Cool/Heat: 63 Hawk over heating

[CampbelHawk]

Hello,

My 63 GT Hawk is overheating at stoplights, on the highway she runs hot, little over 200. Has a new thermastat, but at stop lights she goes to 230-240. Makes me nervous. Do folks usually put electric fans on these? Advice appreciated.



Lance Campbell

[DieselJim]

Good chance that the block needs flushed. Messy job. Remove the core plugs and use a pressure washer to clean the crud out of the block. A garden hose will work also.

[studegary]

An electric fan will not cure your problem (it MAY mask it). If a Hawk runs hot going down the road, a fan will not cure the problem (it is getting plenty of air).
If the block hasn't been cleaned out, do that. You may have a defective or worn out water pump or a collapsed hose or something else.

EDIT: First determine if it is truly running that hot and you are not just seeing an erroneous gauge reading. Is it boiling over/out?

[CampbelHawk]

Yes, water came out of the overflow whileparked and idling

[Ross]

Take a good peek in your filler neck while the level is down and see if the tubes aren't obscured with big old rust flakes and debris. A simple reverse flush of the radiator might go a long way.

[64studeavanti]

You should also check for head gasket leak. There are kits at your FLAPS for this. IIRC, there is also a procedure in the shop manual.

[leaurent]

Remove the core plugs

[Bud]

I've driven my 62 Hawk across the desert in the summer and the water temperature doesn't rise above 190 degrees. A Hawk does not need an electric fan added if the cooling system is clean which includes both the coolant passages in the block and the radiator. It's highly likely that there is a bunch of rubbish in the passages in the block and the radiator restricting coolant flow through the system. Even though you have installed a new thermostat, it does not mean that the thermostat is functioning correctly. Also be sure you have the thermostat is installed correctly as I had a 61 Lark with a 259 towed in a couple of months ago due to overheating after an engine rebuild. The engine rebuilder had installed the thermostat upside down probably by accident which caused the engine to continually overheat. Bud

[bezhawk]

Check the height of the water pump impeller. It should be .937 from the outert top edge of the impeller to the gasket surface. If it is less, then all it is doing is cavitating and not pumpung.

[CampbelHawk]

Thanks for the advice. I will do a full flush first, look at the water pump and maybe put a 160 vs 180 thermostat. If that doesn't work then it looks like the unpleasant task of core plug removal and cleaning.

[rkapteyn]

http://www.studebaker-info.org/Tech/...WPC1/wpc1.html

http://links.giveawayoftheday.com/studebaker-info.org/

[CampbelHawk]

Update--took the car into a good shop. They had a heat sensing camera that showed issues with the radiator. I am having it re-cored, and as long as I am doing it, putting in a new water pump and having them clean the block. Will report back in a week or two when its done.

[RadioRoy]

Check the new water pump before installing it. A number of them have been made with an impeller that does not reach far enough into the water manifold to interact properly with the inner surface of the manifold. Bez mentioned this in post #9.

[Dan Timberlake]

"They had a heat sensing camera that showed issues with the radiator. "
There are cheaper and DIY forms of that diagnostic test, but tales of thoughtful diagnostics before parts changin' always make me feel like PM starting 16 seconds here -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiLXCCMHjfE

[CampbelHawk]

So re-cored the radiator, new water pump, new thermastat, flushed, knocked out 1 freeze flug and cleaned.....still overheating.............not even a lick better! Suggestions other that knockout more freeze plugs? Maybe I got a bad water pump? Is there one recommended to order better than other. Signed Steamed in San Antonio.