Engine overheated yesterday.

[1969CoronetR/T]

I drove it to work yesterday and stopped for coffee on the way into work (about 70 degrees at 6:30 am). I noticed a small plume of white smoke coming out of the back of the engine on the passenger side through the hood. I opened the hood and all liked fine so I proceeded to drive the rest of the way to work and keep on eye on the temperature gauge. I parked it in the warehouse and went to work. Four hours later, at 11:00 am, I noticed a pool of fluid under the car and tried to take the radiator cap off, but it would not come off. Started it up and drove to get lunch and the gauge stayed in the normal operating range (just a bit to the left of the first bar inside the bars). Parked it after lunch and four hours later, around 4:00 pm, I went to check the coolant and again could not take the cap off to check the level. No fluid purged this time so I figured it was fine at lunch so it should be fine to drive it back home and have it checked out on Saturday. 90 degrees outside now and about five miles down the road the needle started to climb to the the right. It pegged and I shut the car off and pulled into a parking lot. I opened the hood and called AAA. An hour and a half later a flatbed showed up and I had it towed to my warehouse as it started to rain heavily and the shop a half hour away near my house (where I was heading to) closed for the night.

What could cause the engine to purge coolant and overheat so fast? Also, any damage to the aluminum heads if the temperature gauge pegged for a minute before I could get it off the raod and shut it off?

Here are the details of the engine and it has a fan shroud and stock fan with a transmission cooler.

(440 engine bored .040 and stroked to a 499 cid using an Eagle rotating assembly, .040 Wiseco pistons, roller camshaft (do not know brand, maybe Comp Cams) Harland Sharp roller hydraulic lifters, high volume Melling oil pump, 3000 stall converter with ported Indy EZ-1 heads and port matched Indy intake. The cam is 545 lift with a 235/241 duration and 110 lobe separator / 106 centerline. The compression is 9.6 to 1.)

Thanks again guys,
Mark

 

[themechanic]

Tell me about your radiator? Is it original for the car or aluminum? How old is your coolant and how long did the car sit without running before this trip? How old is your fan clutch and water pump?

I would see why you can't remove the cap from the radiator and go from there. Possibly corrosion from sitting all winter. Do a flush and fill and try it again or just take it to a radiator shop for a test.

 

[terzmo]

can you smell antifreeze inside the car ?...if so...heater core could of crapped or a hose to it
If anything,I'd get that rad cap off and fix that regardless of what else went wrong....

 

[1969CoronetR/T]

Sorry, it is a 26" Glen Ray three core or four core (?) that was installed new last summer and the radiator was taken out this winter while the engine was rebuilt. The coolant would have to be new as he had it out during the engine rebuild. The car sat a few days before this trip and no fluids on my garage floor. I could not remove the cap and I assumed it was a safety feature until the radiator cooled down. Four hours later I could twist but it would not lift off. I thought at first the fluid in on the warehouse floor might be transmission fluid as the smoke seemed to be coming from the right rear of the engine where the tranny dipstick (not a reference to Caitlyn Jenner) and the fluid was slightly tacky and dark. It purges fluid and I am guessing it is coming from the overflow tank and hitting my headers. Would the overheat cause damage to the heads? I have a small fortune in this engine that has about 300 miles on it.

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

Low air flow? Bad water pump? blocked or bad thermostat? Collapsed lower hose on acceleration? Could be many things, First we need to know what kind of radiator, temp of stat, Is the stock fan a clutch fan? is it working properly? Radiator clogged? could be a chunk of iron blocking the stat. I personaly use the evans coolant with no stat however with normal coolant and your motor you should be at least running a good 26" 2 row (1" rows) aluminum radiator with a shroud and maybe ad an electric pusher fan in the front. You may also want to try watter wetter, I have seen a lot of people run a 60/40 water with water wetter (60%) to 40% antifreeze and some even more 80/20 with succes.

The way things work is the coolant goes through the lower hose into the pump, the pump circulates it through the passages in the block, where it comes out the top of the stat which opens once the coolant has reached the set stat temp. then goes back into the radiator from the top draining down with gravity being air cooled on the way down to get circulated again. I'm sure you know this but just wanted you to get the visual in your head, so when you think about overheating consider the path the coolant has to take visually and it helps you discover where it could be getting stopped or slowed.

