Overheating when sitting

[mbflemingkf]

Guys, wanted to get your thoughts.  I've noted this summer (and you know how hot its been) that the temp gauage (added under the dash) is running up to 200-210 degrees when I leave the car sit for a few minutes.  I've changed the thermostat to 160 degrees and it normally runs 160 to 175 when running down the road but when I stop, it is running up to the point where (I think) the engine starts vapor locking and even shutting itself off.  It seems to start right away (I do turn on the electric fuel pump) and it seems to run fine on the road when there's plenty of wind blowing through the radiator.  I drove about 40 miles to a cruise in on Saturday and the car DID NOT like stopping and idling at all.  Thoughts?  Mike

PS, I did add some of that "water wetter" stuff last summer with no apparent change.  Do you think some of this is the new gas, etc?

[Logan]

Mine does the same thing in the summer, high 90's.  Electric fans really are nice, aren't they?  Luckily, it's cooling off now, and winter is the best time to drive your cars in Texas (if it's not raining).

[dpledger]

While Kaisers do have an unfortunate tendency to run hot, there are a few factors that can give them even less cooling capacity. Likely you've already checked, but just in case, based on personal experience:

1) Fan belt slipping (worn or loose.) Even a little can make a difference
2) Stuff plugging air passages through radiator (bugs, overzealous paint, dirt
3) Water pump worn or leaking back
4) Rivet in fan loose, or blade bent, setting up vibration that reduces efficiency
5) Constricted flow in cooling system, due to material buildup or loose crud

Seems one can sometimes improve things by turning the heater on, but this won't improve driving experience.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

You did not indicate the make/model of car involved here, but there is something a lot of people forget about is the radiator core itself.  Newer anti-freeze solutions can leave deposits that build up over time in the older copper cores.  I had a plugged radiator in the Business Coupe and it caused all kinds of overheating problems.

[Jim B PEI]

The symptoms point to a coated and clogged radiator. It cools adequately when there is a lot of air running over it on the road, but stopped at idle the temperature climbs. The coating of old crud, lime and other minerals is a very efficient insulation, which is what you don't want in a radiator, as you want it to transfer heat efficiently. You will get the reverse sort of problem if you have a heater that is mediocre in output. The core there is clogged too. And the third thing is that the water jacket in the engine is likely coated too and although you should work on the heater/radiator immediately, it hints that the temperature inside the engine is higher than it should be, and higher than the water temperature shows directly. Get the radiator and heater core boiled out by a good radiator shop that knows what it is doing with older components, and include the engine in any clean and flush. Also consider (its s a messy awful job) taking out the old freeze plugs and using a wire hanger or long handle screw driver and hose and clean out 60 years worth of crud and casting sand and other junk that has built up in the block. Advice: sometimes even an engine rebuild where they tank the block, depending on how they do the process-- doesn't get rid of the junk fully--its a hands-on thing.

[Kaiser Ranchero]

Good information Jim. I found the same problem with jet pump boats. They would pick up dirt from the water and silt up the bottom of the water jacket. They would peg the temp guage at low speed and idle. Removal of the freeze plugs and serious flushing and scouring would solve the problem if no other damage was done.

[HJ-ETEX]

I think Jim PEI has hit on the solution. Rust, scale, , settle in the bottom of the water jacket and reduce the amount of coolant that is circulating. I have had a couple of engines develop a pin hole leak in a freeze plug. Then when I removed that one plug, I would be surprised by what had accumulated behind it. 

[Barnum]

Looks like  all the bases are covered....but you could try  back flushing...I've found that this will work if  the system isn't severely blocked

[dpledger]

Clogging may well be the problem, but it is by far the most difficult possibility to check out, in that the fix basically has to be made to determine if there is an issue. The other possibilities in my initial post are much easier and quicker to check-note that I listed clogging last, due to the relative difficulty of an evaluation. The others will take relatively little time, and a negative result then tells you that a major project will be required.

[Kenn Evans II]

With lot of build up in my 52  I added some washing soda into the cooling system and drove it around for about two weeks then drained and flushed the cooling system and the washing soda pulled a lot of deposits out of the motor and radiator.  It is a little safer than using harsh cleaners that also dissolves old freeze plugs. Just my thought. I also switched over to the GM Dex-cool and (Orange) and I have noticed about a 10 degree drop at an idle over the ethylene glycol (green) before I cleaned the radiator and block.

[Jim B PEI]

Washing soda? As in...? Generic or a specific product? And how much was added? Not everyone is used to using it, and is familiar with it as a product.

[Kenn Evans II]

Washing soda is in the laundry isle at the grocery store next to the borax generaly. I use approx one cup to each gal. of water. my wife adds it to her soap to make it work better in our hard water.

[Jim B PEI]

Washing soda...it isn't marketed here in Canada using that term, at least on the East Coast, and I don't remember it in either Quebec or Ontario. I have an idea it is a "US only" term. Here on the Island where the deep well water is mineralized, and surface wells are very soft, you can get a product such as Calgon Water Softener which contains sodium sesquicarbonate and sodium tripolyphoshate. Not the right stuff, I'd say. When you Google it, there are a lot of questions about this from Canadians wanting to make their own detergent or to use in photo film developing etc.

I did some research and it seems that washing soda is sodium carbonate...and even found a way to make it from baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) heating it over a stove, or preferably, outdoors with a propane barbeque in small batches. Not going to do that! A lot of the commercial stuff of various sorts (swimming pool stuff etc) has perfumes or other additives in it, listed or unlisted. Don't want to be putting that in an engine without knowing exactly what is in it. Will be visiting Bulk Barn, Canadian Tire, Sobey's and Atlantic Superstore, and Wal-Mart to see if anyone has this in a reasonably unadulterated format.

[GA Kaiser]

I have almost the opposite problem on my '54.  The temp gauge goes up to about 3/4 on the hot scale while I am driving, but drops down to just about the 1/2 mark at a stop.  It never boils over, though.  This started after I changed the spark plug wires to the correct solid wire.  Nothing else was changed.  Is this a problem?