Few things are more annoying and embarrassing for the antique car owner than idling into a car show or favorite drive-in accompanied by the whistling of a boiling radiator. If it has happened to you, then you know that no matter how pristine the restoration nothing attracts a crowd faster than a vintage radiator relieving itself on the parking lot.
Dragging brakes, a slipping clutch, an oil starved a rear end and dragging wheel bearings can all contribute to the problem of overheating. All of these will soon demand their own attention and thus make overheating from these causes a temporary one. If the cooling system is at fault, troubleshooting is a straight forward process.
Iron Man
Engine cooling is a simple process of heat transfer. The metal of the engine cylinder and cylinder head absorbs heat from the combustion chamber. Water circulating around the cylinder walls and through the head absorbs the heat. The hot water is transferred to the top of the radiator. As the water passes through the radiator, top to bottom, the heat is transferred to the radiator tubes and fins. Air passing over the fins and tubes carries the heat away.
This hot air must also leave the engine quickly after it has wiped the heat off the radiator. Opening louvers on hoods, and having the correct splash pans and shrouds in place for your vehicle can make a substantial difference to engine cooling. While you may think the little doors on the sides of your antique's hood are decorative, they can play an important part in removing heat from the engine. This is especially true in low speed operating situations. The splash pans beneath the engine may keep roadside mud from splashing up on the electrical. They also assist in directing the hot air away from the engine.
Interfere with any part of the heat transfer process and the engine can overheat. Checking for problems in heat transfer is a matter of starting with the simplest problem and working your way down the list.
For the antique or early post war classic, the basic circulating engine coolant is water. Over the years however, a variety of solutions have been developed to reduce corrosion, increase heat transfer, increase cooling capacity, and inhibit loss from evaporation. Drivers in colder climates were also treated to the development of non-freezing coolant solutions. No matter what coolant you use, correct levels are essential to proper cooling. If unsure about the correct levels, check your owner or shop manual. If you don't have a manual or another source of information, then fill it up. Assuming the system is in good working order it will purge any coolant finds unnecessary in short order.
Not all modern coolants are created equal. They can have an assortment of corrosion inhibitors. While they may not affect most cast iron engines, care should be used when using modern coolant mixtures in old engines with aluminum components such as cylinder heads. Some coolants are designed for use with aluminum components, some are not. So, always read the product labels. Failing to use the proper coolant with aluminum components can result in clogged water passages and failed components.
This done, check the cooling fan. Most automobiles have a fan unit to help drive air over the engine. Heat has been transmitted to it from the water system and it must be removed from the radiator and engine compartment. Correct operation of the fan is essential during idling, gear shifting and in the lower speed range when there is not much air in circulation. See that the belt doesn't slip, but don't make the common mistake of tightening it to a point where the fan bearings are cramped. You should just be able to turn the fan by pressing lightly with your fingers. The fan's bearings should be lubricated as specified in the instruction book. Some bearings should be greased; others oiled. Read your owners or shop manual.
Assisting the fan in dissipating the air after it has wiped off the engine's excess heat are the fan shrouds, engine splash pans and hood louvers. Many motorists make the mistake of not opening hood louvers in hot weather, just as they overlook the advantages in keeping the engine cool through maintaining a flow of air under the hood. Missing fan shrouds or engine splash pans can greatly affect the air flow under the engine compartment and the cooling capacity of the system.
The next step concerns the circulation of water or coolant. This is where most of the trouble resides. Water circulation tends to drop in efficiency because of the action of air and water on metal, Rust and corrosion can rapidly turn a free flowing system into a scale clogged mess. If we could have a closed cooling system with no oxygen circulating through the radiator and water jackets there would be no oxidation, and thus no rusting. While many modern motors use anti-freeze all year round and is never given another thought, many antique's open systems will quickly show the results of corrosion if left un-maintained.
Expect rust, scale and sediment and maintain your system accordingly. There is no need to force this to collect of water borne crud through the radiator when flushing the circulation system. Do not stir up the sediment in the block and then allow it to flow through to the fine passages of the radiator core. Make two jobs of flushing and separate the engine water jackets and the radiator.
Separating the engine and radiator for flushing is a matter of disconnecting the hose between radiator and engine. This presents an excellent opportunity to check the condition of your radiator hoses. If cracked or collapsing, replace them. Reverse flush the radiator with any of the prepared compounds now on the market. If you prefer to make up your own solution use ordinary washing or baking soda dissolved in hot water in the proportion of one teacupful of soda to each two gallons of water. Bear in mind that when reverse flushing the engine jackets where an aluminum head is used, a special flushing compound designed for aluminum components is required. All this should be done with a water stream under pressure.
