a hot Cleveland, or too hot?

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long1776

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Apr 22, 2011
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Location
sweden
My Car
de Tomaso Longchamp
I'm a little uncomfortable with the high temperatures I register when taking the temperature with a IR thermometer on my 351 Cleveland. After 10 minutes drive at 50 - 60 miles/h I stop. Thermostat housing is 210 F, lower hose fitting 160 F, heater hoses around 130 - 140 F. I don't loose any coolant. It seems that the water pump is functioning, otherwise I would have much higher readings and more uneven readings, IMHO. What is your comment to this, perhaps it's normal? Have to ad that the engine is slightly souped up, and have headers. I looked at the FSM but there is nowhere they talk about purging air from the block, as I thought there might be air pockets.

 
You have a good point in here... I dont know what are the normal ranges to that particular engine anb i know you are going to hve a lot of answers as the 351 C is the most common engine arround this forum...

I know old V8 engines tends to generate a lot of heat and the worst part is that the coolant don´t work arround every cylinder that good...

If you are experiencing extra heat, start by checking if your radiator is correct for your engine configuration, maybe it needs to be cleaned as well...

The shroud helps too... Maybe incorrect fan blade?

 
I think that your numbers are fine. The lower hose temp shows that your radiator is lowering your temp correctly. The 210 thermostat temp means that is the temp coming out of your block. I would not consider that excessive. My engine has a 195 deg thermostat, so after a 50-60 mile trip I would expect it to be that hot.

Mike

 
As already mentioned, depending on the degree of your thermostat, your numbers seem to be good. Perhaps as piece of mind, newer fuel injected engines are designed to run a little hotter than what we are accustomed to for our 351C so all in all yours seems to be fine.

 
M Code, 351-4v, 1971 Mach 1 Grabber Lime.jpgI'm no expert on the Cleveland motor, but I have pulled, refreshed, and driven about 5-6 of them in the last 10 years. They are designed to run hot; hotter than its Canadian brother the 351 Windsor. I have been greatly assisted in getting these motors to run a little cooler here in hot Florida by a seasoned Mustang restorer and mechanic (doing it with his father since the 60's). If you are interested, I can pass on the cooling tips that I gained from him. Here are a couple of things off the top of my head.M Code, 351-4v, 1971 Mach 1 Grabber Lime.jpg

I've attached a pix of a Cleveland motor I rebuilt. Used a 7-blade fan, correct radiator shroud, 3-core radiator, high-temperature NOS Autolite thermostat with retractable plunger (aftermarket thermostats do not have the plunger and this creates additional heat), correct NOS heat sensor--the aftermarket sensors will give you incorrect readings. Tim, Florida, USA

 
I'M NO PRO BUT FROM WHAT I READ, YOUR TEMP GOING IN THE MOTOR IS OK, THE HEATER HOSE TEMP IS OK, YOUR WORRIED ABOUT THE THERMOSTAT TEMP. THATS WHERE THE WATER EXITS THE ENGINE AFTER DOING ITS JOB. THATS WHY IT THEN GOES THRU THE RADIATOR, TOO COOL IT BACK DOWN. THE THERMOSTAT ONLY HELPS YOUR ENGINE WARM UP QUICKER IT HOLDS THE CIRCULATION BACK UNTIL THE ENGINE REACHES A SPECIFIED TEMP. TRY GETTING A TEMP ON THE BLOCK ITSELF AND I THINK YOU'LL FEEL BETTER.

 
Your numbers seem fine to me as well. If the cooling system stabilizes and does not continue to purge coolant, you're good to go. The 13468 t-stat is for a Cleveland, so you have the correct part there.

For a little extra capacity and some MPG savings, switch to a clutched fan. the engine will also be a lot quieter at speed.

 
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