Coolant Temperature

[Will]

This morning I went to a charity show at an assisted living facility here in Melbourne Florida. It took about an hour to get there at about 30 to 35MPH. The moto meter never showed any temperature but the my gage that I have taped into the goose neck showed the highest temp of 193F. It was 43 degrees when I left. Coming home there was a very little bit of red in the moto meter and the gage showed 205.

[Humblej]

I think your motometer is not working.

[jab35]

Untape your dashboard sensor from the water outlet place it in a container with your moto meter and pour in some hot/boiling water and compare readings. That should allow you to 'calibrate' the motometer against the sensor set-up, however neither may be 'correct'. If you have an accurate thermometer that reads that high, add that to the mix too. Best, jb

[Allan]

Or, ignore both and just drive it. Those temperatures are well within the driving range, but they may not be the same when the weather warms up. See what happens then.

Allan from down under.

[Steve Jelf]

The important question: Does it ever boil? No? Leave it alone. If the coolant stays in and there are no leaks, you're golden. Motometer? No. I drive country roads a lot. I don't need that extra weight bouncing on my radiator neck.

[bobt]

Put your motometer on someone's else's T and see what it reads.

[RecklessKelly]

I took mine off as soon as I brought the car and put the original back on.

[TXGOAT2]

193F is not too hot, especially at Florida's low elevation. I'd think it would run a little cooler at 43F ambient, but as others note, if it doesn't boil, it's OK. Be sure you are using enough spark advance and that the carburetor is not excessively lean or rich. I'd also check to be sure there are no issues with dragging bands, dragging brakes, or under-inflated tires. Model Ts do not like thick oil. A quality 10W30 oil should work well in Florida. I get excellent results using 10W30 synthetic oil in Texas heat. The previous owner raced the car with 0W20 synthetic oil with good results. (Montana 500) "Green" anti-freeze at 50/50 gives good results. Keep the radiator free of bugs and other debris to allow full air flow, and adjust the fan belt as Ford instructed.

[TXGOAT2]

Generally speaking, automotive temperature gauges are not very accurate. Keep in mind that the hottest water in the system will be at the water outlet, and the thermo-syphon system will not circulate water unless the water in the engine is hotter than the water in the radiator.

[RVA23T]

Since the motometer is suspended in the air space of the tank, thus reading air temperature and not coolant/head/block temperatures like the modern sensor, I would expect there to be inconsistent "readouts" between the two. Fluid contact, heat transfer you know science and stuff...

[Norman Kling]

When I bought my first T we drove from Alpine to Cuyamaca and there was snow on the ground. We took a rest break and the others were standing in front of their radiators to keep warm from the cold weather. It had been all uphill on the tour and our engine was not even warm. It had a water pump on it. I took off the water pump and installed the original type water inlet. No more underheating problems and as long as I kept the coolant level at the correct point it did not overheat.
Norm

[TXGOAT2]

If you do have a water pump, be sure it is in good condition and that the seal does not leak. Loose bushings will cause troubles. Rag seal water pumps are capable of leaking air IN at road speeds while not leaking water OUT when stopped or running slow. A pump in that condition will aerate the coolant and cause poor cooling and can mimic boilover, besides causing corrosion and steam bubbles. The seal in pump with a worn or pitted shaft or worn bushings cannot be adjusted correctly. I would not run a water pump without an appropriate thermostat with a bypass.

[Will]

I do not run a water pump, The radiator is relatively new, I got it from Burks I believe his name was. Its a great radiator, I wish the guy would make radiators again. I don't understand why he stopped. He had a great product. Thin core. I'm certain that it was just the difference between the air temp and the radiator temp.

[John Codman]

I too have a Berg's radiator. I have measured the coolant temperature at the top of the radiator core with the temperature probe of my DVOM. It's always around 175 - 180* after warmup.

[TRDxB2]

One shouldn't expect two different (calibrated?) temperature devices that use different measurement methods to provide the same reading.
This reminds me of my golf buddies discussing conflicting GPS readings & who's device is more accurate.
Consumer-grade GPS device location accuracy depends on the environment and the quality of the GPS device. In ideal conditions, GPS can be accurate to within 3 to 5 meters (10 to 16 feet). However, in real-world conditions, GPS accuracy can be reduced to 10 to 20 meters (33 to 66 feet).
GPS surveying can achieve centimeter-level accuracy, depending on the equipment, environmental conditions, and the surveying method used.

[Allan]

In the real world of modern farming, GPS guided self steer tractors can sew seed at 4" accuracy, placing the new seed precisely between the rows of the previous season's sowing.

Allan from down under.