My 351W is running hot, motor only has 6000 miles on a rebuild I've not been running a thermostate, radiator has been tanked, I thought the water pump that is on there is the wrong one but every where and everyone I have spoke with tells me it is the correct water pump. I am running a V belt clockwise rotation which means the impeller is running counterclockwise, if you have the pump off and looking at the impeller.
My questions are.....
1. The heater hoses coming off the heater core does it matter where they go?
ie: top of the intake and water pump.
My set up is the hose on the right side is going to the top of the intake and the left one is going to water pump.
2. Does anyone have a diagram of the water flow for a 1982 351W.
I know it comes in the from the bottom of the radiator through the water pump but which hole does it go through on the block, the right hole, the left one or both at the same time.
Any imput on any of this would be great.

Thanks Everyone
Paul

 

How do you know it's running hot? What are the symptoms? Does it do it running around town, or only on the highway or interstate?

 

Running on the highway at 70 mph is when it starts getting hot, it has 410 gears in it so running 70mph i'm turning about 3100 rpm.
Running around town it does fine on temp. When I pull my boat in the heat of the summer temp will climb to 210 that is about as far as I will let it go before I pull over and let it ideal until temp comes back down

 

Also Dave I'm running aftermarket gauges, I just read another thread that you replied to where you said you have seen alot of money spent faulty gauges, Do you know what max temp is on one of these 351's?

 

Put a thermostat in it. At higher engine speeds, such as highway driving, the water is circulating too fast to cool the engine.

 

I agree with surewhynot. Do not run without a thermostat. With my 460 towing a 30 foot 5th wheel in 90 degree temperature I would run 225, that was with a 190 thermostat. Using 50/50 anti freeze I never had a problem with boiling over or water loss. Also had 410 gears. I would not worry about 210 degrees towing in the heat of the summer. Without towing the gage always read 190.

 

I also agree, 210 is not hot. The factory ran a 195 degree thermostat, so that's the minimum temp the engine was designed to run at.

I have driven many vehicles, and with a carbed engine, I have never had any problems till the engines reached 230. After that, the fuel in the carb would start getting hot and boiling, making the engine run rough.

Many late model fuel injected cars don't turn the electric fans on till 225 or 230. Newer vehicles run a 15 or 16 pound cap, so they have to get really hot before they boil over.

So when you are using the engine hard on a hot day, and the temperature settles down to around 210-215, with an occasional peak above that in certain circumstances(such as coming to a stoplight just after getting off the interstate), then I would say you are ok.

The rule a guy told me once is overheating around town is a airflow problem. Overheating on the interstate is a coolant flow problem. If your truck was really getting hot, the first thing I would have told you to check is to make sure your lower radiator hose has the spring inside it. Going down the road at high rpm, and the hose getting soft from the heat, the pump can actually suck it shut, restricting flow. Sometimes new hoses will not come with the spring, and you have to remember to take the old spring out of the old hose and use it.

I would run a thermostat. During the winter it will make it run much better, and get the engine oil hot so it will boil out the water and fuel that gets in the oil.