QuestionHello. I'm having problems with the cooling system. The car is overheating very quickly. I'm very inexperienced and would appreciate any advice on how to solve this problem. It's a V8 60 3 sp on the original 6V system.
Victor
AnswerThese engines were troubled even when new by overheating problems.
If the engine seems to run OK and has normal power, the problem is in the cooling system, but where is hard to say without checking a bunch of things.
I guess I'd start by making sure the water pumps and fan are turning, and if there are thermostats in the upper hoses, make sure they are working right (by putting them in hot water, using a candy thermometer to monitor the temperature at which they open). Next, I'd have the radiator checked out by a professional radiator shop - they will check for "flow rate" and repair it if it needs that. If no problems are found there, you'll have to investigate the block and heads themselves - checking for combustion gasses in the coolant (indicating a head gasket leak or a crack in a casting), and also checking to see if there is an accumulation of debris in the block and heads cooling passages.
If the overheating only occurs at high engine speeds, check the lower radiator hoses to see if someone has neglected to install the internal springs. The springs were not understood by many mechanics, and were often discarded when the car was worked on. The purpose is to keep the lower hoses from collapsing under vacuum produced by the water pumps at high speed.
I hope this is helpful to you.
Dick