Another thing you can try as a quick fix is to get a lower temp stat, if your using a 180° switch to a 160° to see if this helps the circulation better, that with a combo of water wetter.

But you really need to find what is causing the problem, heater working? core plugged up coolant does circ through the heater core.

Also if you end up changing the coolant which you are supposed to do every 6 months if running a 50/50 mix in a stock form, get a spring for your lower hose to make sure it will never collapse.

 

[1969CoronetR/T]

can you smell antifreeze inside the car ?...if so...heater core could of crapped or a hose to it
If anything,I'd get that rad cap off and fix that regardless of what else went wrong....

I did notice a strange smell inside the car, sorta of like maple donuts. Strange smell, but only that day as it ran great for the last month.

 

[mmissile]

When you get the cap off....check it for air bubbles in the radiator while running. Could be the system is being pressurized from a head gasket, or cracked casting[God forbid] I currently have this issue with a car. GRRRR

 

[1969CoronetR/T]

Stock fan with shroud and the water pump is two years old. I think it overheated due to low coolant as it must have purged while driving it to work on Friday. The builder did mention with the stroker and stall converter that I may need electric fan or fans to help cool it.

 

[Dennis H]

Sorry to hear this. Maple donuts do sound good though. When was the last time the radiator cap was off prior to this? Let's hear more about the initial plume from the passenger side. Was it steam or oil burning off from a recent add or spill? Heater hoses at firewall look OK?

 

[1969CoronetR/T]

The cap came off easily after sitting overnight and the radiator took a full container of coolant (50/50). I ran it up to Auto Zone a few miles from my warehouse and put another half container in it. I decided to run it to the mechanic that built the engine about twenty minutes away. I parked it in his lot and went in to talk to him. Less than five minutes later there was a puddle under the car and I noticed that it was dripping from the right rear of the engine by the transmission dip stick. I thought that it was the heater hoses, but the firewall is dry under it. The builder (not the machinist) started swearing out the machinist when he saw me looking and feeling the firewall. It is dripping from the engine...not good.

 

[kelly]

I had a cracked head and it over heated.

 

[1969CoronetR/T]

That is what I am afraid of...

 

[Lionized]

Here's hoping it's just the gasket.

 

[moparlee]

Just a thought. Check your "freeze" plugs in the heads and the block. Might have one not seated properly.

 

[1969CoronetR/T]

I will ask him about the plugs. He is having the machinist come to his shop on Sunday after he inspects the engine and pressure test it. The builder was not happy ( neither am I) as his reputation is on the line. I am hopeful it is a simple fix. Would running a engine with aluminum heads hot for a few minutes hurt the heads?

 

[Dennis H]

300 miles! I'd be panicked too. With over 40,000 hard miles, I expect it to run right and cool. Based on what is written, I don't think you ran it hard or long enough to smoke it. Just wait for info and have a few beers. Try to relax - easy for me to say.

Grab pics when you can too, either of symptoms or fixes.

 

[1969CoronetR/T]

Thanks and I will stop in his shop tomorrow to see the prognosis. Unfortunately, I do not drink but I ran a few extra miles today.

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

I bet it's a leaking freeze plug, good thing you weren't hammer down like I was when one of mine on that side blew out!! talk about a mess. One of the reasons I run the evan's coolant now, no pressure in the system at all, I have pulled the cap off at 230° and all I heard was a small his. Again make sure you get a spring for the lower hose! will help with the pressure build up and make the cap do its job instead of looking for a freeze plug to pop out.


Oh and PS, if it is the middle plug it can be changed without pulling the motor.

 

[themechanic]

Sounds like you are on the right track. When you get this resolved, watch the temps at idle (traffic stops, etc.) to see if you will need extra cooling for the stroker. It's hard to beat a Glen Ray rad but one never knows.

 

[1969CoronetR/T]

I put the heater on when I nursed it up to his shop, but it stayed on the cool side even thought it was leaking. I will bring up the freeze plug idea and put a spring in the lower hose. Thanks for all the help and I will post back once I talk to him.