Temperature problems

[Cristian]

I have a 72 Vega with a sbc 355 and after putting a new water pump, problems beggin. The original setup was Camel Hump heads, forged flat top pistons, forged rods, nitrurated crank, among other things. We changed the original water pump for a Weiand, and temperature started to elevate, also do pressure.

We changed heads for a set of aluminum Pro Comp 58cc combustion chamber and 210cc runners, and thing just got worse. It seems like compression is going into the water cause there is a lot of pressure in the cooling system, a pressure that IMO just can be created by the engine compression. We pressure checked everything (magnaflux and all the rest), and there was nothing wrong.

Now the engine is dissarmed waiting for a new camshaft which I'm choosing yet (accept ideas) and still thinking about my problem and the possible causes of it. One of my theory comes along the elevation of the intake water neck and the rad; the water neck is about 4" higher than the top of the rad. We install a water neck with filler and the problem remains. We changed head gaskets, and nope; theres pressure yet.

I don't know if some of you have ever experienced something like this, but if you could give me a hand, some ideas or advice I'd be very apprecciate it.

Thank you very much and hope you can help me.

Cheers!

[69lsxamx]

Have you tried putting the original water pump back on? Maybe something is up with the weiand.

[MrForce]

Is the direction of rotation the same for both pumps?

[Cristian]

We put the original water pump back, but the problem is still there. The rotation was the same for both pumps.

When we put the original pump, we found out that there was nothing to do with it, the temperature behavior did't changed. This week we put everything back together and see what happens. Meanwhile i would like to keep reading opinions. Thanks a lot!!!

[MonzaRacer]

OK so first of all who much pressure, you do have a pressure cap on rad and it will make pressure as it heats up.
If your system is ok run it with cap off, till thermostat opens, yes run a thermostat or the engine can have cooling issues. Also have you ran a block tech, most shops have the kit or you can get one from NAPA to check for exh gasses in coolant. ALSO you either need a water pump lube or some antifreeze or your engine can have issues.
Car should be able to idle with cap off hot idling, if you have electric fans you want your fans to turn on at about 200ish, run and be able to watch temp fall, fans shut off, fan clutch same way, solid fan never should over heat.
Down road you should ba around the thermostat temp give or take. My BBC always ran 160 on 160 and 180 0n 180.
My Monza with factory 3 row and electric never gave me an issue and Iran my temp control from my temp gauge.
I intend to do same on both my current projects.
Most AutoZones have pressure testers to rent but dont forget the system, if there is no cap will continue to build pressure but it shouldnt do so fast.

[JEFFTATE]

Back at the beginning , Why did you swap the Original pump for the Weiand pump ??
Was it having the overheating problems back then , with the Original pump ?
Were you putting the Weiand Pump on it to try and cure a problem that was really caused by something else ?
Maybe it has an internal leak that is letting cylinder combustion pressure into the cooling system ( like a blown head gasket , cracked block , or cracked head )

[SparkyRnD]

if the radiator is lower, make sure that you burp the system several times. Also, if the engine is down this far, you should have it pressure tested and check the deck to make sure its true. If the coolant system is getting pressurized, you need to fix that before all else. It will either be leaking head gaskets, warped deck or cracks in the cooling jacket causing pressure to get in (verify to be sure). I wouldn't reassemble and risk ruining more parts. Most shops can pressure test a block and check the deck squareness for pretty cheap.

[Cristian]

Back at the beginning , Why did you swap the Original pump for the Weiand pump ??
Was it having the overheating problems back then , with the Original pump ?
Were you putting the Weiand Pump on it to try and cure a problem that was really caused by something else ?
Maybe it has an internal leak that is letting cylinder combustion pressure into the cooling system ( like a blown head gasket , cracked block , or cracked head )

There wasn't any problem with the original pump, we just had this Weiand and thought it may work better, which didn't happened. We've already changed head gaskets and checked the heads, the next step is check the block deck and do the pressure check; all of this is almost ready, I just need some time to go to the machining shop and ask what happened with my block.

if the radiator is lower, make sure that you burp the system several times. Also, if the engine is down this far, you should have it pressure tested and check the deck to make sure its true. If the coolant system is getting pressurized, you need to fix that before all else. It will either be leaking head gaskets, warped deck or cracks in the cooling jacket causing pressure to get in (verify to be sure). I wouldn't reassemble and risk ruining more parts. Most shops can pressure test a block and check the deck squareness for pretty cheap.

Thanks, I'm about to know what is going on with the block, everything else is ok. Can you tell me more easily what it means "burp the system"?, sorry but am from Chile and not very familiarized with some terms haha.

OK so first of all who much pressure, you do have a pressure cap on rad and it will make pressure as it heats up.
If your system is ok run it with cap off, till thermostat opens, yes run a thermostat or the engine can have cooling issues. Also have you ran a block tech, most shops have the kit or you can get one from NAPA to check for exh gasses in coolant. ALSO you either need a water pump lube or some antifreeze or your engine can have issues.
Car should be able to idle with cap off hot idling, if you have electric fans you want your fans to turn on at about 200ish, run and be able to watch temp fall, fans shut off, fan clutch same way, solid fan never should over heat.
Down road you should ba around the thermostat temp give or take. My BBC always ran 160 on 160 and 180 0n 180.
My Monza with factory 3 row and electric never gave me an issue and Iran my temp control from my temp gauge.
I intend to do same on both my current projects.
Most AutoZones have pressure testers to rent but dont forget the system, if there is no cap will continue to build pressure but it shouldnt do so fast.

I'll do the test with the cap off if the problem persists, thanks for the answer!.

[jakeaw87]

agree with the "burping", make sure there is no air in the coolant system. If the radiator cap is lower than the engine you will have trouble doing this, must elevate the opening until it is above the engine. allow the temperature to come up until the thermostat opens, with the cap off, you should get some air bubbles out. compression coming into the cooling system is usually a constant bubbling, small leaks can be detected with special instruments. make sure when you reinstall your heads you use new TTY bolts and follow the specifications exactly. Photos of your cooling setup and a complete description will slo help us to diagnose your overheating troubles.