Percolation? Heat soak? Don't drive during summer??

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DentalDart said:
Idk is that not to high, most guys that have good systems say "I never get over 195 not even if Satan himself is in the passenger seat or im driving through hell..." well maybe not those exact words lol.
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I think it's too high but that's just me iv never really had performance engines if any of my stuff gets over 200 I'm in panic mode! Lol
 
DentalDart said:
Yea i have no clue about the heater core or if it works... want to know a secret??? I dont even know where it is lol. I'm assuming behind the dash, and that dash looks good where it is haha.
The hoses are all new (replaced with everything else), except for 1, ill replace it just to be safe, and ill put in this 180 thermostat.
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I can help with that I just replaced mine haha. I'd just bypass it. Run a bypass hose and see if it gets better. A stopped up heater core will make one overheat.
 
Doc - comparing your car to someone else will always cause you problems - many setups are the same but I have never seen twins or triplets in cars - you can use other peoples advice, experience and many other things but your just going to have to learn your car and go from there, your 205 may actually be 197 - without certified and calibrated instruments its a guess
 
billsdartgt said:
man this thread is getting sideways

Doc, when you parked the car a month or so ago you said the temp was only showing around 185 when it died on the street - the 200+ is new - it seems you went and bought some new parts - one at least you know your gonna throw away - I guess a little windfall came your way. You have got some good things to check without spending any money, its gonna be hard now to go back through the thread and find the things but it will be best in the long run, especially on the wallet

it appears you found the source of the weird coil problem - a new wire from coil to tach is easy - still not needed to be done while looking for the original issue (that seems to be getting lost in the thread to)

next I would follow jpars suggestion of a little fuel in the carb if it stops again

if you just change a few parts and your problem doesn't go away or you end up with a new issue - whats your plan then?

try the FREE suggestions one at a time - see what changes or doesn't change - then report back.

Its tough when you have any issue that cant be quickly figured out and then have a thread like this that sends you in many directions - write down the suggestions from this thread, turn the computer off, take the kiddos for a slurpee and check back in in a couple of days

From your comments about funk in your block - if you had muck in the holes you could see I would be certain that your block is mucked up pretty bad - when I knocked all the freeze plugs out of my block the muck was all the way across that lower area almost to the top of the freeze plug opening, I spent hours with compressed air, a vacuum, bottle brushes and rags, Im sure its still somewhat dirty but I do know that theres at least a small bucket full of crap that was pulled out
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well if you have to re-read this thread to get all the information make sure you pay special attention to anything concerning snowmobiles that's the good stuff..:thumbsup:...
 
billsdartgt said:
man this thread is getting sideways

Doc, when you parked the car a month or so ago you said the temp was only showing around 185 when it died on the street - the 200+ is new - it seems you went and bought some new parts - one at least you know your gonna throw away - I guess a little windfall came your way. You have got some good things to check without spending any money, its gonna be hard now to go back through the thread and find the things but it will be best in the long run, especially on the wallet

it appears you found the source of the weird coil problem - a new wire from coil to tach is easy - still not needed to be done while looking for the original issue (that seems to be getting lost in the thread to)

next I would follow jpars suggestion of a little fuel in the carb if it stops again

if you just change a few parts and your problem doesn't go away or you end up with a new issue - whats your plan then?

try the FREE suggestions one at a time - see what changes or doesn't change - then report back.

Its tough when you have any issue that cant be quickly figured out and then have a thread like this that sends you in many directions - write down the suggestions from this thread, turn the computer off, take the kiddos for a slurpee and check back in in a couple of days

From your comments about funk in your block - if you had muck in the holes you could see I would be certain that your block is mucked up pretty bad - when I knocked all the freeze plugs out of my block the muck was all the way across that lower area almost to the top of the freeze plug opening, I spent hours with compressed air, a vacuum, bottle brushes and rags, Im sure its still somewhat dirty but I do know that theres at least a small bucket full of crap that was pulled out
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My threads are good at getting thrown sideways lol.

