. If it's cool enough for you to hang on to your stat is probably bad.

 

[srothfuss]

First, when does it over heat?

At idle?
At speed on the Highway?
Cruising in town?

Or all of the above? This gives an idication of what area of the car to look at. Start with some details of the car, mileage / condition of the coolant / do you notice any puddles under the car and then we can go from there.

The easiest way to bleed off air when swapping parts is as follows: (The coolant and motor needs to be cold)

1) Button everything back up and refill radiator
2) Leave the radiator cap off
3) Start the car, turn on heat
4) As the level of fluid drops, pour in more coolant
5) Leave cap off while the motor runs for about 20 minutes
6) As the thermostat opens the level will drop again, keep adding coolant

Leaving the cap off of the system gives the air a place to escape while you top off. Some people like to jack up the front of the car so the radiator cap is the highest point in the system.

 

[seijirou]

First, when does it over heat?

At idle?
At speed on the Highway?
Cruising in town?

Or all of the above? This gives an idication of what area of the car to look at. Start with some details of the car, mileage / condition of the coolant / do you notice any puddles under the car and then we can go from there.

The easiest way to bleed off air when swapping parts is as follows: (The coolant and motor needs to be cold)

1) Button everything back up and refill radiator
2) Leave the radiator cap off
3) Start the car, turn on heat
4) As the level of fluid drops, pour in more coolant
5) Leave cap off while the motor runs for about 20 minutes
6) As the thermostat opens the level will drop again, keep adding coolant

Leaving the cap off of the system gives the air a place to escape while you top off. Some people like to jack up the front of the car so the radiator cap is the highest point in the system.