I have a1972 F100 with the 360 that is overheating-or at least the temperature gauge says it is. I haven't been able to drive it yet due to steering problems, but I let it idle and I can watch the temperature gauge go up to hot over ten minutes. The upper radiator hose is warm (but not hot), and the lower is very cool. The fan is strong and appears to work well. I think it sounds like the thermostat stuck open? I'm not sure. My friend thinks it might be the water pump. I would really appreciate any ideas.

 

The thermostat could be stuck open or stuck closed. Stuck closed and it cannot do its job; Stuck open and the water doesn't have enough time to cool down. I would purchase a 180 degree thermostat and start by replacing it with whatever is currently in its place. As far as water pump goes, you can get a refurbished one online for a good price. (Not too much goes into a water pump due to how basic they are. Refurbished water pumps usually work just as good as new ones.) If the thermostat does not fix the issue I would actually take some time to look at your temperate sending unit. A buddy of mine had the same issue you were having and went through all of the trouble of replacing his thermostat as well as his water pump and it did not fix the issue. He eventually decided to get a new temperature sending unit and it began reading normal temperatures. He eventually got another after market temperature sending unit that went into the water neck just to confirm nothing was actually running too hot. Everything ended up being just fine, just a faulty temperature sending unit.

Either way, let us know how everything works out.

 

Thanks for the help, that's what I was thinking. I was just confused because it doesn't seem like the motor is overheating, it just says it is. But I will try those things out and see what happens.

 

Usually it's pretty easy to tell when an engine is overheating even without a temperature gauge. Even under normal operating conditions, the heat from an engine is extreme. (You can feel it such as on the valve covers, etc. Not including the exhaust manifold / headers. Exhaust manifold / headers will be at very extreme heat at all times whether your engine is running too hot or at regular temperatures.) When an engine is overheating it begins to become pretty obvious just standing near the engine. A buddy of mine had a Falcon with a 302 that was overheating and you could tell it was overheating just due to the extreme amount of heat rising from the engine itself. (Don't get me wrong, there is always heat rising from an engine, but there is a big difference in just 40 degrees.)

Either way, I hope it all works out well.

 

Thank you, that really helps. It makes me kind of think that it is just the temperature sender then. Because it definitely is not that hot. I mean, the upper radiator hose was only warm when I felt it and the gauge was saying that it was above normal. I appreciate the advice, maybe ill start with the temp sender. Where is that usually located?

 

Assuming you are using a standard Ford 2V FE360 intake, it would be located on the intake manifold itself. It would be between the distributor and the carburetor, but closer to the distributor. It should have a wire running from there to the instrument cluster itself. Here is an image to help you out:

 

As a side note, I would personally order a temperature sending unit and a thermostat at the same time. They are both relatively inexpensive and are good to replace as they both can become inaccurate overtime. When you go to change the thermostat just drain the coolant so it is below the water neck. You do not need to drain all of the coolant. If you can keep the coolant clean out of the engine it can even be reused. (Makes the job much easier and you avoid costs of buying more more coolant.) They would be easy / cheap to replace and odds are one of them may fix your issue.

 

lovethosefords Welcome to and the Bumpside Forum.

Hold on a minute, you guys are plugging 1950s technology into 2015 thinking. Things have changed a lot. These old trucks will not sit and idle for long periods without the coolant temp raising. Keep them moving forward 20 miles an hour and there is no need for a fan with ambient temps below 110 degrees.

You want to start with a good 50/50 coolant mix. You want it down 2 - 2 1/2" in the top of the radiator for expantion. One thing for certain these old boys will puke the coolant when they get hot, if you haven't lost any, it aint overheating. You have not said anything in 3 posts indicating overheating to me. Start at the sending unit to work on the electrical issues.


John

 

Just an FYI for the next time the cooling system is flushed...

Pull the two pipe plugs, one on each side of the block, located below cylinders 3and 7. Grit and scale settle to the bottom and even after flushing it will still be in there along with about a quart of coolant.

If nothing comes out, poke the passage and stand clear of the torrent. Flush again til it runs clear.

 

Before anyone does anything, you need to go buy yourself one of the IR laser thermometers. You can get them for about $25 if you look around.

This will tell you what temperature the engine is actually running. 180-200 is the good operating range. Anything more than about 210-220 is overheating. Less than 180, and its running too cool. (Engine wear goes up drastically below 180*)

If your running in range and everything checks out, just buy a new sender for $8 and your done.

 

lovethosefords, I'm glad your asking and not jumping into buying everything you think you need. Why do I say this?
My 64 with a 292 would run hot when in traffic, (So. Cal. rush hour traffic) or when idling for long periods of time. I'd see my temp gauge going up and up and up.... when it would hit 220 I'm pulling over I don't care where I am.
When I'm moving temp would read normal or close to it.
Not wanting to take any chances, I had a custom shroud built and installed, no difference. I replaced the sending unit, no difference. I then replaced the gauge with an NOS one, no difference.
I bought one of those infrared temp guns and when I was at 220 on gauge I was reading 180 on infrared gun.
Still not wanting to take chances, I bought two electric fans and had them professionally installed by the "Fanman"
Moment of truth, we started the truck and while I sat in the cab, I started watching my temp gauge climb once again, 180, 190, 200, 210, 220, before it hit 230 I shut it down. The guys at "Fanman" replace their sending unit thinking they might have had a bad sender. This time one of the guys from "Fanman" sat in the cab. I was watching his eyes as the temp got hotter, then hotter, then hotter all of a sudden the fans kicked on and the temp started to drop like it should. Their unit kicks on at 195 my gauge was at 225+/- a degree
Now just about all my wiring had been replaced, all except behind my instrument cluster, that old wiring needed to be replaced.
Once that wiring was replaced the temp gauge works like it should.
So your problem could be just old wiring, sending unit or bad gauge. I was told that these gauges would run 15-20 degrees off.
The infrared gun will keep you sane as you try to figure this out.

 

What gauge has numbers on it? Mine just says
C TEMP H. and mine runs 195 right on the bottom of the normal range.

 

As I stated in the beginning this was on my 64 with a 292 Round speedo.

 

Whoops. I saw that but it didn't register. Haha

 

I appreciate everyone's help. I think Ill go grab one of those IR guns and maybe replace the sending unit. I'm just getting the steering working first and then Ill move on to fixing this. This is my first older carbureted Ford, and I'm just getting used to the older technology. But I love it. Again, I appreciate everyone's help.