I brought the gas with me on the drive today, because before starting to check other parts that was the first thing I was going to try... but it didn't die... im definitely taking the alurpee suggestion, im going to drive the car a couple times before taking the kids in it though, as i dont want them to get stuck if it does die.

I always try to try the free suggestions first, the exm, ballast and fp gauge I wanted anyways so it didn't hurt to buy them... it wasnt just originally in the plan.

I'm avoiding knocking out the freeze plugs and cleaning the block. I can't do it at my house, my HOA would skin me alive.
 
dartfreak75 said:
I plan on getting one of those cheaper ones for my break in so I cam monitor everything from outside. Maybe try putting it in the factory spot see if it makes a difference?
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Its in the air gap intake... right next to my only old hose besides the one that goes to the heater core and the ac hoses...

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20200924_195935.jpg
 
On that last picture with the temp gauge, that was sitting still idling, right? If so, that's not enough air flow. Normally, there's a choice in fan clutches. Standard and heavy duty. There's a difference in the WHEN and AMOUNT of lockup for each. Now for the later Darts, like yours, There are four different clutch available. A standard duty thermal, standard duty non thermal, heavy duty thermal and heavy duty short thermal to take up less space between the engine and radiator. If you got one of the sandard duty clutches, especially the non thermal standard duty, you could stand to step up to one of the heavy duty thermal versions. The thermal version has the bimetal spring on the front that expands with temperature and locks the clutch up more as the temperature increases. If it's a non thermal, you're stuck with "whatever" amount of lockup you get. I did notice in one of your pictures, you do at least have the thermal version. If you still have the receipt, or if you can see the part number, see if it's the heavy duty version. If it's not, you could do well to upgrade to it.

Here are the different one from O'Reilly.

https://www.oreillyauto.com/shop/b/...d2dd4db4/1976/dodge/dart?q=cooling+fan+clutch
 
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Oh and your children are precious, btw.

And regarding you apologizing to "us" this is your thread man. You can tell us all to get eff'ed if you want to. You've done nothing wrong. You're not like some of these guys on here. You actually take advice to heart and try suggestions.
 
dartfreak75 said:
I kinda suspect that too. Its possible the sensor is in a bad spot and getting heat from somewhere besides the water. Hey I'm glad we could finally agree on something!! Haha sorry I got a little irritated earlier. I was at work and was having a bad day. No hard feelings!?
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None! I don't get angry at people, but I can be flippant ;) the internet doesn't convey enough subtext to form a valid opinion of any one person.. At least IMO.

In my line of work, I never trust a single source of info - if the temp reads high on one gauge, but not another, all that means to me is I have two suspect gauges. Consilience is necessary, which is why I bring up an IR temp gun.. They have so many uses, it's an expense I can justify suggesting.

@billsdartgt has some good points (especially about doing the FREE stuff first), and I didn't notice that it used to be 185 and is now 200+, which moves the needle on how important a solutions is.

I've read mentions before from I don't remember who that some headgasket brands have improper hole sizes/placement? Could be something to that? The heads did come off, if I remember right. But it's hard saying, not knowing... As the man says.
Still, until the hot temp is confirmed, I'd go by the thing which is consistent to before the engine R&R - the factory gauge.

I still wouldn't lose any sleep until the temperature really starts to run off the charts (220-230F).
 
@billsdartgt the 3x times my car died it also died after about 15 minutes of running. The gas station and burger King are literally across the street from my house. Today was the longest my car has driven since the transmission got put back in it.
 
dartfreak75 said:
Yea I agree if you count the hashes thsts 10 per hash
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That's what I'm looking at too, but wanted to be sure since it's not the greatest layout.
That's definitely on the too hot side of hot.

IMO, that moves makes the temperature issue much more critical. I still don't trust the gauge 100% without a third measurement and even if it's accurate the engine is likely still OK, but I would limit use until it's figured out.
 
DentalDart said:
It is thats when I parked it. While driving it was around d 205-208*, when parked it shot up in temp. Heres the weather as I was driving it.

View attachment 1715600632
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Phew. OK, that's a little less concerning! LOL.

