Re: 1954 Packard Pacific 359 L8 radiator / rad cap / 7 / 12 / 13 psi

Posted by 54packpac On 2020/12/1 16:14:05

Hi Howard. Thank you for your previous information. Quick clarification so I don't blow things up. My 54 359 L8 runs great. I had some seam leaks on the bottom outlet and top inlet on the rad in the summer. When replacing the hoses on the 66 year old rad a jughead decided to use a mallet. My regular mechanic sorted out. Recently though I noticed tiny leaks on occasion under the top of the rad tank. The stop-leak would probably work but I have a Gano filter that would get clogged. I obtained the blueprints for my oem rad with the thoughts of fabricating a new aluminum rad. In the meantime I switched the 7psi rad cap with a NAPA 13psi cap and no more tiny leak. Seems dubious? Vendors sell 7psi caps. The 51-54 manual shows for 54 12psi caps for all. The forum xref shows the 13psi option. I am not sure yet if my thermostat is a bellows or capsule type. I have some 180degree capsule thermostats that I haven't used yet. The temp gauge was perfect with the 13psi cap while idling in the driveway for 1 hour. Does this mean all is ok? What lead to 359 aluminum heads melting and is a capsule 180degree thermostat ok?

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