1966 buick lesabre convertiable w/ 340ci overheating

**ginuwine846** · 09-03-2011, 12:27 PM

Here's the situation, this engine was just rebuilt and at this point, has less than 120 miles on it. It has a new thermostat (what temp i have no idea since it was build out of state) the radiator "appears" to be fine with no restriction in flow, i just put a electric fan on it (a zirgo 3000 cfm), it didn't have a shroud on it so i made one from fiberglass and it sit roughly about a inch away from the core it self, and installed a new radiator cap that lifts at 16 psi. I just installed a temp gauge cause u all know, with classic there's no cool, med, or hot, there's just a light that says hot and i wanted to have some sort of reference as to what temp it was getting before any damage is done. Now its pretty much getting hot just sitting there. fans on, the front of the radiator is cool from the fan and the back side blows out the hot air which i think is normal but the gauge is still showing the temp rise aswell as the upper hose getting very warm. The bottom hose has the spring still installed and its not collapsing. I haven't pulled the water pump for reasons that the motor was just rebuilt water seems to flow pretty well from what i can tell but its still getting hot. I live in Tampa fl and i could get any help with this, i would soooo greatly appreciate it. I'm even willin to exchange numbers to explain it further if need be. Thanks

**ginuwine846** · 09-03-2011, 04:34 PM

update, installed a new thermostat and still the same problem.....please help!!!

**Bob** · 09-03-2011, 06:46 PM

Is the motor radiator combination the original for the car? or is the rad too small. Maybe some pictures of your fan/shroud instal might be interesting.

**ginuwine846** · 09-03-2011, 08:32 PM

yes its the original rad. and engine. The only diffrence is the engine was re-built. heres pics of the shroud i made. its covered with a spray bedliner coating. Brackets were added caust the "natural" tilt of the rad. was too close for me to install the fan with out the engine rubbing on the motor of the electric fan. It orginally had a 4 blade fan installed with no cluth so i figured the electric fan would help but so far not any.....

**ginuwine846** · 09-03-2011, 08:38 PM

to see if the fan was helping any, i threw a towel to the front of the radiator and it hold in place while the fan is running and as i said before, u can feel the cool air sucking from the front and warm air blowing out the back. i even felt the radiator and directly in front of the fan is cool but towards the neck where water comes from the rad to the engine, its a lil warm but i wouldn't expect it to be as cool as dead center where the fan is or should i?

**ginuwine846** · 09-03-2011, 08:47 PM

also from searching all over the net, i'm seeing more and more people saying check the timing. I have no idea whats set to what. Before i left for a deployment, i had the car with engine sent off to be rebuilt and this is how i've received it back, which if my fault for starters. I can't go back in time so now i just have to fix it. Its just me so i don't have anyone who could help me to see if maybe its out of time cause for sure, i'm also have carb issues. I rebuilt the carb myself with a manual (its a 2bbl rochester) cause the accelerator pump was bad in it. I'm just at my rope with this thing. I soo badly wanna hurry and get it fixed but there's only soo much i know and are able to do. I could really just use the help!!!!

**ginuwine846** · 09-04-2011, 12:59 AM

another update......As far as my carb issue, i'm sure it may need the 2 front screws tuned in but what i have noticed is the choke on the left side operates a lil weird. For staters, i'm not sure what style choke it is but i wanna say is a thermo styles choke only because when i broke the carb down, there was this lil coil like spring kinda like a clutch on a fan that was coiled up around the outside plastic disk. there's a fitting at the bottom with a tube thats curved back and the tip is block off. i'm not sure exactly how or where its suppose to be set where it operates on its on. Like if i have a hard time starting the car on the first try, if u manually turn that disk it eventually starts. the problem is, its smokes like a train and runs rough. overall, i just want someone or a possible shop / shops that could help me with getting everything right. It could be sooo close to being right but because i don't have the tools or knowledge to get it right, its kicking my butt right now. PLEASE HELP!!!!

**Bob** · 09-04-2011, 06:50 AM

It sounds like you did not instal the distributor, the rebuilder installed it? If that is the case, give him a call and ask him if he test ran the engine. He probably did and all should be correct from that aspect.

How cool is the lower water hose running back into the engine, how long can you hold your hand firmly around it?

**ginuwine846** · 09-04-2011, 08:35 AM

ive tried calling the shop and no one answers. I recieved a video of the engine running when they first installed itbut i'm not sure how long they ran it. Thats the thing, u could prolly run the engine for about 15 min or so before u even notice theres a issue with the cooling. i have the strangest feeling that the shop may not have know how to deal with buicks engine in particular. Thats why i rather have a buick guru either help me or see this for themselves so i can get this resolved.

**ginuwine846** · 09-04-2011, 12:54 PM

update......I installed a new 160 degree thermostat and its still hot BUT the coolant isn't boilling over. I added wetter wet to the coolant. Both upper and lower hoses are warm and when running, they become hard with minimal flex to them. Im nervous to drive the thing cause i'm just not sure when or if it will boil over again. I looked at the gage and it reached 230 before i finally shut it off. Thats after about 15-20 mins of it sitting at park. It s this normal or do i need to dig deeper??