QuestionHello again and thanx for the response I think I neglected to mention that Its a 74 Nova with a mildly worked 73 350 Block. Well, with a little more investigation and a lot more patience..lol, I found that there isnt a water leak but infact it was the oil coming up from the Moroso Crankcase Vent Filters I have installed on each cover. It seems as if theres alot of pressure and its pushing the oil up and out of the filters and dripping down on the Headers. Once the engine overheats (190-200 deg) and I shut it off theres smoke coming out of the crank case vent filters. My guess is from overheating.
" What would be causing this?"
And Yes I am very familiar with HOT Headers I have the marks to prove it..lol, But I've never had only one side Being Hotter than the other on this engine before, especially to the point of melting my "Wire Markers" not the wires. The Ignition Wires i'm using are "Taylor 8mm SST "Stainles Steel" Braided Ignition Wires" and are Brand New. I also have them grounded to the bolt that attaches the valve cover to the head. As far as the timing jump and the wire arcing, ill check on that issue But I find it doubtful cause the wires are grounded to the block. And Speaking of grounded, I have a 1" thick ground strap attached from the head to the Cahasis "Is that a correct connection or should I place it differently?"
As far as the engine Idle, its idling at aprox. 650-700 rpm (notice that it jumps up and down a few RPM's)
And i'll recheck and retighten the headers, but, what do you mean by "the headers do run hot". was that a typo?
No, I currently am not using a shrowd (though I know I should) but ive had this set up since 1999 and Never had an overheating issue like this before.
Im using I believe its a 16" (6 blade) steel with a clutch, (that i check and seems to be operable), The fan is aprox 3" away from the Rad.
As you can see i have issues and I am stumped..lol, Im going to try to run water through the rad with my hose while the engine is running incase theres vapor lock, do you have any suggestions or methods on doing this?
Thanx for any advise and info you can give me cause im trying to get this up and running on a budget if I can..lol
(PS) I was told that running without a thermostat can cause issues to the heads, so Im a little confused now with your advice to this. I was told running without it will cause overheating.
Anyway, Good luck on figuring this out...lol I hope you can Help!!
Novadosed
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Followup To
Question -
Hello,I have a few things that are happenning at once.
Before I give you the problems let me tell you that I am a novice wth engines but im not afraid to twist wrenches once i have the general idea on what to do, lol, anyway heres what I did:
-I replaced the intake manifold From a Holley to an Edelbrock RPM and used Felpro gaskets with Red RTV Sealer ONLY at the ends of the block.
-Im using a fail safe thermostat (new)
-I Refreshed my HEI unit with a Summit GM HEI Ignition Tune-Up Kit 50k Volts.
-Im using an Edelbrock 600cfm
-Replaced all my Plugs & wires
-Changed Stock water punp to a Weiand Aluminum to aid the large AFCO Aluminum Radiator.
Ok, now heres the Problems im having
1. While trying to put in timing(@ idle), the timing mark on the dampner will NOT stay steady while I have the light on (it moves back & forth)
2. Engine reaches 190-200 deg. at idle within 15 min. (but will start to cool down when I throtle)
3. The right side headers get so hot they turn white and melted my wire markers, the left side headers are ok.
4. It looks like I saw water on the top of the #4 header gasket vaporizing.
-Now if I have a manifold gasket leaking water into the exhaust will it cause overheatingof the engine AND the header?
-And what would cause the time mark to jump erratically?
Thanx in advance, and I hope I wasnt rambling on!.lol
Answer -
HI ;
I would first off check for water leak from the intake or re-tighten it. I would remove the thermastat for the summer time all together . Your headers do get hot and yes they will burn the wires , so they must be good wires made for header use and the wires must be kept away from the heat. And your timeing jump could be from the plug wires arching , and you might have the idle to high when you are timeing it.Tighten the headers again also the headers do run hot. and check the water for leaks. also check for plug wire sparking / arching , you loose power from that. try some new wires. ok
P.S. Do you have a schrowde on the rad.? and is the fan a flex fan with a clutch .and it is the right distance to the rad.
Answer Hea -
the smoke can be from running hot , also I hope the oil pump is good .what is the oil press.
as far as the thermastat , most every s/b and b/b motor I had and most all my buddies - we never ran with a thermastat.and with no trouble at all.ever.only running a lot cooler .
your ground strap is fine. I would re check the plug wires from grounding or arching out- do it at night in a dark driveway -look for the sparks.
I would put a shrowd on or take out the thermastat , try it. as far as the headers - they will be hot at all times red or white - .
