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Still Overheating

Alvin in AZ

1,330
46
Venta de la Mesilla
What is your ignition timing set at?
I fixed my "heating up at lights" problem with a simple ignition timing change.
Went from about 4 BTDC to about 10 BTDC. '75 360FE T18

Yeah, muriatic acid is cheap and easy to get but if acid is what you want try
to get/use phosphoric acid. It actually leaves a beneficial film on the iron. :)

Alvin in AZ
 

shortbed

106
0
Well this is how the acid wash process has gone so far: I ran it yesterday and thought for awhile that I had it. The truck did overheat again, but this time it was much less and took way longer. So I think I'm on the right track. It was a hot day and I ran it up and down mountains and out on the interstate and I could see a big difference. I think I will do another acid flush and see what happens. I've read on other locations that a muriatic acid flush can be done on engines. My dilution was about 5 percent, give or take. I used the store bought solution that is already diluted to about 31 percent. That solution I diluted further by mixing one part acid to about 7 or 8 parts water. And a lot of what happened was a result of me sloshing and rinsing the radiator. I could see a lot of rust flakes (big enough to clog) flushed out with the water. The next time I think I might use a stronger solution and leave it in longer. I've gone ahead and purchased a new radiator (convinced now that the radiator is the problem) and if the radiator flush doesn't work I'll go ahead and put in the new radiator and go from there.
Alvin What else can you tell me about this phosphoric acid?
 

shortbed

106
0
No, TexasRho, I've been using a proper mix of coolant, but the truck sat for a few years, several years ago. I was very much engaged with other things at the time and, however it came to be, there was not enough coolant in the radiator during some of that time. So . . . rust.
Now that I'm pretty sure that rust and the radiator is the problem I'm probably going to replace the radiator.
Some questions: is going with a slightly larger radiator going to cause any problems.
And Get This: I have this idea to fabriacate and install a screen between my radiator and the engine block, at the top hose. I'm thinking a stainless steel screen in a pvc fitting, hose clamped in the line. You don't need to tell me that a copper or brass fitting would be better. I can see that they would be better, but do you see any reason why pvc ( schedule 40 one and one quarter inch line) would not work. Will it hold up to that kind of heat over time, do you think?
I think the stainless steel screen should hold up. I'm going to try the mesh from a household sieve. (yes I know there is probably a commercial mesh that would be better, but I have the sieve right here and I think it will do for now. This way I don't have to flush the engine or flush the radiator every four months.
Any of you guys ever fabricate a screen for a radiator . . .?
 
TexasRho83

TexasRho83

2,652
141
Carrollton, TX
Hmm if you're concerned about obstructions impeding the flow of coolant thus overheating, I wouldn't want to impede the flow further by using a screen...if you do, maybe you should use one that would allow a better flow (bigger mesh)...

My 2 cents
 

shortbed

106
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m78. Ah. I didn't know there was a tougher class of plastic pipe. This CPVC, can I get this at the big box home stores? And do you think it will hold up to the kind of punishment we're talking about?
The magnet idea is good m78. You know those auto shop magnets on telescoping sleeves, like an antenna? I did use one of those and it did pull some of the rust pieces out of the openings.
I think a wire mesh screen will work fine if it holds up. I'm pretty sure it will not restrict flow enough to overheat an engine by itself. My concern now is figuring out how to mount it. One guy on another site said he folded a screen into a cone and set in right in there where the top hose attaches to the radiator. I'm assuming he let it lap over and the hose clamp kept it in place.
 

bendog

Pacific Northwest Chapter member
41
4
central point Or
Last edited:

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bendog . . . just when I thought I had my next step figured out, you come along and suggest a better, let's say 'way better' method of dealing with the problem. I looked at your link and, I feel like a guy who has been proudly waxing the string on his tin can phone. I mean all the work I put into looking for and then ordering the best stainless steel mesh I could find, and that's not to mention the hours spent thinking about a fixture to house and attach my 'invention' into the cooling system. It kinda makes a guy want to go lie down . . . which I think I might do, but thanks, really, thanks for your insight and the info.
 

shortbed

106
0
Well this is what I’ve done. I purchased a fine mesh, stainless steel screen and fashioned a cone-shaped filter out of a section of it. I fitted the filter into a section of galvanized pipe and the pipe into the radiator hose, everything held together with hose clamps. The cone is directed back towards the flow so that the narrowest part faces the engine. This, I figure, will force the particles to accumulate at the base of the filter and not, like little fish in a net, in the end of the filter and thereby give me more time between cleanouts.
I’ve run the truck with this arrangement twice. The first time for only ten miles and the second time for about 40. Each time I let the engine cool down, took off the hose and filter and flushed it out.
There was about half a teaspoon of small rust particles in the first flush and maybe a full teaspoon in the second. Judging from the size of the pipe and the filter I think I can run the truck for about a hundred miles between flushes, to start. I want to install in an in-line heater hose filter of some kind as soon as possible.
I hope this arrangement will filter out most of the rust and that I won’t have to keep this up indefinitely (although I have another filter arrangement on the drawing board that would, if it works, allow a much longer time between cleanouts.
This afternoon I installed a brand new radiator, purchased two days ago. I have yet to run all of this on the highway for any length of time, so I am not certain I have fixed the problem, but the engine ran distinctly cooler with the new radiator and, well I don’t want to jinx anything so I’m just going to wait until I can run it full tilt on the highway (the highway is an hour away) and then we’ll see what we’ve got.
 

bendog

Pacific Northwest Chapter member
41
4
central point Or
Hope it all works out for you. Sounds like you have a handle on it.
 
m78

m78

15,319
667
Virginia Beach Va.
Sounds like a good way to clean the system. But I got to thinking If your screen clogs up to the point no water can get thru, does the water pump have enough suction to collapse the radiator ?
 
m78

m78

15,319
667
Virginia Beach Va.
Look what I saw at a car show. There's a screen shaped into a cone inside there.
7025.jpg
 

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