[Pete102580]

because i can hear the water boil in the hoses, don't need a radiator shop to tell me that. exhaust flow is fine. loss of power? i wouldn't know- i have no idea what it's "supposed" to feel like. it's always been: gas, stumble, let off before it dies, feather lightly, and go. cold or warm. been that way for 15 years now & has always run very hot. im lost with this thing, lol.... i should sell it.
pete

[just_ed]

try putting on an electric fan, and put in a 160 thermostat

[yank with ute]

You have provided ample information to suggest the exhaust system IS NOT flowing correctly. But don't discount timing or the plain simple fact the engine needs a major rebuild.

I'm thinking throwing money at the problem is not working, there is something physically wrong with the engine.

[gearhed1971]

Try checking the timing. I know you said you don't know how, so depending on the style timing light you have available, look it up on the net. Does the engine diesel? Hesitate when you put the gas down? Backfire through the carb? All signs of poor timing. If timing is not correct, you will accumulate carbon deposits on the head and this will cause dieseling ( attempting to run after the key is shut off) which in turn will cause overheating of the cooling passages in the head . What condition is the radiator in?

[gearhed1971]

Have you changed your water pump yet?

[Jonzo77]

Originally Posted by gearhed1971

Try checking the timing. I know you said you don't know how, so depending on the style timing light you have available, look it up on the net. Does the engine diesel? Hesitate when you put the gas down? Backfire through the carb? All signs of poor timing. If timing is not correct, you will accumulate carbon deposits on the head and this will cause dieseling ( attempting to run after the key is shut off) which in turn will cause overheating of the cooling passages in the head . What condition is the radiator in?

from first hand experiences on many cars, if your heads are carboned up, it's really fun to clean them out! find a nice long stretch of road, with little to no traffic, including cops. especially cops.... and open her up try to burry the needle once or twice. you should see HUGE black clouds of smoke behind you.

speaking of which, is there any color coming from your exhaust?
timing is another huge thing. and the stumbling problem you were talking about would make timing one of the first things on my list. even if you don't have a timing light, just bumping the dizzy might help you determine your problem. like it needs to be advanced a little...

[yank with ute]

Originally Posted by Pete102580

because i can hear the water boil in the hoses,

You most likley have the thermostat installed backwards, that's the only valid reason for the water in the hose to boil.

[yank with ute]

Originally Posted by Pete102580

because i can hear the water boil in the hoses, don't need a radiator shop to tell me that. exhaust flow is fine. loss of power? i wouldn't know- i have no idea what it's "supposed" to feel like. it's always been: gas, stumble, let off before it dies, feather lightly, and go. cold or warm. been that way for 15 years now & has always run very hot. im lost with this thing, lol.... i should sell it. pete

When you stated you have little knowledge of the mechanical properties of your Falcon, that was an understatement! I strongly suggest you stop talking about plans to install a V-8 as you lack the basic knowledge of the care and feeding of a gasoline engine!

Your remarks bother me, either you are witholding info on purpose or?

Take your remark above, either you don't care to fix the problem or you are trying to cause.

- I asked how you knew the water temp was the stated 215, you did not provide an answer. If this is after what apears to be short drives in the car it would not take long for the radiator and heater core to start spraying hot water as they joints would melt.

But you have yet to mention the loss of coolant. Interesting. At that rate you would have to replentish coolant everytime the car was driven. if you have, what did you use? What color was the coolant still in the system at the time of refill? Was it a dark brown or black which indicates a cracked head or block???

- By avoiding a radiator shop, the very people who can answer the question, you can not state you are certain the cooling system is holding pressure. I have yet to see you mention the radiator cap, which can fail easily.

Yet you indicate the car has run poorly for more then a decade!!! With a pressure check you can determine if the block/head are cracked or warpped. That's a good cause for "boiling coolant" (along with having the thermostat reversed).

- Pull the plugs after a drive, what color are they? If a plug looks steam cleaned that the head is cracked. That is IF you are running the correct plugs/heat range (which wouldn't cause 215 temps!).

Etc,etc,etc

And as for some of the advice given: Come on, ANY Falcon engine that would run cooler with heavier weight oil is a junk engine that needs a tortal rebuild!

[Pete102580]

lol, what is this, a jury trial?..

Quote:

- I asked how you knew the water temp was the stated 215, you did not provide an answer. If this is after what apears to be short drives in the car it would not take long for the radiator and heater core to start spraying hot water as they joints would melt.

i did provide an answer. the radiator and hoses are hotter than shit, boiling water & the gauge corresponds with it being hotter than shit. so.... ? common sense prevails here.

