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Radiator

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LostinAl35986

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I have a 62 Fleetside with a 350 in it . It over heats .
I'm going to replace the radiator and shroud and will probably use
Chevy duty any sugestions . Thanks LostinAl
 
Suggestions:

Have you checked/replaced the less expensive items first ?

Is the motor tuned-up and timed properly?
Hoses too soft ?
Thermostat Functioning ?
Water pump ??

DVal
 
Yeah,
Every thing is new , accept the rad . It leaks around the neck .
I put a new flex fan on it (and I don't like it )
There is no shroud on it and there is alot of space between the fan
and the rad. These are the things I think are the big issue .
The rads. on these old trucks are small about 21 in.
I know alot of people have put v8 in the old truks .
The battery tray is keeping me from going bigger .I
have another rad . In a old 60 truck with a six in it .
But I want to hang on to that , the fuel pump is all thats
bad on it .
Thanks LostinAl
 
There is USUALLY no reason to go bigger with than the stock 3 core radiator if you are using a small block V8. A big block would probably be better off with a 4 core heavy duty radiator like the GMC V6's used during the 60's.

I had an overheating-at-idle problem with my old 305 when I first got my panel. Solving the problem went like this.
Replaced thermostat. ( no change)
Replaced all hoses. ( no change )
Installed fan shroud ( some improvement, but not the answer )
Replaced Water Pump ( THAT did it )

The water pump did not "look" bad. That is, there was no leakage and the bearings had no slop. I went to Auto Zone and got one of their Good for the Life of the Vehicle rebuilt pumps. I took apart the old pump out and discovered that the water impellers has almost completly rotted away to nothing.

When I made the swap last year to a crate 350 and 700R4 I replaced the radiator with a new 3 core with a trans cooler tank. It works perfect and keeps the operating temp right where it belongs at 190 degrees.

DV
 
Thanks,DV
You have gave me a little fuel for thought.
The water pump is about 2 yrs old and has only
about 50 miles on it , as does the whole engine
I let it set to much .I think I'll start with
the thermostat and work my way up like you said
in our last conversation . I think the setting got to
it.
I also think the rad. is a two core , might go to
a three .
Thanks , LostinAl
 
I forgot to suggest the first thing. Eliminate the heater core from the equation.

Take a short piece of heater hose and loop it from the water pump output to the water pump input. See how THAT effects the cooling. If there is a significant improvement then you most likely found the problem.

The heater core water passages can get blocked with crud from sitting. ( like most of us will ! ;) )

If the radiator is not leaking, then take it to a good radiator shop for a boil out. That would be the last thing in the pecking order.

DVal
 
>How can you tell if you have a 2 core or a 3 core
>radiator?:-)

Heather,

If you look at the top of the radiator, see how the radiator cooling fins meet up to the upper tank. ( the big metal goodie that you pour the coolant into.) If the cooling fins are NOT even with the tank as you look down, and take a step in, you have a 3 core rad. If they are flush with the tank you have a 4 core. MOST Chevy's of our years came with a 3 core, a lot of GMC's came with a 4 core.

Aftermarket aluminum rads dissipate heat better so they usually need only 2 cores.

DVal
 
I think I saw in an earlier message that you don't have a fan shroud. This little item will cause your truck to overheat if it is missing.

Brian
 
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