OVERHEATING!!! 264 Nailhead

[Ben McCarthy]

I am so tired of people saying its just an old car... There has to be a way to get my motor to stay cool. Ive already changed the thermostat and checked the fluid, which was clean. She only overheats when im stuck in traffic or stationary for too long, which happens all the time seeing as i live in so cal. anybody else come across this problem? if so i would be much obliged to know how to take care of it.

[bob k. mando]

do you have a clutch fan or direct drive? if clutch, does it still lock up when the engine reaches operating temp? easy way to test would be the next time the car over heats, pull over, shut the engine off, pop the hood and grab the fan and give it a spin. if it spins easily WHILE THE ENGINE IS OVEREHEATED, you've got a problem.

the hose on the vacuum side of the radiator can actually suck shut. you might try replacing that and/or making sure that the support spring hasn't corroded away.

have you tested the water for exh gases? this would indicate that you've had a head gasket burn through. you can buy a kit from any NAPA store.

how old is your radiator? new multi-core radiators will take care of the problem so long as you have water flow. also note that the fluid being clean does NOT mean that the rad core is clean.

[TexasJohn55]

So I'm guessing it is a '54 or '55 Special? If it still has the fan shroud and stock fan, have the radiator rodded out to fix your overheating in traffic. You don't have a/c do you? It would probably be an opportune time to replace freeze plugs in block and flush out scale and mud from block. You can also back flush the heater cores with a garden hose while you are at it.

[firstofeight]

As others have said, the radiator is probably plugged. Flushing WILL NOT fix it. Pull the radiator, take it to a radiator shop. They will, if radiator is good enough, remove the top and bottom tanks and rod out each passage of the core. If core is rotten, which is possible, a new core is called for. Any thing else is a band aid approach until this is done. Been there, done that. Several times. I learned slowly.

Ben