Engine and transmission getting extremely hot.

[Minion1186]

Have another cooling problem with my cutlass. I have the 11.77:1 355 olds in my cutlass as some know. I have a major overheating problem, it runs at 220 degrees no matter what,even if its in neutral going down the freeway. Running wot on the highway, its goes down to 190 but crawls back up once i enter town. I have a 3row radiator, running 50/50, running a water restrictor, oem clutch fan and a transmission cooler for the th-350 since it has a 3000 stall convertor. Both the transmission and engine get extremely hot, just wondering if anyone has any guesses on why. I'm just thinking of ripping this motor and convertor out and throw my 307 back in because i can never drive this car anymore with it getting so hot. Tonight it was at 230 so i parked it quick. Could my clutch fan not be working? or could it be something major.

 

[khan0165]

- maybe you have a hightemp thermostat... it might be a 190F, try going down to a 170F
- maybe your waterpump is not flowing well
- and maybe try using a solid mechanical fan, instead of a clutched
- does your car have a front air damn? That plastic flap is meant to channel air to flow over the rad. It helps.

... absolute worst case scenerio... head gasket leak? Check your oil and coolant. Does your exhaust smell sweet?

Olds had a funky design for their waterpump/timeing chain cover. It's very easy for those to leak, and have coolant start mixing with oil.

... ha ha, I don't know much about Olds yet, but I do know that! Learned from my buddy's 455 build, when it took 4 tries, 6 oil changes, and alot of gaskets & rtv, to get that area properly sealed

 

[bjohn07]

why are u running a water restrictor? pull the t stat and drop it in a pot of water to make sure it opens up at the right temp.

 

[Mike P]

First thing to check is the accuracy of the temp gauge. Pick up one of the temp guns and point it at the thermostat housing and verify the temp reading. Taking a reading at the radiator inlet will not necessarily give you a good reading as I’ve seen a 20 degree drop between thermostat housing and radiator just from the water going thru the upper radiator hose.

If you don’t have a fan shroud, get one. The next step is to pick up a heavy duty fan clutch (ask for one off a mid 70’s 454 GM truck) their thicker than the standard duty one and move a lot more air). Add a 7 blade fan to that if you don’t already have one.

If that doesn’t cure the problem there is a good possibility that the radiator is plugged, I would either have it professionally cleaned or replace it.

On the trans, I don’t have a good suggestions, the 3K stall causes a lot of slippage that creates a lot of heat.

 

[FE3X CLONE]

I've had a situation like this before with my 455. Ran 240* all of the time no matter what I did. I tried advancing the timing, adjusting the carb, etc.

One day I stopped by my machinists shop shooting the bull and was telling him about the problem. I had just come back from an hour of driving around town so he went out to check it over. First thing he did was put his hand on the radiator. The top of the radiator was extremely hot, like it should be. The bottom was ice cold.

Sure enough my radiator was plugged. Once I put a new radiator in everything was just fine and it ran at a consistant 180-190*.

 

[FE3X CLONE]

... ha ha, I don't know much about Olds yet, but I do know that! Learned from my buddy's 455 build, when it took 4 tries, 6 oil changes, and alot of gaskets & rtv, to get that area properly sealed

For what its worth, I've never had a problem sealing an Olds timing cover or water pump. Your buddies engine sounds more like the exception rather than the rule. I wouldn't consider this to be an "Olds problem".

 

[olds307 and 403]

I have owned 5 engines, never had that timing cover issue. Stock and rebuilt, never that issue. That being said, make sure the re-stricter flows enough or get a high flow 160 thermostat. Make sure you have a Heavy duty A/C water pump and a rad like the Champion 3 core rad aluminum radiator. Either a 7 blade clutch fan and a good shroud or GOOD electric fans. Get the F body or Dodge Stratus 4 cyl fans. I have the Stratus fans and they work well. You need a minimum 100 amp alternator with them. Also make sure all air dams are there. One underneath and on the sides around the rad. Make sure the condensers fins are straight and blown out, if you have A/C. Factory 3 core rad is not enough for your motor.

 

[joe_padavano]

I have owned 5 engines, never had that timing cover issue. Stock and rebuilt, never that issue.

I've owned 2 dozen Oldsmobiles over the last 35 years and never had that problem either. The Olds timing cover is simply a flat piece of sheet metal. The only issues are 1) rust pitting on the gasket surfaces or 2) overtorquing and stripping the 1/4-20 water pump bolts that just thread into the sheet metal cover. Note that I've also seen rebuilt aftermarket water pumps that were not particularly flat on the gasket surface.

 

[khan0165]

... ha ha, I don't know much about Olds yet, but I do know that! Learned from my buddy's 455 build, when it took 4 tries, 6 oil changes, and alot of gaskets & rtv, to get that area properly sealed

For what its worth, I've never had a problem sealing an Olds timing cover or water pump. Your buddies engine sounds more like the exception rather than the rule. I wouldn't consider this to be an "Olds problem".

I figured...
and in your defense, this was our first time building an olds, and the cover plate was a little bent outta shape. That, and my buddy sucks with gaskets and rtv sealer.

 

[Minion1186]

i talked to the last owner of this engine, he said it ran at a constant 190 and he drove it 20 miles to a drag strip also. I am replacing the clutch in the fan with a heavy duty one since it never worked since the engine swap. The trans is getting hot due to the 2.56 gears, supposely the 3.42 gears would produce less friction than the 2.56. One weird thing about this engine is two days ago the coolant reservoir was filled half way up and the radiator was also filled to the top, since yesterday when it overheated, the reservoir is empty and the radiator is almost filled up. The oil is also getting lower than it usually is. I checked it today and i now need 1 qt of oil but the oil doesnt smell like coolant.