My 85 tpi 305 ROC still overheats after i put in a new thermostat and a fan that will run all the time, the funny thing is that the old motor that was in the car overheated to. But i have had some people tell me that i have a blown head gasket, would this cause overheating into the over fill for the radiator, cuz im not getting any white smoke, and im not getting any thing in the oil or any water coming out the exhaust. Also it seems like the engine stays really hot for a long time. So if anyone can help i would really appreciate it, THANKS

Have you tried a new radiator cap?

The normal operating temperature of a car's cooling system is higher than the boiling point of water. Anti-freeze both lowers the freezing point of water, and raises the boiling point. The pressure in the cooling system raises the boiling point still further. Therefore, if your rad cap is no good and you are running water only besides, your car will boil over (pretend to overheat) before the fan switch even reaches its turn-on temperature, while the enigne is well within its normal operating temperature range.

Put in a new cap and try a 75-25 water-AF mix, i.e. one gallon of AF, the rest water.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

most of what is in the radiator is antifreeze so could the cap still be bad or something worse?

Antifreeze does not hold heat as mucha s water does, so it is an inferior coolant. Try a new cap and a 75-25 mix, that solves an amazing number of "overheating" complaints.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

Ok i will try that but before i do that would it be a good idea to flush out the radiator and block and what type of cap should i get that would be the best

If you haven't flushed the cooling system in the past three years, you're overdue. Wile you're at it. make sure teh pump is moving coolant and the lower radiator hose is not soft or spongy - like it is missing the reinforcement spring that prevents it from collapsing at higher engine speeds.

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Later,
Vader
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"Let the bodies hit the floor!"
Adobe Acrobat Reader

You mentioned that the old engine in the car overheated as well. Do you have a fan shroud?

Are you using the old waterpump, and check your air flow through your radiator, make sure it isnt clogged. My radiator was clogged with bugs and crap, and it caused it especially in town. Helped a little to pull it and clean it. Also your radiator may be partially clogged, usually on the drivers side. My old one was actually melting the plastic from the inside and got clogged up with that black goo.

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1992 Camaro Z-28 5.7L auto t-tops arctic white

1967 Pontiac Catalina 2 door fastback 400 v-8 auto cameo white dark red interior

Yes i have a shroud,It's the same one that came with the original fan and iam using the water pump that came with the new engine but that seem like it is flowing ok, other then that i dont understand why its doing this, but i think it might be the radiator or heater core sense the old motor overheated to

My car started to overheat one day for some odd reason. I tried flushing, new thermostat and such and it only helped a little. But then I noticed that the engine lost a lot of power when it was overheating and I came upon the conclusion my cat was clogged. So since then I gutted the cat and my engine runs about 180- 190 degrees all the time when warmed up. Just sharing my experience. Oh yeah, make sure your air damn is good and not ripped off or cracked.

Does anyone else have any ideas

Is it overheating on highways ? If so you should check your air dam underneath the front of your car, since you mention that the previous motor overheated too you might be missing it. Your car WILL overheat without one.

The car overheats everywhere, the car dont have a air dam but my mom has a 83 camaro with a 305 and one electric fan hooked to a toggle switch with no air dam and hers never has overheated, so what would make the difference of hers to my 85 roc. Could the problem be that i just have more antifreeze then water or could it be bad cap. and if its not that could the problem be that i do just have a bad head gasket

#1 symptom of a blown head gasket -- Car has F-O-R-D on the front.

Does anyone else have any idea what it could be because i would really like to drive it sometime very soon

Duke,

I've gotta hand it to you - you certainly are patient.

From the top, there are several things that can cause or contribute to overheating:

1. Low coolant level;
2. Water pump drive slipping or pump sheave loose on the shaft;
3. Radiator hose collapsed;
4. Radiator not getting adequate air flow;
5. Failed radiator cap;
6. Excessive drag on the car (pulling a trailer);
7. Retarded ignition timing;
8. Entrapped air in the cooling system;
9. Failed thermostat;
10. Water pump shaft broken, impeller loose or worn;
11. Radiator internally clogged;
12. Cooling system clogged (especially in the heads);
13. Dragging brakes;
14. Coolant concentration over 60% antifreeze;
15. Incorrect fan direction;
16. Radiator too small;
17. restricted exhaust system.
18. Incorrect water pump direction (some are designed to run in reverse, like those on Poly 'V' setups (serpentine).

I'm sure there are more possibilities, but those are the common ones.

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Later,
Vader
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"Let the bodies hit the floor!"
Adobe Acrobat Reader

Get under your car and loosen the exhaust before the cat. I'd bet a dollar to a dog turd the car will run cool. If so gut or replace the cat.

Well, if I have the cooling system plugged in the heads how do I tell and how do I fix it. and if the timing is retarded will that make me have no low end power because I dont get a fast rev when hitting the gas and I dont really start to get power Intel like 2500RPMs, but the distributor is like almost all the way turned to the firewall. I also dont have a converter, all i got right at this moment from the manifold to where the axle then i dont have a muffler cuz it fell off. AND the old motor i had also overheated to