Cooling problem/help please

[Ford2ner]

Am I the only one that everytime I meet up with other cobras that ends up sitting at a gas station or the side of the road because my car is overheating? For some reason occasionally when I try to drive my cobra it ends up overheating and it spews out of my overflow and I have to take the bolt off of the crossover to fill it back up and burp the system.. And yes it is burped correctly, my problem now is the fact that the bolt is too weak and keep's wanting to round off. But that is besides the point, I'm thinking there is a slight leak somewhere bringing air pockets in. Anyone else ever have this problem or know of a solution? Thanks

(how she is sitting currently at a gas station)

 

[rtvickers]

Sorry to hear your having trouble. Ive been down that road. It was a bad outcome for me but hopefully not for you. A few things you can try. Check the cap. I think its supposed to hold 16psi. Get a combustion gas tester. Its cheap. That way you can eliminate a serious problem like a head gasket. Buy or borrow a coolant pressure tester. It puts pressure into the sytem and if theres a leak it should push coolant out. If it holds pressure it should be ok. Check and make sure you coolant fan is working properly. High speed and low speed. Check the radiator and heat exchanger and make sure there's nothing clogging it up. Take a water hose and clean the radiator from the inside out. Take the Tstat out and check it. Put in a pot of hot water and see if it opens mutliple times. Hopefully its something simple. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[hotcobra03]

I ve had many tiny leaks in radiator.

had some leak past clamps as they age and crude builds..

heatercore starting can do that to it flows at all times..

some time laying under car after you get it hot helps to see tiny drips

fan has issues also high/low works than doesnt

 

[Ford2ner]

Occasionally i have noticed the high speed fan doesn't work.. It seems the longer i go without driving it the more often it happens. I will re burp the system and she is good to roll for the rest of the day that i drive it then i let it sit for a few weeks take her 3 miles down the road and she shoots out everywhere and needs re burped..

 

[rtvickers]

Borrow or buy one of these. It will help you find your leak if you have one.

Radiator Pressure Tester Kit

 

[xsellr8]

Do you run the heater on full blast when you burp it?

 

[Ford2ner]

Borrow or buy one of these. It will help you find your leak if you have one.

Radiator Pressure Tester Kit

Awesome, i'll give that a shot.

Do you run the heater on full blast when you burp it?

Negative. I start it up open the overflow cap start filling on the crossover next to the blower and when the overflow starts overfilling put the cap on and keep filling til the thermostat is open and water starts coming out of the crossover turn it off fill back to the top and put the bolt in.

 

[xsellr8]

Without the heater turned on I believe it will not let coolant pass through the heater core (which may have air in it). I have also seen people bleed coolant systems with a funnel you can buy and run the car with the funnel filled half way up with coolant to help it bleed.

I've also changed a few water pumps that have been halfway working and didn't seem like the problem, but they were.

 

[Ford2ner]

Without the heater turned on I believe it will not let coolant pass through the heater core (which may have air in it). I have also seen people bleed coolant systems with a funnel you can buy and run the car with the funnel filled half way up with coolant to help it bleed.

I've also changed a few water pumps that have been halfway working and didn't seem like the problem, but they were.

The funnel is actually the way I did it last time. Flushed the whole system since it was straight water from re burping so many times it was getting corroded and filled back up with antifreeze. But when it happens again I'll try turning the heater on

 

[333arod333]

Definitely turn the heater on full blast. Test your fan too... I'm betting that since you have noticed it doesn't work properly sometimes, this is going to be a main problem.

BTW, if you're driving only 3 miles and it is already overheating, that is amazing. I have to drive for about 5 miles just to get to operating temperature.

 

[xsellr8]

Definitely turn the heater on full blast. Test your fan too... I'm betting that since you have noticed it doesn't work properly sometimes, this is going to be a main problem.

BTW, if you're driving only 3 miles and it is already overheating, that is amazing. I have to drive for about 5 miles just to get to operating temperature.

Makes me think its the water pump

 

[rrpederson]

If you find that your coolant system is working properly but just cannot keep up with the heat being made by your setup, take a look at my thread. It may help. Sounds like something is wrong with your cooling system if it overheats so quickly. Maybe list all your cooling mods so we can get a better idea of what you cooling system should be capable of.

http://www.svtperformance.com/forum...ow-speed-cooling-single-turbo-terminator.html

 

[Presteige]

its probably due to the hood swap.....:nonono:

 

[Ford2ner]

its probably due to the hood swap.....:nonono:

Lol I ended up figuring it out. There is a small hole in the bottom of the radiator and it's been leaking out slowly

 

[hotcobra03]

Lol I ended up figuring it out. There is a small hole in the bottom of the radiator and it's been leaking out slowly

Whats your plan? I would use barhs leak

Radiator might be 1 of the parts not made anymore for ford.and aftermarket radiator isnt direct fit

There is a thread on parts not available for cobra

 

[mike69440]

Just get a good radiator

With all you have been through, Just get a good radiator and aftermarket HE.

Stock Ford leaves a lot to be desired. Don't go less than 180 T-Stat.

 

[SVT Hess]

Also you can pick up the bolt piece in the crossover from Tousley, my O ring on mine was broken recently and I picked one up from them

 

[hotcobra03]

Also you can pick up the bolt piece in the crossover from Tousley, my O ring on mine was broken recently and I picked one up from them

I got viston orings from parts store..1 size in assortment fit..

 

[Ford2ner]

Whats your plan? I would use barhs leak

Radiator might be 1 of the parts not made anymore for ford.and aftermarket radiator isnt direct fit

There is a thread on parts not available for cobra

My brother swapped his to an aftermarket radiator when he went auto so I'll just put his stocker in mine.

With all you have been through, Just get a good radiator and aftermarket HE.

Stock Ford leaves a lot to be desired. Don't go less than 180 T-Stat.

Heat exchanger is deleted, I run the killer chiller with a 4gal reservoir in the trunk

Also you can pick up the bolt piece in the crossover from Tousley, my O ring on mine was broken recently and I picked one up from them

Ended up welding a socket on to the bolt so it's a breeze to get off now.

 

[hotcobra03]

that plug is an oring seal in a tube..hand tight is fine..i think alot of guys over tighten it..mine has been on/off 100 times and looks untouched..