50 Years of Engine Repair Solutions for American Muscle Cars, Street Rods, and Kit Cars

By Bruce T Nelson

As a young boy growing up poor in Lake Parsippany NJ, I always wanted to take things apart, see how they worked and make them faster. In 1963 my uncle got me a job, as a mechanics helper, at Mallon Pontiac, in East Orange, New Jersey. I got all the dirtiest jobs in the shop and was paid $1.25 an hour. The greatest thing about that job, if you lo

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bruce T Nelson
• Release date: Dec 29, 2016
• ISBN: 9780998498102

Book preview

Cooling and Overheat Solutions

Combustion Leak Test Procedure

How To Properly Check A Cooling System

Installing Heater Hoses On Fords

Most Likely You Have An Intake Gasket Leak Not Head Gasket Leak

Coolant Flow 302,351w, 427 Ford

Best Coolant Sealer Made From Ginger Root Works Great

Possible Things That Can Make An Engine Overheat

Water Mix Possible Intake Gasket

Ford Upper Intake Not Full Of Coolant, Temperature Switch Holes In Intake

Not Installing Engine Right Away?

Ford Coolant Flow and Head Gasket Installation

When an engine sits for more 4 or 5 months before installing

Best Electric Fan 3300 Cfm # 185

90 Degree Upper Radiator Hose Recommendation

Radiators that sit low on Vettes and Cobras

Be Sure All Air Pockets Are Out of your Engine

Combustion Leak Test Procedure

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One method is to use a block tester, also known as a combustion leak tester, to determine if you have exhaust gases in your cooling system. A combustion test kit can be found at your local napa, auto parts store. The part number is 700-1006. The price for this part is less than $50.00. Exhaust gases in your cooling system can suggest a head gasket leak, a cracked block, or a warped head, etc. A leaking head gasket can create excessive heat and pressures exceeding the ability of the radiator’s cooling capacity, and should be repaired immediately to avoid additional costly repairs. Head gasket leaks are generally secondary to another problem, such as a clogged or leaking radiator. Make sure you identify and repair or replace the original problem or the vehicle may overheat and cause the head gasket to fail again.

To do the test, add the blue detector fluid to the (block-tester) plastic container according to the directions, and place it onto the radiator filler neck. The squeeze bulb is placed on top of the reservoir and squeezed repeatedly (some block testers, have a tube that connects to a vacuum line instead of a squeeze bulb). Squeezing the bulb will draw air from the radiator through the test fluid. Block tester fluid is normally blue. Exhaust gases in the cooling system will change the color of the fluid to yellow, indicating a combustion leak. If the fluid remains blue, exhaust gases were not present during the test. The vehicle should be started and at operating temperature before performing the test. Vehicles with head gasket leaks may overheat, and purge hot water and steam out of the radiator. Perform this test, at your own risk.

Sometimes, engines with a head gasket leak show steam, water or white smoke exiting the exhaust pipe. Other symptoms include coolant in the oil, or oil in the radiator coolant.

How To Properly Check A Cooling System

If the engine is running good with no external coolant leaks or white smoke out the tail pipe all are good signs. Your main concern is that you are seeing air bubbles in your radiator. Over the years i have seen this come from many different sources most of them are usually outside sources nothing to do with the engine itself. Let me address some of the issues i have seen, easiest way to know how a cooling system works is to remember that water pumps suck which means the water pump pulls coolant from the lower part of the radiator circulates it up through the engine block up through the cylinder heads into the intake manifold and then is returned back into the top if the radiator. Anywhere along the way you can pick up air many times it can be a loose hose, a bad radiator cap, a pin hole in a fitting or even a heater core or heater hose so it is important to isolate things one at a time to try to resolve the issue.

Below we will do a short overview of the cooling system and then i will give you the test that we would perform in our shop to properly diagnose a cooling system.

When everything is working properly, an engine warms up and coolant in the water jackets gets hot. Coolant then reaches operating temperature, which opens the thermostat, allowing hot coolant to flow into the radiator. Heat is transferred to the atmosphere via tubes in the radiator, which carry coolant, which conduct and radiate heat to the atmosphere. Air should not flow too quickly across radiator fins because heat transfer then becomes hindered by air turbulence, a phenomenon known as boundary layer where air doesn’t contact the fins and tubes.

