I have a 1914 model T that seems to heat up more than it should. The water pump works fine and plenty of prestone. Any ideas?
Oh Boy here we go again. What method have you used to check the engine temp? A heat gun like Harbor Freight sells is a dandy way to confirm overheating. If it is spilling coolent onto the ground when hot you might have it overfilled. If the radiator is restricted the non-original water pump may be pushing the coolant out the overflow.
Many with more knowledge will soon reply
Bill
Royce, here is your chance to answer a water pump/overheating question.
With the name "Snowbird" in the profile, and November in Wyoming, you gotta' just be stirring the stuffing.
Retarded timing will cause overheating in a hurry. What ignition system does the car have?
If you haven't been lurking here, you probably don't know waterpumps and ignition are two of the more controversial topics here, topped only by politics.
rdr
Don;
Some guys on this forum don't like water pumps. I have pumps on all my T's.
Make sure your water pump is turning, first of all.(belt not slipping).
Often a water pump is installed because the engine is overheating. A Model T does not have any need for a water pump, and a water pump is not a cure for a bad radiator, improperly set timing, improper carb mixture, or a clogged engine block. You really need to figure out what the problem is, and fix that. A water pump is not a fix for any problem, and it does not make your Model T run better, cooler, or more reliably. It is just another thing that can fail unexpectedly.
Many accessory water pumps are so poorly designed that they actually cause overheating.
A good place to start would be to remove the water pump and cut the shaft off to prevent it from hurting any other Model T engine in the future. Water pumps made back in the day are often interesting to hang on the garage wall or to use as wheel chocks.
Ya gotta admit, Royce is reliable !! ;o)
^ You got that right.......
Don, you didn't say anything about your radiator. Is it an original? If so, the only cure for your problem may be a new one. Hot coolant heats the tubes and fins, and air passing over the fins carries the heat away. After several decades of vibration, the fins of an old radiator shake loose from the tubes. Without contact with the fins, the hot coolant in the tubes has nowhere for the heat to go.
But if your radiator is good, you may just need to flush debris out of the water passages. There have been several discussions of this. Here's a long one from earlier this year, including links to some videos: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/257047/285681.html.
We like to tease Royce about his water pump vendetta, but he's right. A properly running T doesn't need a pump.
I'm sorry but I'm as adamant as Royce is about waterpumps. Millions and millions of tractors and cars have run just fine without a waterpump clogging up the works. The fact any company ever made them when the thermo-siphoning system works so much better is ridiculous. As a matter of fact in a lot of cases waterpumps cause Model T's to over heat. Do the extra work and clean out your coolant system and learn how to drive your car and your problems will go away. And for the sake of God, if you think you do need to run that stupid waterpump don't put a thermostat in it. All you need in that system is coolant.
It's not like modern cars have thermostats or anything...
Well Ralph, I guess if you're going to run a thermostat it would be to make your engine run warmer and therefore more efficient. So I may have gone a little bit overboard with my advice. But I seriously don't figure Don would need one in his car at this particular point in time. :-)
I have a '14 that had a water pump on it when I bought it many years ago. I live in Florida and the car always ran a little hot and occasionally boiled over when waiting for a bridge to go up over the intra-coastal. The radiator was a Brass Works replacement of unknown age. I took the water pump off in order to try and figure out what the problem was and no more overheating. The only thing I can think of is that the coolant was being circulated too quickly to cool off in the radiator. I'm not saying that is your problem but it solved my problem. If someone has another explanation I'd like to hear about it.
Or the water pump is a restriction?
What are the symptoms of "heating up too much"? I find the engine runs pretty hot normally and the only time I had a an over-heating symptom was when I over-filled the cooling system and the excess water came out the over-flow tube onto the street during a parade on a hot July day. I have a moto-meter on the radiator cap and it gives me helpful information when I get worried about engine temperature. I have learned the only true indication of cooling system over-heating on the Model T is continuous steam coming out the over-flow tube or from the radiator cap ......my car has a new radiator, no water pump and I have never had a steam generation event yet, even during parades on really hot days.