Found my dads original 1971 duster!

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Teflon tape on the temperature sensor should not affect it's operation, and removing all but guarantees that it will leak. The sensor should be available from an auto parts store, and the radiator cap may not be working properly. It appears to be a 16 lb cap, which IIRC is correct, but it may be defective or it may just be doing what it's supposed to do. Are you seeing coolant releases from it as well, I can't remember if you have a coolant recovery tank or if it just goes to the ground.
 
missing linc said:
Teflon tape on the temperature sensor should not affect it's operation, and removing all but guarantees that it will leak. The sensor should be available from an auto parts store, and the radiator cap may not be working properly. It appears to be a 16 lb cap, which IIRC is correct, but it may be defective or it may just be doing what it's supposed to do. Are you seeing coolant releases from it as well, I can't remember if you have a coolant recovery tank or if it just goes to the ground.
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Thanks for the reply. I’ve never seen coolant come out anywhere. I don’t have an overflow coolant tank, the line just goes down beside the rad towards the ground
 
Hissing is not normal. You probably need a new cap. The water temp sending unit is just for a small block Mopar. Teflon tape should be used.
 
moparker said:
Hissing is not normal. You probably need a new cap. The water temp sending unit is just for a small block Mopar. Teflon tape should be used.
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Ok. Thanks! I’ll take rad cap in to the parts store. Also, if I grab an infrared thermometer, where would I check temperature? On the big rad hose or on the water pump? Where is it best to aim it? I’m hoping can get my temp gauge working, but if I can’t I’d at least like to know that it’s not overheating
 
Well guys. Some more not good results. Lol. Gotta laugh at this point, to keep myself sane. Got a temp gun. Temps are way too hot. This is after a 10 min drive. Coolant coming out overflow and around cap too. Any suggestions? Thanks

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Also, there is no fan shroud on. I bought one, but my rad….-although verified to be the proper original rad doesn’t have mounting holes/brackets to allow it to be installed. Car didn’t sit and idle though. Drove it 5 min up the highway and 5 min back
I’m going to try to figure out how to mount the shroud in some other way, but I’m thinking that shouldn’t be very important unless car is just idling
 
dads71 said:
Also, there is no fan shroud on. I bought one, but my rad….-although verified to be the proper original rad doesn’t have mounting holes/brackets to allow it to be installed. Car didn’t sit and idle though. Drove it 5 min up the highway and 5 min back
I’m going to try to figure out how to mount the shroud in some other way, but I’m thinking that shouldn’t be very important unless car is just idling
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At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the t-stat was installed upside down.....I've seen that before. Also, maybe they forgot to install the lower rad hose spring inside the hose and it is collapsing from the draw of the water pump.....2 easy things to check.

EDIT: Could be an air lock in the system as well.
 
CFD244 said:
At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the t-stat was installed upside down.....I've seen that before. Also, maybe they forgot to install the lower rad hose spring inside the hose and it is collapsing from the draw of the water pump.....2 easy things to check.

EDIT: Could be an air lock in the system as well.
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Thank you for the fast response. The lower hose definitely doesn’t have a spring in it. I’ll check the thermostat once it cools down. Much appreciated
 
dads71 said:
Thank you for the fast response. The lower hose definitely doesn’t have a spring in it. I’ll check the thermostat once it cools down. Much appreciated
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You can check the t-stat by lowering the coolant level and popping the upper rad hose off the housing and look down.....Unfortunately, that won't help you ID a bad T-sat, but will eliminate an installation error. Yes, make sure it is cool, and that there is no pressure in the system when you do this.
 
A shroud will make a difference, as long as it is the correct one and the fan is spaced properly, it should be about 1/2 way into the shroud. Did you get a clutch fan or still have the mechanical one? I wonder about the thermostat as well, but at this point I don't think you would still have an air lock in the system, but anything is possible. Also did you replace the radiator cap?
 
Put a new 180* thermostat in, get a failsafe one, or at least drill a small hole in it to allow some flow in the event that it does malfunction.
 
I drill three 1/8 holes in my thermostat to prevent air lock in system. Another benefit is you can top off coolant system without running engine. Down side is very slow warm ups in cold weather.

