radiator busted

[Pecez_Leftova]

hello forum,
just started up the 52 this morning to let idle for ten minutes and when i came back, there was coolant shooting out the top of the radiator. i let it cool and then popped the thermostat housing and found the one year old thermostat fully opened and it closed within 15 seconds. I still have the original harrison radiator, with no leaks hooked up to the 235. Do I have blockage in the water jacket in the head/ block. Oh, I blew through the top of the radiator and immediately had coolant coming through the opened thermosat housing. My temperature guage read well over 180 degrees (not mormal). Please any help or suggestions are welcomed in advance. Going to kragen to pick up some radiator flush. Thanks, Ryan

 

[vwnate1]

I dunno where you're located but this sounds like normal frozen coolant troubles to me ~ the engine overheats before the ice in the block (radiator , wherever) melts....

Hopefully you didn't crack the block or cylinder head..


-Nate

 

[bennyhunch]

Was the radiator cap on tight? With the cap loose or off coolant will shoot out when it gets hot. What degree thermostat do you have a 180?
Steve

 

[Pecez_Leftova]

hey guys, thanks for the suggestions about the radiator problems. I live in So. Cal so I know it cannot possibly be frozen coolant Nate. I had the radiator cap on tight but the overflow tube has fallen off years ago so there is that little 1/8" hole right below the the top of the cap. When I found the problem, there was coolant shooting out of that little hole. I just let it finish shooting out until I took the cap off. Never had this problem before and I am baffled at it. I do have the 180 degree gauge and it was over boiling when I read it (never gets that high). Since then, I have refilled that the radiator, put some rust killer in there along with water wetter, and let it idle again with no problems but I'm still worried as to the cause of this problem. Is there the possibity of blockage inside the block??? Thanks again everyone.

 

[vwnate1]

Oh , O.K. .

It is entirely possible that the 'stat stuck closed .

What color coolant came shooting out ? if it was _red_ or cloudy , yes it is entirely possible you just have too much silt built up in your cooling system . I have several buddies who flat refuse to properly clean thier cooling systems then whine to me how thier old Checy's constantly over heat ~ whenever I look in the radiator it's red like tomato soup ~

I'm glad you didn't remove the cap whilst hot as you can get _severely_ burned that way , I may still have the scars on my back I eanerd in 1973 when a customer talked me into doing just that....


If is also possible for the water pump impeller to rust away and not properly circulate the coolant...

-Nate

 

[mikesters1950]

I agree with Nate. Sounds like the thermostat may have malfunctioned. I would not hesitate to replace it, as they are cheap. Is it possible that the coolant was low, or there was an air pocket due to a small leak? Other than that, if it seems to work fine now, I think I would replace the t-stat, and monitor it. Like Nate says, the impeller can rust away, but I would tend to think the problem should still be there. Keep us up to date. Good luck.....Mike

 

[dunhamfield]

I suggest pulling the dipstick and oil filler cap and check for moisture or milky looking oil. What you have discribed could be a head gasket leaking.
TERRY..........

 

[federale]

If coolant was shooting out the overflow tube hole it could be no more than a bad pressure cap. If you lost enough coolant this way the engine could overheat pretty quickly.