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Author Topic: coolant questions  (Read 1781 times)

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Offline dumcheesemonkey

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coolant questions
« on: January 27, 2015, 09:00:01 PM »
after some heating issues with my car and help with a mechanic i know, i have a couple questions for the experts on these cars...everyon e else here. The mechanic and i ended up with different opinions on what the car came with. First off the fan on my 79 was bolted directly to the water pump, no clutch in any form. Did they come that way usually or is it likely to have been previously modified. Second, am i correct that there is no stock temp sensor, not even like an idiot light type deal?
79 wagon 2.3

Offline pinto_one

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Re: coolant questions
« Reply #1 on: January 27, 2015, 09:29:52 PM »
yes the fan does bolt to the water pump, no clutch, next is do you have A/C , if yes you should have a five blade steel flex fan with a shroud , if no, you will have a solid four blade fan ,with a cheep cover on top to try to keep hands , fingers , ties etc out of the way,  it does have a idiot light , it says engine when you turn on the key before you crank the engine up, if it does not the bulb is burnt out or you have a short, the temp sensor is on the left side (drivers ) in the back on the block, above on the head is the oil pressure sensor , they are both hooked together , when you turn key on , engine light is on, oil press switch is grounded , engine is started the oil pressure switch ungrounds , light goes off,  engine runs hot and temp sensor grounds same wire light comes on, engine running hot could be in the past the coolent system was not taken care of, signs of rust big time , flushing now may be to late, you might have a clogged radiator and or the tin impeller on the water pump has rusted away ( seen that one before) or worse you might have a cracked head , that may have happen when the idiot light was not hooked up when the car overheated real bad one time , hope this helps , good luck
76 Pinto sedan V6 , 79 pinto cruiser wagon V6 soon to be diesel or 4.0

Offline dumcheesemonkey

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Re: coolant questions
« Reply #2 on: January 28, 2015, 07:20:48 AM »
so the 2 sensors towards the back behind the carb, the top is the oil pressure and bottom is coolant temp. ive been trying to figure out how to add one in for a while so i could have a gauge, but having one already is so much easier. we found the head gasket had gone a couple days after we messed with it, so the heads off and at the shop (found my cam to be bad and a lifter actually seperated too).  i guess ill have to switch to an electric fan, the fan constantly running is keeping my car too cool to really heat up.
79 wagon 2.3

Offline 78_starsky

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Re: coolant questions
« Reply #3 on: January 28, 2015, 08:21:13 AM »
i guess ill have to switch to an electric fan, the fan constantly running is keeping my car too cool to really heat up.


is your thermostat broken?   take it out of the motor, stick it in a small pot of water and place the heat to it on the stove with a  thermometer in the water and watch the temp versus when the plunger opens or closes....  is it open  and is never closed?

get a new one then.

too cool meaning the interior temp in the car?  or the temp of the engine?  big differences.

Offline amc49

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Re: coolant questions
« Reply #4 on: January 28, 2015, 11:09:37 PM »
Fan running all the time has nothing to do with overcooling, the stat is what tells engine how hot to get. Sticking open I'll bet.

The temp sensor there is worthless, it only comes on around 265 degrees, or AFTER any damage will be done. I'd be going to a gauge......... .........