So I am about was is to be my last option into solving my overheating problem! I have replaced the radiator, heater core, hoses, and thermostat; I am about to buy a new water pump are there any suggestions on a good water pump to buy?! I know that the thermostat housing matters to but the housing is fine. The water pump on the other hand doesn't feel like it is circulating right! The bottom hose is always 20-30 degrees hotter than the lower hose! If the water pump doesn't solve the overheating problem, would anyone be willing to help fund and support a fundraiser for a new engine/ engine parts?
Is it the factory 302 in the car? If the bottom hose is hotter than the top hose then there is a problem with coolant circulation. Ford has 2 style water pumps, one is clockwise rotation and the other counter clockwise like found on the newer cars and trucks. If a newer style engine was swapped in and the water pump was used with the stock pulleys then it will overheat. Has the car had this engine in it from the time you got it and if so has it overheated from the beginning? Has the engine been rebuilt in the past? I have seen head gaskets put on wrong and not let the coolant circulate correctly. Just get a OEM replacement pump from the parts store for a 72 302 and it should be fine.
It is the original engine and has never been rebuilt, at least to my knowledge. Yes it overheated 30 minutes after I bought it, it was about 45-an hour away from my house and on the way back the temperature read 240 and began to overheat so we had to stop for 10 minutes or so to let it cool down a bit. I bought a water pump from Flowkooler and I will be replacing it within the next few days! Hopefully that solves the problem!
I'm yet to see a reverse rotation pump that has same bolt pattern on the hub as std pump... They'll bolt to timing cover but it's not possible to bolt on the orig pulley... Reverse pulleys are for serpentine belt only...
Flush the block. Disconnect the new heater core before doing so, otherwise you can plug it up. (I did that once myself) http://www.sancarlosradiator.com/VoltageDrop/flush.htm Micah
Have the head gaskets ever been replaced? If a head gasket is on upside-down, the engine will overheat.
" the bottom hose is always 20-30 degrees hotter than the lower hose" . Did you mean the bottom hose is hotter than the UPPER hose? MD
With the engine cold, have you checked to see you are still topped up with coolant in the rad? Also, you might check to see if something is stuck in the thermostat or if for some strange reason the thermostat won't open. You can put it in a pot of hot water to check that. MD
I had a problem with overheating at speeds around 50+. In my situation the lower hose did not have a spring in it and would collapse choking off the radiator from the engine. Once a lower hose with a spring was used, the problem went away.
No my upper hose is ALWAYS hotter than the lower hose by 20-30 degree and the I have a spring in the lower hose and coolant runs through it just fine!
More info please. We need perspective on exactly what's happening here. When/how long after startup does it overheat and to what temps? Cool better as you drive.. or gets worse at higher rpm despite more air flowing through the rad? What fan and shroud? How does the engine run before and after it gets hot?
I'm not sure how much temp drop there should be from upper to lower hose but I'd suspect 30 degrees isn't nearly enough... With new parts you already have, that leaves water pump or a air flow issue through the radiator...
After start up the engine overheats around 15-20 minutes both running and while it idles. It's fine at high rpm but at low rpm it overheats because the speed of the car isn't fast enough to allow cool air to flow through it! I am running a Flex-I-lite Clockwise 17" mechanical flex fan w/o a shroud currently; I haven't had the time to buy one but I do know where to buy one, they cost more than a radiator which is a bit ridiculous if you ask me! I have bled the air out of the cooling system but didn't do much! The water pump I ordered is from Flowkooler ordered off of Summit Racing and should be coming tomorrow since there was a severe weather alert for today! I will replace it and run it by Friday at the most hopefully, then I'll let you guys know how it turned out!
http://www.route66hotrodhigh.com/FanShroud.html I have the same problem, the timing needed adjusting and building a shroud right now. It's not that hard, it will cost you about $50.
