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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / 1937 Ford Cooling Problem

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Posted By Discussion Topic: 1937 Ford Cooling Problem -- page: 1 2 3     Robert/Texas 07-17-2019 @ 6:50 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 108 Joined: Dec 2009 Thanks again. I got the radiator back from the shop. The man said that there was a good bit of debris in it and suggested that I flush out the engine with clear water only. In addition to flushing and pressure testing, he fixed the leaks at the top where it meets the tank and did some other repairs. My son-in-law plans to help me reinstall it this weekend. I have a couple of other questions though. He recommended using 160-degree thermostats, which I now have. Are these installed on the cylinder heads with the ‘guts’ facing down? If not, where/how do they go? The radiator was fastened solidly to the front crossmember with nuts, bolts and washers. I have the correct fasteners now. How is everything assembled to the crossmember? Thanks, and again all help/suggestions are appreciated. Robert TomO 07-11-2019 @ 8:04 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7264 Joined: Oct 2009 Check around the internet before you use any radiator flushing product. All of them have serious side effect if not used properly. If your car ran in the normal range of heat until this episode, you may just have to flush out the loose debris. Running clear water through the block should flush out the loose debris. If you do use a radiator flushing product, make sure that you flush it out thoroughly, so you don't damage you newly cleaned radiator. Tom carcrazy 07-10-2019 @ 3:17 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1682 Joined: Oct 2009 To block off the lower radiator hose openings use a couple of pieces of rubber cut from an old inner tube and secure them to the tubes with a pair of modern screw type hose clamps. Robert/Texas 07-10-2019 @ 7:17 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 108 Joined: Dec 2009 My son-in-law and I got the radiator out last Saturday and I took it to the radiator repair shop yesterday. As the insides of the passenger side lower hose was coming apart, I think that caused the overheating. The bottom mounting springs were missing, there were only nuts, bolts and washers there. The bracket on the top passenger side had become unsoldered. The radiator man thinks that this caused that breakage. This is a one-man shop and he has been in business since 1951. He was working on a couple 0f 60’s cars. He did a quick check on the radiator and told me that it was in pretty good condition but needed cleaning. The price would be $125-150, including soldering and replacing the top left hose connection which had a poorly done weld spot on it. He said that it would cost about $600 if it needed a new core. He saw some debris in the radiator and suggested that I flush the engine out. I’ll probably use the stuff Steve Lee suggested. What would be an easy way to block off the lower outlets? Thanks, Robert sarahcecelia 07-07-2019 @ 8:44 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1194 Joined: Mar 2013 Absolute best cooling system cleaner is ThermoCure. Order it on line, directions are on the containers. You'll need 2 quarts to do a 16-18 quart system. Don't ever use just plain water in you cooling system! It will cause a lot of RUST to form, and you don't want that!! Regards, Steve Lee 42oink 07-06-2019 @ 4:50 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 123 Joined: Nov 2010 Robert, Glad to hear your still wrenching on that old Ford! It's a known medical fact that early v8's keep you feeling younger, sometimes back to our "first car" years. Occasionally it can give you gray hair, but all medications have side effects. And great that you got that "young" whippersnapper son-in-law to do the heavy lifting. But keep your eye on him. He may be hoping you'll let him drive it. Cramps your style picking up the chicks. Keep well. Smile 42 oink TomO 07-05-2019 @ 4:38 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7264 Joined: Oct 2009 Robert if the overflow tube comes out of the filler neck above the raidiator cap sealing surface, you can use the 4# pressure cap without any modifications. The pressure cap needs to seal inside the filler neck to be effective and the overflow needs to be blocked until the pressure exceeds the cap rating. If the overflow exits the radiator in another place and the filler neck has a sealing surface for the cap you can install Skip's pressure valve in the over flow pipe. Some pressure in the cooling system helps keep foaming in the coolant to a minimum and raises the boiling point. Ask your radiator man to help you decide on the radiator cap. Tom Robert/Texas 07-05-2019 @ 3:38 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 108 Joined: Dec 2009 Thanks again to all of you. I got back here late this morning and decided to start working on the car so that my son-in-law won’t have so much to do. I drained the fluid and removed the top hoses and the generator. I was surprised that there were no thermostats in the top hoses as the previous owner told me it had 180-degree ones. The fan belt looked worse than I expected, more burnt and frayed. The water pumps now turn freely. I left everything else alone as I don’t think I can get the bottom hoses off, nor pull the radiator out by myself. I still plan to get the radiator cleaned or re-cored as needed. The old/ruined fan belt was marked “Mobil 7”. I have a new spare in the trunk of the car which has a NAPA sheath on it marked “B-51” but the belt is marked “50” and “Made in Mexico”. This belt is narrower where it rides on the pulleys and I think this will solve the belt problem if it is the correct length. Should I re-use the 4# cap or get an unpressured type as I understand that’s what they came with? As before, any info and suggestions are welcome. Robert trjford8 07-03-2019 @ 5:19 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 4232 Joined: Oct 2009 Losing 3 quarts of coolant is a sign that the radiator is plugged up and the coolant is being pushed out the overflow,. If it has a leak from the core to the tank that's probably a sign that you may be due for recore. You old time radiator shop will be the one who makes the call on this issue. The water pumps could add to the problem , but the lost coolant is a sign that the radiator core is plugged up. If your pumps were not turning or there was resistance in the pumps you would be hearing the squealing of the fan belt. 37RAGTOPMAN 07-03-2019 @ 5:32 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1969 Joined: Oct 2009 you can add a pressure valve, Skip H has a pressure valve that you install on the overflow pipe, and you use a radiator cap that seals the cooling system now you fill the radiator when hot, and install the cap, this way you have more coolant,in the system and this also raises the boiling temp, each pound of pressure you have it raises the boiling temp I have this on my 37 and have not checked the coolant in years, and it does not loose any coolant, I use distilled water out of a dehumidifier, its free and a water wetter, works for me 37 Ragtopman

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