Since it seems like it doesn't want to die. It might be worth a short jaunt on the freeway to see if it gets hot at speed. 205-208 in traffic is not outside an acceptable range IMO, but it should drop under 200 at freeway speed.. If it stays at 205-208 that suggests that reading range is very close to your thermostat temp and the gauge may be a little off. If it gets hotter (higher sustained power output) it suggests the radiator is not cooling well enough or the coolant can't extract enough energy from the block. If it cools off on the highway, it suggests the fan/water pump is under driven or airflow is suboptimal.
 
BTW, my test strip was always 215 headed west from Rainbow to Sahara. The hill climb from Russell to Sahara always helped highlight whether my temps were rising or not while on the freeway.
 
Phreakish said:
BTW, my test strip was always 215 headed west from Rainbow to Sahara. The hill climb from Russell to Sahara always helped highlight whether my temps were rising or not while on the freeway.
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I live in centennial hills. I havent driven it on the freeway since I got it put back together. Was chasing the kickdown linkage coreect shift points and then the dying on me.
 
DentalDart said:
I live in centennial hills. I havent driven it on the freeway since I got it put back together. Was chasing the kickdown linkage coreect shift points and then the dying on me.
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Ah, so that's why the tach was important! LOL.

I used to be around the corner in summerlin, just south of sun city. I worked at rainbow and 215 though on the south side. Wasn't too bad until the ikea went in, then traffic and congestion made life hell.. Even worse commuting through that with 3.91 gears and every yahoo doing 85mph. At least you're closer to the shooting range than I was.

Doesn't need to be freeway, but sustained speed at 45+ should give you an idea. Work up from there.

This is an ir temp gun similar to what I used and had good results with. Also handy for checking headers to check cylinder distribution or check for misfiring or stuck valves. Also means you can check brakes, rear end and trans pan temps really easy after a drive to see if anything abnormal is going on. Kids love to play with them too!
 
Phreakish said:
Ah, so that's why the tach was important! LOL.

I used to be around the corner in summerlin, just south of sun city. I worked at rainbow and 215 though on the south side. Wasn't too bad until the ikea went in, then traffic and congestion made life hell.. Even worse commuting through that with 3.91 gears and every yahoo doing 85mph. At least you're closer to the shooting range than I was.

Doesn't need to be freeway, but sustained speed at 45+ should give you an idea. Work up from there.

This is an ir temp gun similar to what I used and had good results with. Also handy for checking headers to check cylinder distribution or check for misfiring or stuck valves. Also means you can check brakes, rear end and trans pan temps really easy after a drive to see if anything abnormal is going on. Kids love to play with them too!
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The house I sold was on 215 and russell
 
DentalDart said:
I agree... I haven't smoked in like 5 years, the last time I did I was supposed to be finishing the counters at my old house. My buddy came to help and we ended up spending 100 dollars at a taco shop named Roberto's Tacos. Lol.
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The last time I said... "I'll just pick up a joint to take camping"... (It's legal here)
IT TOOK ME TWO YEARS TO QUITE!!!
Never again... I know I like that stuff to much...:(...
 
Don't worry about the heater core. It is not necessary. If the car came with no heater, or someone removed it, the hoses will not be there, and the in/out ports on the engine get pipe plugs installed. You can "bypass" it by connecting a hose to the two ports, but this does nothing. Plus, on your A/C car, there is a valve that stops the flow of coolant thru the heater core when you turn the A/C on. Same as having a blocked heater core, or no heater core.

I have a small valve on one of my heater hoses which I close off during the hot weather, to keep some heat out of the interior. The car runs no hotter, or cooler, with that valve opened or closed.

Now, this is not to say that the heater could not be used for additional cooling. If the engine was getting too hot sometimes if you ran the heater on full blast it could help to cool the engine a bit. But it is not part of the engine's cooling system under normal circumstances.
 
DentalDart said:
I agree... I haven't smoked in like 5 years, the last time I did I was supposed to be finishing the counters at my old house. My buddy came to help and we ended up spending 100 dollars at a taco shop named Roberto's Tacos. Lol.
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:rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
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