I run a spring in my lower hose too to prevent it from getting sucked shut.

I recommend a180 degree high flow thermostat. I run a FlowKooler water pump too. I run Mopar Performance clutch fan..With stock recored radiator I can drive around 100 degree days with AC running and coolant temp stays under 200 degrees.

Fan shroud comes into play low speeds or idling.

You should have a hood to radiator support seal on your hood so as you drive air gets routed through radiator vs air flowing in between hood and radiator support.
 
CFD244 said:
You can check the t-stat by lowering the coolant level and popping the upper rad hose off the housing and look down.....Unfortunately, that won't help you ID a bad T-sat, but will eliminate an installation error. Yes, make sure it is cool, and that there is no pressure in the system when you do this.
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Ok. Thank you. Are thermostats fairly generic? Like if I take it to an auto parts store would they have one, or is it a specialty classic car type thing?
 
Oh and congrats to getting the car up and running. Major milestone!! Focus on the positives. You have made crazy awesome progress in a very short time.. This stuff is hard difficult tricky challenging nothing easy about any of it. But positive attitude you will come out on top....
 
missing linc said:
A shroud will make a difference, as long as it is the correct one and the fan is spaced properly, it should be about 1/2 way into the shroud. Did you get a clutch fan or still have the mechanical one? I wonder about the thermostat as well, but at this point I don't think you would still have an air lock in the system, but anything is possible. Also did you replace the radiator cap?
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I still have the 4 blade mechanical one that the idiot installed in it. I hav my original clutch fan and had planned on getting it sand blasted and install it. But maybe I should put it on “as is” for now. No, I’m going shortly to get a radiator cap and hopefully a thermostat. Once it cools enough that I can try to get it out
 
I always like to put thermostats in boiling water to make sure they work. Even new ones should be checked.
 
340sFastback said:
Oh and congrats to getting the car up and running. Major milestone!! Focus on the positives. You have made crazy awesome progress in a very short time.. This stuff is hard difficult tricky challenging nothing easy about any of it. But positive attitude you will come out on top....
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Thanks a million! Trying to remain positive! It’s tough at times. But it runs so nice!
 
340sFastback said:
I drill three 1/8 holes in my thermostat to prevent air lock in system. Another benefit is you can top off coolant system without running engine. Down side is very slow warm ups in cold weather.

I run a spring in my lower hose too to prevent it from getting sucked shut.

I recommend a180 degree high flow thermostat. I run a FlowKooler water pump too. I run Mopar Performance clutch fan..With stock recored radiator I can drive around 100 degree days with AC running and coolant temp stays under 200 degrees.

Fan shroud comes into play low speeds or idling.

You should have a hood to radiator support seal on your hood so as you drive air gets routed through radiator vs air flowing in between hood and radiator support.
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Ahhh. I’ll have to look up that seal. I don’t think I have one. Did they come on the cars originally?
 
Here’s the fan that he put on the car. Beside it is my factory fan that came on car. Gonna swap them and compare

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that fan is useless. Yes. Throw the clutch fan on. You need to put shroud on engine first. Just sit it there. Install the fan the mount the shroud. Post pics of your radiator where mounting holes should be. Also post the number on the top of the radiator.
 
moparker said:
that fan is useless. Yes. Throw the clutch fan on. You need to put shroud on engine first. Just sit it there. Install the fan the mount the shroud. Post pics of your radiator where mounting holes should be. Also post the number on the top of the radiator.
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Hey guys. I think I’ve figured out a way to mount the fan shroud. But when I put it in the location that I think it should go, the fan won’t be centered up and down. Is this normal?
moparker said:
that fan is useless. Yes. Throw the clutch fan on. You need to put shroud on engine first. Just sit it there. Install the fan the mount the shroud. Post pics of your radiator where mounting holes should be. Also post the number on the top of the radiator.
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Hey guys. I have figured out how to attach the fan shroud. I just had to drill into a lip on the rad and install these clips and machine screws. The only issue is that the fan won’t be centered up and down in the shroud opening. Is this normal?

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