Farmall h running HOT-HOT-HOT

John Fulton · Jul 20, 2012

Finally, after working on my '47 H since winter, I got her started up. She runs fine, but runs so hot after just 5 minutes that the gas in the carburator was steaming, muffler was nearly red hot. I pulled water pump, it looks fine. New gage shows plenty oil pressure. Any other ideas?

Charlie M · Jul 20, 2012

Maybe thermostat is froze closed. I had that happen on a 300U by just shutting it off to go to supper one time.

DonR of Mn · Jul 20, 2012

Check your timing.

John Fulton · Jul 20, 2012

Timing is right on, Don. Thanks. But it was right on before I took water pump off. And she ran smooth, just VERY hot.

John Fulton · Jul 20, 2012

Charlie, I have water neck off, I will break apart and check thermostat. Thanks

John Fulton · Jul 20, 2012

BTW, temp. gauge did not register hot.

Janicholson · Jul 20, 2012

New water pumps (or rebuilt) can have loose impellers. I have been there twice. See if there is circulation in the system before going for things not changed. Air in the block will also make issues with no temp reading, and hot operation. Jim

MN Scott · Jul 20, 2012

Might be running lean. Make sure your carb is clean, intake manifold gasket is not leaking. Also make sure there is no holes in intake manifold. Check the advances in your distributor.

dej(Jed) · Jul 20, 2012

(quoted from post at 08:47:37 07/20/12) Finally, after working on my '47 H since winter, I got her started up. She runs fine, but runs so hot after just 5 minutes that the gas in the carburator was steaming, muffler was nearly red hot. I pulled water pump, it looks fine. New gage shows plenty oil pressure. Any other ideas?

Radiator is plugged........

John Fulton · Jul 20, 2012

Janicholson,
"Air in block", as no water circulation, or oil circulation? New (though Chinese) oil gauge reads high. Thermostat also new. However as we all know sometimes new is not as good as 70 years old!! Just look at my finely tuned 70 year young body. LOL!

Super-H-Mike · Jul 20, 2012

Dang that WAS hot ! My vote is air pockets also...in the cooling system. Fill coolant all the way up and let her run til just starting to get hot again, shut it off and let stand 5-10 mins.,It may push some coolant out but dont worry about that, refill the radiator and repeat the process several times til it is fully bled out and circulating normally. If that doesnt work, its not air pockets. T-stat wont open and pump cannot pump with air in the system.Start with the simple stuff first .

mkirsch · Jul 20, 2012

Timing is right on... measured HOW?

Just thinking here, if you did it by timing light it may be nowhere near "right on."

John Fulton · Jul 20, 2012

Timing checked with timing light.

John Fulton · Jul 20, 2012

Coolant was full in both radiator and block, as evidanced when i DISASSEMBLED FAN AND WATER PUMP ASSYMBLY. Thermostat also appears fine.

jbp · Jul 20, 2012

Does your H have a magneto? If it does and you used a timing light to time it, it would be about 30 degrees too slow. A magneto goes to full advance as soon the impulse coupling quits clicking. A red hot muffler in five minutes is certainly an indication of retarded spark. I also have a 47 H and it has a magneto. Joe

GordoSD · Jul 20, 2012

Check the tube from the block to the gauge. It siunds to me like it is your water pump, not circulating the coolant. You say you rebuilt it, Why? Did you have any parts left over?

pete 23 · Jul 20, 2012

Like others have said, you don't time an engine that has a magneto with a timing light. Only reason to do that would be to check to see what actual spark lag you have on that magneto. Most run 35 degrees on an H 4 mag on an H farmall. You time it to snap just after top dead center and that is it. Now, there was a special impulse coupling made to acomodate fire crater pistons that had about 22 degree advance. Also, late timing will make engine sound like it is pulling a plow and of course run hot.

David G · Jul 20, 2012

Why don't you hold on before taking anything apart. Can you answer some questions.

You said it is HOT, but the coolant showed cool and the manifold was red hot. Please explain what that means.

You said timing is OK, is it a mag or dist, and how did you time it.

What ALL did you do to the motor?

Thanks,

davediehl@hotmail.com · Jul 20, 2012

I would start at the thermostat. 28 bucks at napa and its a good idea to change it just to get the crud out. Pry it out and replace with a fresh gasket. I had to make mine. Never run without one on place, the water will circulate faster than it can cool. Then set your mag at top dead center. There are videos on youtube that will show you how. Then check fuel mixtures, lean runs hot, rich runs black smoke and sputters. Smooth plus a quarter turn on the setting.

rhtx55 · Jul 20, 2012

First I would take a water hose & flush the radiator out towards the front.
If a lot of "mud" & trash come out, then it is possible not enough air was being pulled through the radiator. Check the fan, watch it as the engine is cranked over to be sure it is pulling air through the radiator from front to back. Check the tightness of the fan belt, it may be slipping a little. Fill the radiator with water with the front wheels elevated enough to bring any "air" trapped in the system up to the radiator, run it at half throttle with an accurate hand held temp gauge in the radiator neck.
I would remove the thermostat completely and test run again, check for coolant flowing across the top radiator radiator tank with a flash light, if it does not flow it is possible the impeller in the water pump is in backwards, or is the wrong one for your application.
If it flows visibly, then the water pump is ok. Replace with the correct thermostat from IH.
Test run again and if after all this it is still getting too hot, it's time to pull the water jacket off the side of the engine & clean out the residue ( rust etc.) from around the sleeves & block.
Then remove the water pump & verify everything is according to the manual.
If it is running hot enough to make the manifold cherry red, there are mutiple issues, you have to work through each & every possible cause, including how the timing & carb should be set. Time to get some experienced help !!

Super-H-Mike · Jul 20, 2012

He says it ran smooth, to me that rules out way late timing and extremely lean mixture. Either would have to be crazy off the mark to cause what he is describing. Has to be cooling system related I figure...

David G · Jul 20, 2012

I am on board with RHTX55, there are probably multiple issues here.

Super-H-Mike · Jul 21, 2012

Thought about it some more, to get the muffler going almost red hot makes me on board with late timing too as a possibility. But, are you sure it runs smooth, as in normal smooth? Like Pete says, they will sound like its strugglin and lack power.

El Toro · Jul 21, 2012

When the engine gets hot touch the bottom hose lightly to see if its hot. If it doesn't feel real hot your radiator probably needs to rodded out by your local radiator shop. I would also look at that thermostat to see if its stuck closed. It may be blocking any coolant circulation. Hal

SDE · Jul 21, 2012

Some cars will need to be parked with their nose in the air to get the trapped air out of the block. You might try parking your H in a ditch and see if your system has an air pocket in it.
Simple things first
SDE

Farmall h running HOT-HOT-HOT

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