I realize there’s plenty of topics talking about radiators and overheating issues, but my question is specific to my project car, sadly I don’t have any garage time free for the next couple of weeks and I need to use the car a lot more and don’t want to cause any issues in the long run.
So basically I never notice my radiator fan kick on, but my car doesn’t overheat, I also suspect that my thermostat is stuck open since the temp stays below the mid at all times.
Does any of this add up? Would the water pump in a system where the thermostat is stuck open be enough to keep the car from overheating? I don’t normally drive during heavy traffic but I don’t want to end up stuck in traffic and find out the hard way!
Finally, can driving the car like this for a couple of weeks hurt anything in the long run?
[QUOTE=mooshie;2335159]I am not sure I understand the question?
Your temp gauge should be just below mid normally. If the gauge starts to go up within a couple of minutes after starting then the thermostat is fine.
why do you think there might be a problem?[/QUOTE]
Hey Mooshie, thanks for the response.
I just find it strange the fan never seems to cut on, even on hot summer days at a stop light for 4-5 minutes, and the dash temp gauge stays the same.
Starting tomorrow I’ll need to use the car a lot more to give my sister a ride to evening classes, and I’ll be stuck in heavy rush hour traffic on the last stretch.
I might just be freakin’ out for nothing, but she’s missed class before when my distributor went out and now she hates going out in the old girl.
I was going to respond but was also confused… I think you are fine, if the thermostat was open you would know, if it does over heat you can roll down the windows and then crank the heat up to lower temp while in traffic that always helps but that is also a pretty known thing to do
Also multimeter the radiator fan to see how many volts it’s getting a radiator fan not turning on is pretty common on an old car you can wire up a switch to switch it on as you feel free or always have it running but either way if the fan isn’t turning on it can be easily fixed
To answer your question your car should be fine watch your temp gauge pull over if gets super hot or crank that heat and sweat a little bit you should be alright
Just test it out. Park the car and let it idle - it’ll either start to overheat or the fan will kick on. That will tell you if your fans are working or not. If the fans don’t turn on and it starts to overheat then you know you need to address the cooling fan system. Once that’s fixed, do the same test - if it still overheats (but the fans work as they should) then you need to look at the rest of the cooling system. Most likely the thermostat but it could be other things, such as a bad radiator cap.
If the fans go on and it overheats then you know the fan system is work ing but that something else is wrong - as before, could be the thermostat or another issue.
Probably not the right time of year for it, but if the car doesn’t come up to temp or drops in temperature on a cold night or at high speeds on a cool night then that would be an indicator of a thermostat being stuck open. Being stuck open WILL NOT compensate for lack of a cooling fan. Even with a stuck open thermostat if you are at idle, or in traffic…etc the car will need the cooling fan in order not to overheat.
You just need to do some troubleshooting to figure out what’s wrong so you can address the problem. Don’t worry about driving it as is, sounds like the car might actually be fine. As long as you’re not overheating or overcooling the car you should be fine, and even then if it gets a little hot or overcools a few times it’s not the end of the world. As the OP said, your gauge should not read halfway, the “normal” level for the gauge is just a bit below half - somewhere between 1/2 and 1/4. But different cars read slightly differently as well so really you just need to get used to that car. The gauge should not be moving normally. When the car is cold it’ll read at the bottom of the gauge, then slowly creep up to “normal”, then it should stay there. Doesn’t matter if it’s the dead of winter or the hottest day of summer in traffic, the gauge should read exactly the same. If you see the gauge fluctuating under normal driving conditions then you have a problem.
[QUOTE=Colin;2335178]Just test it out. Park the car and let it idle - it’ll either start to overheat or the fan will kick on. That will tell you if your fans are working or not. If the fans don’t turn on and it starts to overheat then you know you need to address the cooling fan system. Once that’s fixed, do the same test - if it still overheats (but the fans work as they should) then you need to look at the rest of the cooling system. Most likely the thermostat but it could be other things, such as a bad radiator cap.
If the fans go on and it overheats then you know the fan system is work ing but that something else is wrong - as before, could be the thermostat or another issue.
Probably not the right time of year for it, but if the car doesn’t come up to temp or drops in temperature on a cold night or at high speeds on a cool night then that would be an indicator of a thermostat being stuck open. Being stuck open WILL NOT compensate for lack of a cooling fan. Even with a stuck open thermostat if you are at idle, or in traffic…etc the car will need the cooling fan in order not to overheat.
You just need to do some troubleshooting to figure out what’s wrong so you can address the problem. Don’t worry about driving it as is, sounds like the car might actually be fine. As long as you’re not overheating or overcooling the car you should be fine, and even then if it gets a little hot or overcools a few times it’s not the end of the world. As the OP said, your gauge should not read halfway, the “normal” level for the gauge is just a bit below half - somewhere between 1/2 and 1/4. But different cars read slightly differently as well so really you just need to get used to that car. The gauge should not be moving normally. When the car is cold it’ll read at the bottom of the gauge, then slowly creep up to “normal”, then it should stay there. Doesn’t matter if it’s the dead of winter or the hottest day of summer in traffic, the gauge should read exactly the same. If you see the gauge fluctuating under normal driving conditions then you have a problem.[/QUOTE]
Hey, thanks Colin!
The fan did actually cut on this afternoon as I dropped off my sister in the waiting line in front of the tech college.
What you mentioned regarding the temp being lower than normal does happen in the winter, driving home in 40 degrees F the dash temp gauge reads lower than normal which lead me to believe the thermostat was stuck open earlier this year.
Other than not being able to get the ignition timing jumper to keep the CEL on, everything else is normal on the old girl.