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By Gary - 13 Years Ago
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Nothing could stop me from buying the 65 Mustand that was setting up for 20 years!! Now, after $4,000. it is on the road but gets hot right away, in 15 - 20 minutes. Car has new radiator(yes, from China), new 160 degree thermos, engine was flushed with water and garden hose. Heater was clogged at first and reverse garden hose opened that up. After engine is started and runnning a reasonable while (radiator cap off) the thermos opens and water is flowing left to right in the radiator and appears to be in ample amount. I let ir idle for a while with cap off to let air out. I drove the car a little when I first pourchased it but never noticed it getting hot?? I have Peaks radiator flush in it right now and plan to drive it as much as possible in the next few days. Will I need to pull the heads or completely tear engine down and tank the block? This is an original two barrell car that starts good, runs and accelerates good! Thanks for your help.
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By Daniel Jessup - 13 Years Ago
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My gut instinct says that you are having issues with your gauge and/or factory sender. When it gets "hot", is the radiator pushing coolant back through the cap and the overflow? I would try using one of those mechanical gauges from Sunpro or Autometer, or maybe one of those infrared thermometers that are just and "point and shoot". This would give you an accurate reading to see how "hot" you are.
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By Gary - 13 Years Ago
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Car is really getting hot. I think gauge and temp sender are reading correct. On first real highway run car got hot and before I could get to a good stopping place the radiator tank ruptures at the seam. I'm on my replacement China radiator (three row) now. My thermo gun gauge reads 225 degrees on front of heads and water pump area and water is boiling.
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By Daniel Jessup - 13 Years Ago
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Yeh, that 289 sounds HOT to me. I have owned a couple of Mustangs, a 66 and a 67. Dealt with 289's and 302's, but that was 20 years ago... I don't remember them being prone to overheating but it sure does sound like you have a distinct problem there. I do remember someone on the forum a while back trying to peg an overheating problem for a car that had been sitting for a while. Come to find out, the water pump impeller wasn't spinning fast enough, or it had lost it's tight fit to the shaft (sitting in corrosion so long IIRC). Could that be your problem maybe? Wouldn't cost much to take off the water pump, check that out, and then just use some Silicone Gasket Maker to put it back. Let me ask you this... have you gotten the water to run clear when you drain the block? those pet cocks on the block would tell a large story if you think you may have corrosion inside the block and it has stopped up some passages. What is the water like when you drain the radiator now? Just reread your two posts... if it is getting hot while you are at speed running down the road, then something somewhere is blocking the coolant/water from getting into that radiator and back to your engine...
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By pegleg - 13 Years Ago
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The water pump thought is good. Pull it and see what you find. Could also be an accumulation of rust from sitting. You may have to flush it or have it flushed again. Lastly, if it's been sitting for twenty years I'd check the timing and make sure the distributor is advancing as it's supposed to. May find the weights frozen.
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By Pete 55Tbird - 13 Years Ago
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Gary You did not mention new radiator hoses. The bottom hose will collapse if there is no spring in it or it has rusted away. As was mentioned a RETARDED spark at the distributor will cause hotter running. Do you have and use a fan shroud? The 289 when overbored more than .040 is very very thin in the cylinder walls. Give more detailed info AND YOU WILL GET A BETTER ANSWER. Pete
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By Ol'ford nut - 13 Years Ago
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Gary (6/25/2012)
Nothing could stop me from buying the 65 Mustand that was setting up for 20 years!! Now, after $4,000. it is on the road but gets hot right away, in 15 - 20 minutes. Car has new radiator(yes, from China), new 160 degree thermos, engine was flushed with water and garden hose. Heater was clogged at first and reverse garden hose opened that up. After engine is started and runnning a reasonable while (radiator cap off) the thermos opens and water is flowing left to right in the radiator and appears to be in ample amount. I let ir idle for a while with cap off to let air out. I drove the car a little when I first pourchased it but never noticed it getting hot?? I have Peaks radiator flush in it right now and plan to drive it as much as possible in the next few days. Will I need to pull the heads or completely tear engine down and tank the block? This is an original two barrell car that starts good, runs and accelerates good! Thanks for your help. I had this same problem with a 65 Mustang 289. Long story short I found the head gaskets had been replaced and installed wrong. New set of gaskets and problem gone.