Flushing the radiator should be done by pumping in water from bottom to top, or in the reverse direction of normal flow. Similarly with the engine water jackets. If a significant amount of sediment is flushed from the engine block system it may be advisable to go to a good radiator man and have the whole works cleaned professionally.
A clogged radiator will be upset in all hot weather conditions. No matter how efficient the rest of the system may be, if the engine coolant cannot pass through the radiator it cannot cool the engine. Before a clogged radiator is replaced however, it should be taken to a radiator shop and professionally assessed. A professional shop may be able to clean a radiator when the home mechanic cannot. If the radiator is too hopeless clogged, it will have to be re-cored.
Most drivers know the value keeping a radiator's innards clean. The radiator however can also be rendered ineffective by external restrictions, too. If the radiator core is heavily painted, plugged with accumulations of dead insects between the fins, or the front is covered with too many emblems, licenses and adornments, the air cannot pass through to do the cooling job. In one notable case, a vehicle that had spent a dusty life on the Canadian prairies had fins plugged with wind borne soil and dust. A costly re-core job was averted by carefully washing the fins of a radiator with a pressure washer from the engine side. Usually removal of the accumulations between the fins can be accomplished by carefully blowing air under pressure from the engine side.
Many a radiator reaches the end of its usefulness before its time. When it dies a premature death, It is usually because the owner has not taken steps to inhibit rust, forgotten to flushing the system, or otherwise poorly maintained the cooling system. Re-coring can be an expensive process and best avoided by some preventative measures.
If the motor thermostat and radiator hoses have been in service for some time, chances are that they should be inspected closely. The thermostat may not work as freely as it should. It can be tested by plopping in a pot of boiling water to ensure that it is opening. If in doubt, replace it. Hoses and connections should also be checked, tightened and replaced as necessary. A lower hose in poor condition can collapse and shut off circulation of water as effectively as a thermostat that fails to open. A makeshift remedy is to insert a coil spring in the hose so that it won't suck inward, but the more permanent solution is to go back to the radiator and try to find out why it doesn't allow water to circulate freely.
Water pumps seldom fail to pump water. Occasionally a water pump will fail when the impeller sheers off its shaft. In that case the engine fever is so acute that the driver has no choice but to pull over switch off and have the situation remedied immediately. Where the pump has gone bad, no water will be forced to the top of the radiator while the engine is running. Looking into the radiator top tank will also tell you when the radiator is blocked or the lower hose is collapsed. As you accelerate the engine the water level in the radiator should not rise. You can quickly decide whether the blockage is due to the radiator or the hose connection by glancing at the latter.
In some engines, such as found in Graham Paige and early Chrysler, the water will be circulated in the block with the aid of a distribution tube located in the block or distribution plate behind the water jacket cover. Lack of a tube or plate will result in poor circulation and overheating. The best way to find out if your engine has one, is to check with the owners manual, or with a specialist club.
With the heat dissipation system cleaned and filled, the astute driver will ensure the engine does not generate more heat than it normally would. Most important is keeping the timing and carburetor properly adjusted. An engine that overheats in summer would be equally troublesome in colder weather. Many owners are inclined to take the easy route and blame the weather. Timing however, tends to go late and should be checked regularly.
Much knocking that is believed to be due to carbon, fuel detonation and pre-ignition from overheated spark plugs is often a result of the engine laboring with a lean mixture. An excessively rich mixture will also cause overheating, but with high fuel prices encouraging most owners to try for maximum gas mileage, the chances are that the mixture is too lean. Any tendency toward constant detonation will encourage overheating. Anti-knock fuels usually checks this so if the problem persists, check your settings.
Do not forget the effect that driving habits have on overheating. Why, for example, labouring the engine in the wrong gear up a hill will generate excess heat. In such cases, stopping to "let the engine cool off" may not be the best remedy. By maintaining forward motion at lower speeds, greater quantities of air will blow over the engine cooling system, and with the higher rate of water circulation, will help the process of dissipating heat. in such cases the engine's temperature will show a marked drop in a few minutes.
There is no substitute for practical experience when it comes to trouble shooting mechanical problems. Take the time to read the manuals and talk to fellow owners.
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