I installed the edelbrock 2171 intake manifold. I do not seem to be getting water flow through the engine. I have tried a new water pump and letting air out of the system. The hose going to the radiator appears to get hard when the engine is running. Once the engine is turned off you can here the coolant bubling or boiling. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

There is no water flow through this series engine's intake. The first thing I would do is pop my T-stat out and boil it on the kitchen stove with a thermometer and watch it work.
If you start engine cold with cap open, you will see water flow looking into radiator when T-stat opens.
Are you over-heating? What is the coolant mix? Straight water will certainly heat soak when the engine is switched off and exceed the 12-15 PSI cap.

 

Thanks for the info. Let me give you some more background. This engine is sitting in a 1974 Ford LTD, 351M/400 2 barrel (info hard to find, thats why Im hoping some of you may help)... Engine was original with 90k miles, ran great. I have decided to fully restore the LTD, but wanted a little bit more power. Here is a list of what I have changed:
1. Summit Racing Cam (Mild Street Cam)
2. New lifters
3. New Push tubes
4. Sent out heads to be rebuilt and checked - New values, springs, Everything replaced on the heads with mild street comp cam parts. Heads checked; everything ok. Head shop did say that they definately were rebuild one time before and have been shaved down.
5. New Edelbrock 2171 non-egr intake - Installed a non-bathtub gasket
6. Edelbrock 600 carb
7. New Stock distibutor
8. New Stock rotor, cap, platinum autolite plugs, taylor wires
9. New Stock waterpump
10. New three core radiator from 1800radiator

I took part the motor and began my mild upgrade. Things were going well. Originally I installed a Weiland high flow water pump, but after running for ten minutes, I experienced some boiling in the motor that sounded like it was boiling inside the water pump. So I did the stock tricks. I check the thermo, it was ok. I even ran the motor without a thermo, still the boiling sound. The hoses would get hard, and then it would dump fluid out the runoff tube. Preston 50/50 is in the auto, so I dont see a fluid issue. Finally, I take down the motor to inspect the water pump. The high flow weiland seemed to be blocking a water jacket, so I purchased a stock water pump that was an exact match to the original. I run the motor, problem still there.

Today I took apart the motor again, and checked everything. My biggest change was that I re-torqued the heads down while warm to 100 pounds. They previously were at about 90-95. I run the motor with new fluid, same problem.

Is my problem with using a non-bath tub gasket? I'm currently using a non-egr summit recommended gasket set. The set blocks the center ports in the intake, and Im not 100% sure what those are... Im think heat risers, emissions, egr stuff. It did cross my mind thinking it might be a water jacket that runs through the manifold, but Im not sure. Any Advice? THANKS IN ADVANCE, Mike (14 hours of auto work today, and still no driveable LTD).

I dont seem to be getting any flow through the heads... Water seems to just stay in the pump...

 

First thing comes to my mind, are the head gaskets installed correctly. the open ports have to be at the front. I have a digital cam and i take pictures all the way through my builds even though i been doin this for 25 odd years. Its OFS ,i tend to double check in my mind but cant always find the answer but the pics help with that lol.

 

...Welcome to Ford Truck Enthusiasts! Please read the Guidelines, it will help you to navigate through and understand this site.

We are happy you have chosen the best source for Fords!

Enjoy FTE....and
JOIN CLUB FTE -SUPPORT THE FORUMS!
…..See you on the boards.

 

Socket man sounds like he's got the answer, sounds like the head gaskets are on backwards.
As for the center ports on the intake, that is an exhaust cross-over that is mainly used to inject air from the air-pump check valve that screws into the intake manifold. So if you aren't putting the air-pump system back on, there's no need for those ports to be open.

 

The head gaskets have small tabs, about 1/2" square. These protrude and are visible outside the mating surfaces above #1 and #8 cyclinders at the outside edge of the head/block interface. Yes, there are water openings in the head that do not flow through the intake. Air injection is delivered through line borings in the heads with injection directly into the exaust port outlet runner. The openings in the center of the heads open to the exaust ports as you can see, and provide for exaust gas recirculation. The valley pan gasket keeps the intake free of hot oil and the charge cooler, but will have no effect on engine cooling.

To re-interate: this is a DRY manifold. The problem cannot be there. Socketman is right on to check the head gasket orientation. GL

 

Thanks again for all the feedback. I went through all the pictures I have taking of the rebuild, and it looks like the head gaskets are on correctly. They even say the word "front" and are indeed on front of the engine. The only thing that comes to mind is that maybe, just maybe, the heads are mounted backwards? Could I have put the left head on the right side, and the right head on the left side? Could I have the head water jackets on the back of the engine??? any other ideas? THANKS A TON!!!

 

the heads can be installed on either side so if you are certain the gaskets are on correctly i would look at the thermostat and make sure its no in upside down. can happen to anyone. also when filling the system with coolant pull the heater hose off that is nest to the tstat housing and fill till cooolant comes out,that will purge all the air in the block and will allow enough coolant around the stat so that it will open and you can finish topping off the coolant

 

I ran the system without a thermo, still the same problem.

 

i reread your intitial post and you mention that the hoses get hard, how fast is this happening cause under a normal idle conditon even 70 degree weather the system should not build any substantial pressure. Have you had the heads off since the intitial build,i can't quite discern from you post if that is the case of not of if you just retorqued them. if you are getting pressure immediatiedly you are getting combustion pressure into the cooling system.

 

i am also concerned about proper cam break in here as it doesnt sound like you have fun the engine long enough to break it in. i would definetly figure out what is goin on before you run the engine any more. make sure your ignition timing is as close as possible also.

 

After about 5 minutes of running in an 80 degree ohio day, the thermo opens and the top and bottom hoses get hard. Then, pressure builds up, and the system dumps radiator fluid out through a pressure line at the top of the cap (this car has no reserve tank, it just dumps the water onto the ground.)

When I was attempting to fix the problem, I changed the water pump to the stock style water pump. I also retorqued the heads while the engine was hot... I did not remove them. I just retorqued them to 100 pounds. I too thought it might be combustion pressure, but I attempted to solve this by retorquing the heads...

Thanks again.

 

easiest way for a someone with limitied equipment to check is to pull the stat,fill with coolant and run with cap off. watch fo bubble emerging from filler neck. at idle. you can get a kit to test for the presence of hydrocarbons in the cooling system or use a cooling system pressure tester. it sure sounds to me like a head gasket. if you can rent or borrow a pressure tester apply 15lbs to the sytem and let it sit see if it holds or not. also can run with tester on and see how quickly it builds pressure. also check the pcv for indication of moisture and the engine oil. im really leaning toward bad head gasket here.

 

PCV has no indication of moisture in the engine. I removed the valve covers and intake, and no water in the oil. Head gaskets seemed good when I put them on. Im wondering if the head gaskets might have been wrong... They fit fine during install. Could air in the system be causing these kind of problems? Im going to try everything I can first, and if not, it looks like I will tear down the engine again to try to solve this problem.