MTFCA Forum

Hello Everybody,
I wanted to get your opinion if you have the time. My 27 Tudor has started heating a lot. I have driven the car everywhere in all temperatures and have never had the first issue with it heating but now that it is cold outside the car has started blowing steam pretty quickly after starting. Just running to the store, I am hearing it boiling after only driving a few miles, and that is with temperatures in the 30s. I went out this morning to run an errand and started the car then went back inside for about 5 minutes when I went back out to leave it looked like a steam engine was running in the shed. The car runs like it should, no steam out tail pipe. The car doesn't have a water pump. There is nothing that I can think to do other than just flushing the system but I can't see how sludge could build up so quickly. It seems like this happened overnight.

Any ideas will be appreciated. You are always a blessing.

Did the fan belt fall off?

Is antifreeze good enough for the temp?
I have heard of cars with antifreeze good enough for the standing still temp, but at speeds the radiator will freeze enough to stop water flow.
Think that is called wind chill? But I am not a weatherman and didn’t stay in a HI Express either.

Joshua;

Not knowing the overnight temperate range where you are, is it possible that the radiator froze some, blocking the thermosyphoning of the water?

I suspect you have a leaking head gasket or a cracked head. Fill the radiator with coolant and look for bubbles coming up while the engine is running. If you were closer, I could check the vapor from the radiator with a carbon dioxide detector.

Did you ever add water to the radiator while the engine was overheated. Doing this can crack the head.

Keep us informed on your progress. I am sure others will have ideas. Good luck

Art Mirtes

Bill is correct about the likelihood of water being frozen in the radiator which blocks coolant flow. When the outside temperature is above freezing for a day or two, start the car and see if if still overheats.

Wind chill as issued by the NWS doesn't affect radiators, but running the car in cold weather invites radiator freeze up. A 50/50 mix of clean water and "green" antifreeze will prevent this.

You'd think that driving the car on cold weather would keep the radiator from freezing due to engine heat, but it won't. If the temperature is at or below freezing, the lower part of the radiator will freeze up when moving down the road, which will block water flow, allowing the entire radiator to quickly freeze, even though the engine is overheating. Anti-freeze is a must. It's best to use it all year long to prevent boilover in hot weather, freezing, and corrosion. A filling of good antifreeze mix will last for several years and cost but a few cents a day.

Do you have a pipe connecting the lower radiator tank to the engine coolant inlet connection or is it a continual rubber hose ? If the latter, at some point it’ll collapse and preclude thermosyphon

From your post I take it that you haven’t had this problem with your 1927 T in past winters at this same location. One thing you should check is the timer advance rod to see if it came loose from the steering gear mount or loose from the timer. A car running fully retarded can overheat especially if a loose timer rod pushed the timer more retarded before it came loose.

Running a lean carb mixture will make the engine overheat. Check your main jet adjustment, and fuel flow. On your next jaunt open up the main jet a bit and see if that helps.

The radiator would be the first part to freeze because the thin water tubes and exposure to the weather. The engine block and head contain more water and are also insulated under the hood and the walls of the water jacket are thicker than those of the radiator. Whether or not the fan is working makes no difference because the water won't flow through the radiator when it is frozen. I suppose, you could pour some hot water around the radiator to get it functioning, but I would not recommend pouring it in when the engine is hot.

Norm

One more thing to check if you have been adding coolant to the radiator but can not find a leak. Check the engine oil to make sure it is good and not milky. The 1926-27 blocks are known for cracking water jackets above the valve chamber. This could cause coolant to leak into the crankcase without getting into a cylinder and then going out the exhaust system. Milky engine oil is not a good lubricant.