Adequate cooling system pressure is also needed in addition to good air and coolant flow. The more pressure inside the cooling system, the higher the coolant’s boiling point. This comes from the use of a good radiator cap, which also happens to be a relief valve rated in pounds-per-square-inch (psi). It is important to know the appropriate pressure rating for your vehicle. Pressure cap function is little more than a rubber gasket and a pressure rated spring. Most chevy engines require a 15 lb. Radiator cap.

Another important issue is coolant recovery. As coolant gets hotter, it expands, which means it needs to have a place to go. In the old days, excess coolant simply spewed out the overflow, making it necessary to add coolant from time to time. Coolant recovery systems were conceived both to protect the environment and contain coolant. With a recovery system, the coolant is pushed into a tank. As the engine cools down, lost coolant is sucked back into the cooling system. The most important issue here is keeping your engine supplied with plenty of coolant.

This is how we would go about checking your vehicle. First we would check to see that the lower radiator hose has a spring inside it to keep it from collapsing this can be done by just squeezing the hose by hand it should not collapse. We would be sure that the fan or fan clutch is working properly and that fan shrouds are in place. And importantly be sure you have the correct radiator cap on with the proper pressure.

Then we would do a visual on the vehicle see if it is running smoothly, check to see if there is any fluids leaking externally, we would look at the tail pipe to be sure no coolant or white smoke is coming out, we would do a cooling system pressure check just to be the system has no external leaks and that the system is holding pressure.

If you at all think that there is a head gasket leak where hot exhaust gas is getting into your cooling system then you would do the following test. It is simple it only takes a few minutes to do. If the shop that is testing does not have the tool to do this then go somewhere else. It is a chemical test that any garage can perform where an air sample from the radiator neck is drawn into a special tool where it is bubbled through a test liquid. The liquid changes color from blue to yellow if combustion gasses are present in the system. This will confirm a head gasket leak. It is either a yes or a no.

Installing Heater Hoses On Fords

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Remove the black cap on the water pump and install one heater hose there.

Open and look closely at the attachment above. >>> remove the pipe plug on the intake manifold just behind the usa badge on the intake it is just to the left of the distributor looking from the front of the engine save the plug. >>> take the plug to any auto parts store and get a 90 degree heater hose nipple, show them the plug you took out the thread size is 1/2 inch pipe. >>> put some sealer on the new pipe nipple and thread it into the intake manifold where you removed the plug. >>> now attach your other heater hose to the nipple >>> if you want to put a heater shut off valve you can put it in that location.

That completes the heater hose connections. >>> fill the cooling system with a 50/50 mix of a good quality antifreeze.

Most Likely You Have An Intake Gasket Leak Not Head Gasket Leak

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Now as far as the engine having an oil leak coming from the Cylinder head that is virtually impossible simply because that engine does not get direct oil pressure to the head >>> the only oil that comes up to the head is a small metered amount that comes up through the pushrods to lube the rocker arms. The Block is a dart block with a 4.150 bore and requires the use of performance Fel-Pro head Gaskets the left head gets a 1022 and the right head gets a 1023 >>> these gaskets are only available in the Fel-Pro performance catalog. >>> Although I believe you can order from www.summitracing.com you will also need to use Intake gaskets Fel-Pro 1262S3. The problem I see with the gaskets was with the intake gaskets this happens after 2 or 3 years because of Ethanol gas >>> ethanol eats up rubber any place it comes in contact with rubber printo seals >>> on your pictures you can see that the printo seal has been eaten away by the Ethanol >>> here is what happen the oil will leak past the front part of the intake gasket and then it runs downhill and follows the casting lines on the block and the cylinder heads making it appear that oil leaking from the head to block. Forget about all that mumbo jumbo information about how the head gaskets were not lining up properly. We have used that combination 100’s of times and that is what is recommend by Dart.

So bottom line order the 1022 and 1023 head gaskets and be sure you look closely at the arrow on the gaskets showing what goes to the front >>> install the intake gaskets that I recommend Fel-Pro 1262S3 they stand up to Ethanol >>> also use a hand scraper only!!!! Warning do Not use any kind of an abrasive disc to clean gaskets surfaces, the abrasive becomes airborne sticks to all oil surfaces and will wipe an engine out within 50 miles.

If the job is done correctly you won’t have any problems.

Coolant Flow 302,351W, 427 Ford

The coolant is drawn from the bottom of the radiator by the water pump which delivers the coolant to the cylinder block. The coolant travels through the Block passages to cool the entire length of each cylinder wall. Upon reaching the rear of the cylinder block, the coolant is directed upward into the cylinder heads, where it cools the combustion