1955 runs hot- water pump smaller diameter pulley | Page 2 | Ford Thunderbird club group 1955-2005 T-Bird models

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1955 runs hot- water pump smaller diameter pulley

  • Thread starter Thread starter zeroroadkill
  • Start date Start date
Ok, if you follow my threads on over heating I have tried everything I can think of. New 4 core radiator, modified water pump spacer, 6 blade fan, high flow water pump, 7 gaskets under the carb, insulated fuel lines, electric fuel pump, vented gas cap, and she still doesn’t like stop& go traffic on warm days! I get stumbling and vapor lock when the temp gauge goes towards the right past normal 90% normal driving. We Did a 130 mile trek today at 80° and ended up in stop & go traffic at the end and she started hesitating again. I thought I had it licked, but I guess not!
Has anyone had this problem ( as 292cid engine’s run hot) resolved this problem with an electric fan in front of the radiator? I’m at my wits end!

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zeroroadkill said:
Ok, if you follow my threads on over heating I have tried everything I can think of. New 4 core radiator, modified water pump spacer, 6 blade fan, high flow water pump, 7 gaskets under the carb, insulated fuel lines, electric fuel pump, vented gas cap, and she still doesn’t like stop& go traffic on warm days! I get stumbling and vapor lock when the temp gauge goes towards the right past normal 90% normal driving. We Did a 130 mile trek today at 80° and ended up in stop & go traffic at the end and she started hesitating again. I thought I had it licked, but I guess not!
Has anyone had this problem ( as 292cid engine’s run hot) resolved this problem with an electric fan in front of the radiator? I’m at my wits end!
Click to expand...

On the factory gauge, when everything is "factory spec", the top of the white arc is around 190 degrees. The "hot dot" itself is 212 degrees. With the correct radiator cap and 50.50 mix of coolant you won't get boiling till it goes past 250 degrees. Of course, it is possible you could get vapor lock even if the engine isn't overheating. If you are getting vapor lock it may be you have a weak fuel pump. I have an electric backup pump on mine in case the mechanical fails and also in case it starts to vapor lock. I've had it start to vapor lock and I kick on the electric pump, and it immediately clears up.

You said earlier it ran at the end of the arc and sometimes a bit past it. To me that is not overheating and on a modern car with that temperature the gauge would have the needle right in the center and no one would give it a second thought. Also, when you think the car is overheating what happens when you shut it off? If there is no noise of boiling water in the engine and no water coming out the overflow in the first couple minutes after you shut it off when you think it's overheating, it's probably not overheating. Did you ever get an actual measurement of the temperature at the thermostat housing? Until you do that you are very possibly chasing ghosts. I have roughly the same setup you do plus AC. It never overheats but it will, on a hot day, push the factory gauge needle up between the end of the arc and the hot dot. That's the nature of these old temperature gauges, the peg at about 220... modern cars put 220 near the middle and don't peg till 260... we're all used to seeing the needle in the middle and when its way up toward the end it's just psychologically a bad feeling.

All that said, if you find it really is running hot, say approaching 220, it may be your distributor timing is set incorrectly or the loadamatic vacuum advance from the teapot is not working correctly.
 
zeroroadkill said:
Advice wanted: Some articles I've read mention that below 850rpm's there is little water flow even with the high output water pump, modified spacer and big mouth thermostat. Some suggest replacing the stock water pump pulley with a smaller diameter pulley. Has anyone changed out the stock water pump pulley with a smaller one and if so what diameter would you recommend? Did it help? Did you have to use a smaller fan belt?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
These cars should have a 160 deg thermostat for the summer and a 180 for winter I have never had a problem with over heating. If the radiator is clear and clean there is no problem with stock water pump and radiator. If you only drive in the warm months leave the 160degree in also put the correct radiator cap on I believe it is 8 or 9 lb cap(from memory)
 
Alternate opinion: There was a reason automakers stopping installing 160 thermostats.... Running a 160 thermostat promotes oil dilution and contamination and also increased wear. A 180 should be used year-round.
 
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