Re: 1950 Packard 288 Auto overheating HELP

Posted by gone1951 On 2010/2/1 22:49:29

Quote:


No it will not. At operating temperatures both a 160 and a 180 degree thermostat will be completely open under all but the coldest outside air temperatures. Sounds like maybe your temp gauge is defective or maybe the instrument voltage regulator is defective. The radiator is the heat exchanger and is the only thing that can remove heat from the engine. Does the radiator boil over? If not it is not overheating.

Have you ever squeezed the upper radiator hose and felt the pressure inside? If you feel pressure that means the water is above 212 degrees. It doesn't boil because the pressure cap is there. You should never remove the cap when the system is under pressure but if you did the water would instantly boil because its temp is above 212 degrees.

Try temporally installing a new mechanical temp gauge and see what that reads. My Chevy van runs as high as 240 degrees on a hot day and doesn't boil over. It has a 15 pound cap on it so the boiling point of the water is much higher.