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By Riz - 13 Years Ago
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If i remember correctly on my old 302 Ol' ford nut is correct I believe that if the head gaskets are installed reversed top face down they can block some cooling passages between the block and heads it has been a while though.
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By MoonShadow - 13 Years Ago
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Perhaps you've discovered why it sat for 20 years. If you can imagine someone having engine work done and then an unsolveable heating problam can park a lot of cars. Finding someone with the answer sometimes stretches into oblivion. Just a thought. Chuck
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By Ted - 13 Years Ago
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Losing water? If not, then check that the gauge is reading correctly. If you are losing water, then start checking that the water pump is turning the correct direction (there are different pumps for the small blocks), tight belts, good radiator cap, and the lower radiator hose is not collapsing.
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By Gary - 13 Years Ago
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Thanks everyone. I'm adding more details. Car has new radiator, new 180F thermos, new radiator hoses, new water pump. When I first starter driving the car a little I didn't notice it getting hot but I did notice the coolant looked rusty (100% tap water). Then when I finally drove it some distance it got hot and I noticed small hunks of rust flakes in coolant. I flushed the system with radiator flush and removed the radiator and flushed it upside down with water. Drove it some and same results. I flushed it again and changed the thermosthat to 160F(it has a small hole to allow water to fill the intake manifold). I got a kit, distilled water and radiator flush and drove it some over two days with the flush stuff and it still got hot but not as hot and took much longer to get hot. There was also a lot less rust looking particles. I back flushed that out with the kit and filled with distilled water and a rust preventor. (heater is on when driving and really puts out heat) Car still got too hot but was better. Heads registered 210F on thermo gun and may have gotten hotter if I drove it longer. I will keep doing this until there is no rust present. I have ordered a fan shroud and hope that will help some. Qusetion: Should I remove the drain plugs from the block and drain? Is that more trouble than it is worth? Any other suggestions geatly apprected.
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By Hoosier Hurricane - 13 Years Ago
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Gary: Some of the Studebaker guys with Chinese radiators have had overheating, and they attribute it to the fins on the radiator. They are too close together to allow sufficient air to pass through, and overheat at highway speeds. Just a thought.
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By gekko13 - 13 Years Ago
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I'll add another vote for head gasket(s) either improperly installed or just rotted out in the area where it is supposed to block off the front passage between the head and block. If this engine has not been opened up since manufactured, I would also recommend that you replace the timing set and the valve stem seals before they fail causing major engine damage and leaving you on the side of the road.
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By slumlord444 - 13 Years Ago
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I recently got my Mustang running again after sitting for probably 20 years. Among a host of problems, the head gaskets had failed. Had to pull the heads, have them surfaced, and install new gaskets. Might run a compression check and leakdown test.
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By Granny'56 - 13 Years Ago
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A quick and easy test to try...Remove the thermostat all together and try running engine. Might take a little longer to get to running temp, but if the thermostat is in backwards, or blocking flow for some other reason (rust particles previously mentioned) it might not be functioning correctly.
That lower radiator hose collapsing would most likely happen when engine warm, (rubber soft) and engine running at speed (Higher RPM Makes greater suction on hose)
Good luck.
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By Gary - 13 Years Ago
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Overheating problem solved. Had new radiator cleaned at shop and installed coolant filter in radiatior hose and all is good! The rad had stopped up from scale/crud from block during all of my repair efforts stated herein! Somewhere along the way I fixed it, meanwhile radiator got clogged. Thanks to all for help
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