Quote:

But you have yet to mention the loss of coolant. Interesting. At that rate you would have to replentish coolant everytime the car was driven. if you have, what did you use? What color was the coolant still in the system at the time of refill? Was it a dark brown or black which indicates a cracked head or block???

there is no loss of coolant. it's been an inch or so below the cap since i put the head back on, green as a Mountain Dew.

Quote:

- By avoiding a radiator shop, the very people who can answer the question, you can not state you are certain the cooling system is holding pressure. I have yet to see you mention the radiator cap, which can fail easily.

there are no leaks, no steam, no nothing. no invisible loss through combustion, no clouds of smoke, no sputter of smoke. it holds pressure.

Quote:

Yet you indicate the car has run poorly for more then a decade!!! With a pressure check you can determine if the block/head are cracked or warpped. That's a good cause for "boiling coolant" (along with having the thermostat reversed).

who knows... i put the new one in the same way the old one came out... very possible the old one was in there backwards too. i'll flip it next chance i get.

Quote:

Pull the plugs after a drive, what color are they? If a plug looks steam cleaned that the head is cracked. That is IF you are running the correct plugs/heat range (which wouldn't cause 215 temps!).

plugs look new, because they are. the old plugs looked... 20 years old. nothing about them looked to be cause for concern.

Quote:

When you stated you have little knowledge of the mechanical properties of your Falcon, that was an understatement! I strongly suggest you stop talking about plans to install a V-8 as you lack the basic knowledge of the care and feeding of a gasoline engine!

ridiculous....

[Pete102580]

Originally Posted by gearhed1971

Try checking the timing. I know you said you don't know how, so depending on the style timing light you have available, look it up on the net. Does the engine diesel? Hesitate when you put the gas down? Backfire through the carb? All signs of poor timing. If timing is not correct, you will accumulate carbon deposits on the head and this will cause dieseling ( attempting to run after the key is shut off) which in turn will cause overheating of the cooling passages in the head . What condition is the radiator in?

no, it has never dieseled or backfired. the radiator is "new". it's a 3 core that came with the car when i got it & i swapped it in when i did the head gasket this spring. not a lot of carbon in the combustion chambers. a little, but it all came right off. the pistons were black, but nothing caked on them, just discolored.

it does hesitate when i push the gas. i have to feather it slowly until there's some momentum built up.

i will pick up a timing light and see what i can do with it. any features i should look for?
pete

[Pete102580]

Originally Posted by just_ed

try putting on an electric fan, and put in a 160 thermostat

the thermostat that came out was a 160, i bought a 180 before i knew what was in there. this kinda makes me think that whoever owned it before my family had the same problems and tried to fix it the same way. electric fan?.. i could do that, i think i have one laying around.

pete

[gearhed1971]

This is how the thermostat should look installed. A basic timing light will do fine.

[Jonzo77]

when you put the coolant in, did you buy the pre mixed stuff, or the full strength? if full strength, did you mix it 50/50 with water? not adding water to it would make it boil faster. also, i agree that it could be a failed rad cap, as a 16lb cap would keep your system from boiling by 48F degrees.
remember 212F is water's boiling temp, anything above is just steam

[Pete102580]

Originally Posted by Jonzo77

when you put the coolant in, did you buy the pre mixed stuff, or the full strength? if full strength, did you mix it 50/50 with water? not adding water to it would make it boil faster. also, i agree that it could be a failed rad cap, as a 16lb cap would keep your system from boiling by 48F degrees. remember 212F is water's boiling temp, anything above is just steam

i only buy the full strength stuff.. no point in paying generally the same price for half the coolant, i mix it 50/50 with garden hose water... should probably buy some distilled.

the cap is a brand new 16 pounder. for a while i was using the one off my dakota, just swap back for forth depending on which toy i wanted to take out.

[Pete102580]

Originally Posted by gearhed1971

This is how the thermostat should look installed. A basic timing light will do fine.

there goes that idea... that's how mine is in there now.
pete

[gearhed1971]

Flush it and see what kind of flow you get

[Dominick]

Just a thought.
Is the water passing through the heater core ?

[yank with ute]

If you have not had to replanish the coolant then your engine IS NOT reaching 215 degrees!

You still have failed to state how you obtained the 215 reading. If your engine was running that hot there would be tons of steam coming out from under the radiator cap.

Yes, this is a trial by jury. Continuing to fail to provide the required info about the "problem" only makes things worse. If you want help then provide the info needed.

[gearhed1971]

I agree. Try getting a mechanical temp gauge and see what it reads.

[Jonzo77]

stick a thermometer in the overflow tank when it gets that hot, or buy a laser thermometer thingy...