FJ40 V8 SBC TBI still overheating after cooling system upgrade

[1lukeduke]

I test drove it tonight. 90 degrees out, no sun and it didn’t go past 190 degrees. All the same drives with no heating issues. The only odd thing was, at the top of the grade my top hose was 80 degrees and my bottom hose was 175 degrees. The thermostat housing was 184. The gauge is showing 190. I came down the hill and in my driveway it was about 111 at the top and bottom hose and the thermostat housing was at 155. Gauge was still at 190. I’m going to run the numbers during some heat of the day and see what becomes of the temperatures.

 

[1lukeduke]

How’s the engine located in the bay? ie: How close is your engine to the firewall? The heads should be 3ish inches from the firewall to facilitate airflow and reduce heat radiating back into the engine.

Also - how is your engine timing and fuel air mixture?

If the radiator and fan are big, shrouded, the fan is locking up, and the engine isn’t crammed against the firewall, I’d be going back to basics and trying to figure out why it’s running hot to begin with.

It’s as far away from the firewall as it can be. Any closer to the front grill and I could not have put a radiator and fan in. Timing was set at TDC as instructed with the wire unplugged. Not sure about fuel mixture, it’s a stock TBI controlled by the computer. I’ll check the timing in the morning just in case!