Re: OVERHEATING

Posted by Tim Cole On 2012/7/14 12:56:54

Dear Willis:

Let's start by getting some good data on your problem.

If the radiator overflow is not pouring on the ground then the motor is not boiling.

A good start is check the uniformity of the warm up. Does the back of the motor get hot much faster than the front?
If it does than you have a distribution problem.

Next, remove the front grille pan and check the efficiency of the radiator. Is the top warm and the bottom cooler, or is the bottom getting warm before the top? There should be a sensible temperature change from top to bottom.

Next, get a meat thermometer or whatever and check the coolant temperature. If it is not getting above 180F then you have a gauge problem given the cylinder head temperature is uniform to the touch.

Finally, get a cheap multimeter from WalMart, Radio Shack, the hardware store, whatever and test the temperature sender. It's at the back of the cylinder head. Disconnect the wire and test the resistance to ground with motor cold. It should have lots of Ohms. As the motor warms up the Ohms should decrease gradually. If they become zero before the motor is hot then the sender is bad.

That's a start and hope this helps.