i took my car for a little ride around the neighborhood today.................
the motor is practically brand new....... probably like 15 miles on it......
i just put it in it still needs to be fine tuned and stufff.................

i was driving and i happened to notice some steam or smoke coming from the engine compartment........when i turned off the car it kinda did like this hesetent thing were it almost tried to stay on but it finally died...........i poped the hood and noticed the smoke was coming from the carburator area and my coolant overflow tank filled all the way up and started to leak out..........my temp was high but not in the red part were it over heats!!!!!!!!!

turned on the fan and let it cool down............ when i started the car the overflow tank emptyed and it ran fine!!1!!

wats going on?????????????????

 

Air lock, stuck thermostat and probably 50 others...


Could have also been a headgasket but i highly doubt it if it didnt do this right off the bat and after this episode.

 

i'd remove your water neck, and look at your thermostat. make sure it's in right, not upside down or anything weird.
Then pour mixed coolant into the block there to make sure it's full. bolt it back on and try again.
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oh, and back off on your timing at idle.

 

what do u mean back off my timing...........

 

Incorrect timing can create excessive combustion chamber temperatures. The heat has to go somewhere. Unless it's a crazy number, I wouldn't worry about it yet.

I would cover the basics first. Coolant levels, thermostat operation, air pocket, things like that. Start with the easy list and go from there.

 

so what should i check first?????????

 

There's plenty to start with that's already been listed.

 

but how do i know that my thermostate is working????

 

Are you serious? If so PLEASE invest in a haynes and chilton's manuals. You should know the basic operation of your vehicle.

To check if thew t-stat is opening wait till it's supposed to open and then grab the top rad hose and see if it's hot. I'd tell you how to burp the system, but I'm afraid you might hurt yourself. :shrug:

 

i know how to work on my car........ i just rebuilt my 350 and installed it............
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how you burp the system?????????

 

2 words, REPAIR MANUAL!

Their for the most part cheap as dirt and usefull for small problems like this.



It kind of scares me how you could rebuild this motor, drop it in and yet still not know what sonix is talking about when he tells you to back off the timing and check the thermostat!


Timing- hook up timing light and turn dizzy a hir clockwise till you back it down a couple degree.

Thermostat- I stick mine in a pot of water on the stove with a thermometer and note the temp that the thermostat is supposed to open at, keep an eye on it to see what temp it opens at if it even opens.

 

timing is what I think of when I see a run on condition, however like stek said, that's because it's getting too hot in the combustion chamber (not neccessarily timing), since you're having an overheating problem......
timing is super easy to check, and costs 0 dollars. I don't believe you if you say you've rebuilt a motor, and you don't own a timing light. (so buy one, and make this a moot point).
Anything under 20degress advanced, and over 4 degrees advanced should be ok. ie, it won't make the motor overheat in a few minutes. That's a nice 16* safezone right there, set it in that area.

check your rad hose to see if it's hot. if it's empty while your car overheats, or the fluid is not HOT, then your t-stat isn't opening, so that's the problem.

 

I just set the timing advance 10 degreez a couple of days ago......... is ten ok??????????
and i do own a timing light it should be perfect........

and i checked the radiator hose and yes it is pressurized and hot.........

 

Few questions:

1.

 

Congratulations on building and installing your own engine.

Let's start wit a few questions:

1. Were you stuck in trafic during your little 15 minute drive?
2. Are your fans hooked up and running? If so...
3. Is the fan polarity hooked up corectly? Are the fans pulling air through your radiator?
4. If the fans are ok, best bet is to replace the thermostat with a 160 temp thermostat.

 

A fresh build can be fairly tight, and a bit of extra heat isn't uncommon. Is the radiator new, or at least cleaned out since the rebiuld, or just the same as when the old engine was pulled? What kind of skirt clearances did you have? Ring gaps? Did you install coolant restrictors in the intake flange gaskets?

 

Usually when i drive i have my fan running at all times just to be sure it wont over heat...........
but when i dont.......... my fan usually kicks on right before over heating temperatures soooo......... yeah my fan does work and it is pulling air.........


i am using the sam fan and radiator and nooooo i did not clean my radiator.....

and no i didnt put no blocks in my intake.... however my intake didnt have coolant passages in the back.........there permanently blocked off i guess thats how they were made......

and yeah i think i did run into a few stop lights but heavy traffic noooo.........