As some of you might remember I have been dealing with a 72 Duster 360.
running hot 210* over the road. The car has the following new parts 1) new Brass radiator 2 row 2) shroud 3) thermal clutch fan (had a 5 blade stainless steel fan no clutch) 4) 50/50 mix of anti freeze/coolant with water wet. 5) 5 blade steel fan.6) New water pump 7) new moulded hoses with spring in lower hose. The question I have is what are the Duster owners running for a radiator. The fan is moving a ton of air and I dont understand why an OEM radiator not cooling properly they always worked back in the day. Or is it because of global warming????? Thanks for your help, Bill

 

You did not say anything about a T-stat

 

Ive had 3 different temps thermostats195* 180* 160* all super stats and it doesnt seem to change anything the outcome is still 210-220 degrees. And the gauge reads correct I checked it with an analog gauge and digital they both read what the dash gauge is reading.

 

My recommendation is to drop in an aluminum radiator. That $200 investment could be the difference in 20 degrees!

 

drill a 1/8 hole in the stat. to let the air clear out and the coolant fill up.

 

Never had any good luck with those el cheapo aluminum radiators.. would rather run a stock one any day

 

Is the engine stock, running lean maybe, timing off, piston to cylinder wall clearance to tight. You running low gears, trans cooler.. More info needed on set up... How fast does it heat up when cold.. Is the bottom rad hose as hot as the top 10 minutes later after you shut engine off.

 

Unless it has lots of compression It may have a slight head gasket leak OR the radiator may be too small ? How wide is the radiator

 

p-t -

Barring any real malfunction (blown head gasket, water blockage including stuck thermostats, etc, running a two row radiator is most likely your problem.

First thing I'd do would most likely be a full coolant flush.

If everything checks out, you can use one of the wet water coolant additives as a temporary fix.

Archer

 

1. Check the air "pull". If you throw a sheet of paper in front of the radiator will it get sucked to the fin and stay there. If not you are just blowing air on the motor ( air cooled ) vs. pulling heat out of the radiator ( water cooled ). You can space the fan in or out to change the pull.

2. To much timing will cause heat. I'm not sure what is going on with new gas but its junk and causing a lot of motors to pull out timing when hot out due to detonation sensors. This is a complaint of new cars I see but yours cant due that electronically and could be an issue.

3. Remember that every PSI of pressure you add to the cooling system adds 3 degrees of increased boiling point threshold. So if she isn't holding pressure you are losing a lot of cooling. Check cap and pressure test system to see if you have a leak. A small head gasket leak will due this. You may see bubbles in the radiator. NAPA has a small test strip you can drop in the radiator to test for the presence of exhaust. I haven't used it in a while but its out there.

Good Luck!

 

The engine is a 360 street built .30 over timing is at 16* BTDC total of 32* it has water wet in it ( did nothing )Everything is new.. So Flushing is mute..The radiator is a new stock HD brass. No leaks, I always drill an 1/8" hole in the stat. Its got good circulation, Huge amount of air flow through the core. Just doesnt seem to cool. I did some reseach and Cool Craft by US Radiator has got a direct fit radiator that has 1" tubes instead of 1/2" tubes which is like having a 4 row core. It also can be upgraded to triple flow which cools even more for a total of 35* drop over brass. Check it out at www.usradiator.com Or www.coolcraft.com Let me know what you think. Thanks to all for the help. I will have to wait awhile as it cost $510.00 to the door.

 

is this a stock 318 or slant sixcar?

 

OMG read prev. post... 360

 

If you are running at 210* with a 195 T-stat. I would say that is pretty decent, nothing to worry about. That is if it holds around 210* and doesn't climb. I would start to worry if it reaches 230*, and I would call it when it gets to around 250*. Living in NY, there is not much that you can do about the antifreeze/water ratio (Down here in NM, that is one way to get better cooling).

 

Well Im going to tear down the engine to see if the cam timing is off a tooth. By the way the car runs , performs and overheats everything is pointing to a cam being a tooth off. It's going to be a week or so as I need to get some R&R with my wife on vacation but as soon as I find anything out I'll post the findings. It just makes to much sense something is not right mechanicly as its all new and nothing seems to help the running hot condition and the poor performance that I am experiencing. Thank you all for your help. Bill

 

With poor performance as well, I would definitely agree with the cam timing being slightly off. Good luck with the repair and have fun with the wife!

 

Bill....How is the Cooling Issue now? Hope it's around 180-190*

 

+
Check out the post Timing gear problem Maybe you gear is miss marked too ???

 

Yup I am that guy. It is my post about the timing gears. Same car and its ok now. But this winter I still want to put an aluminium radiator in for better cooling...Bill