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Mustang Radiator Problem Solved

B

Bobl1958

Well-known Member
If any of you remember this past weekend I posted about the '68 Mustang getting hot and blowing the antifreeze out the overflow tube.
I took the car to a local repair shop that is also an old time radiator shop. Turns out the problem was the thermostat only opening a little ways and not letting the coolant circulate enough. The guy also boiled out the radiator while he had it out and it seems like he has it fixed. I drove it about 10 miles and it ran cool and no problems.

Luckily I saved the money of the head gasket it seems. Lucky the guy was honest, cause he sure could have installed head gaskets and I would have been happy to pay him for it. That's how sure I was of the problem being head gaskets.

However, I had to call my Son, who is a Certified Master Tech mechanic, and who also told me to make sure to check the thermostat before tearing into the heads to make sure it was opening all the way, and let him know he nailed it.

Anyway, thanks a lot to those who tried to help with the replies. Bob
 

Glad you got it sorted out. Lots of those mustangs also seem to run hot after a rebuild. There is a great forum at http://forums.vintage-mustang.com/ for any questions about this stuff. I have a '66 that I put a 5.0 HO with the EFI and an AOD transmission and it really picked the power up. I also put some 3.55 gears in the rear so that helped also. The old 289 was so worn out it could not be rebuilt. I have restored mine and it is loads of fun to drive...especially with the AC installed. I do wish mine had power steering though. It is easy to steer at speed but when it's in a parking lot, it's tough to turn going very slow. :shock:
 

Lots of thermostats are junk these days and a lot of them are cases of wrong thermostats are being sold as replacements for engines that they are not designed for. A good example is the Ford 351C/351M/400 engines. The original thermostats had a hat on the bottom of the thermostat which covered up the bypass which is cast into the intake. All your parts stores call for the same thermostat as the 289/351Windsor/429/460 engines. Those thermostats do fit but because they do not block off the bypass when the thermostat opens the engines run hot. I have a 1978 F150 with a 400. My solution was to buy a whole box of NOS Robertshaw thermostats. They were made in Knoxville TN and are properly designed.
 

Good point on the thermostats being junk now days. Another trick I learned from the mustang forum is to drill a small hole in the thermostat to allow the trapped air to escape. Trapped air, after replacement of fluid/thermostat, causes these engines to run hot. Works for me! :D
 
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