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so my battery died while driving, once the motor hit idle it just shut off. Battery voltage was 9.6 volt. So I call Allstate and they dispatch a jump. Well while I'm waiting for the guy I switch over from MSD to the stock ignition because the MSD ignition just takes too much power to start. So we get it jumped and I have it running at 2000 rpm to keep the battery charging while we fill out paperwork and I leave and get about a block away and looked down and noticed that my temperature probe is pegged. I pull over and shut the engine off and plugged my Ultra gauge 2 in and it says 248 degrees. At first I thought that maybe the belt has come off the electric water pump because I just tightened it (I knew the water wasn't moving, 40 degrees even with radiator fan off it should be tanking). Then I realized I didn't switch it back over to MSD after we started and therefore because the water pump runs off the MSD wiring pigtail, the water pump was turned off. So I am hoping that I did not blow a head gasket with it sitting there at 240 plus degrees for the better part of 5 minutes. This may be one of those cases where I'm very glad to have an all steel motor.
FYI this is the third time i've had it over 240 degrees, I'm running out of lives on this thing.
typed with voice to text so sorry for lack of punctuation.
EDIT- fixed the million typos.
Last edited by magnethead; Jan 9, 2015 at 07:55 PM.
Yea, definitely a tough littler F'er. I smelled the sweetness and that was my clue to look at the water temp (I had the ultragage unplugged). Got things put back proper and let it idle safely, I went around and smelled the exhaust and there wasn't a sweet smell, so i'm guessing what I smelled initially was from the puke tank...although I would think water would have to be moving for it to puke there...only thing I can think of is that the cooling system was acting as a massive heatsink, and that the water in the heads heat-soaked the water in the intake which soaked the water in the upper hose and let it boil off into the puke tank.
That the sensor showed 248 when I shut off, and instantly went to 171 when I turned the engine/water pump back on, gave me hope. At least if it was hot, it wasn't sustained hot, and was quickly chilled.
The 40 degree ambient probably also helped pull head from the motor. When i was getting gas yesterday, it was 183 when I parked. Fan and water pump off, get back in after getting fuel and it was down to 156. No water movement, just the frigid air pulling away heat.
Reminds me of an extremely lucky time in 1973 my Dad who knows better tried to pull a rad cap off a Chevy 350 V8 that had over heated. First as I jumped back as far as I could as I saw what he was attempting to do then surprised at nothing coming out when the cap came off. Then we heard a powerful gurgling noise so we all jumped back then a whoosh as a geyser 20 feet high came gushing out the rad opening that was weird I guess it was so low on water it didn’t come out ASAP but boiled as the pressure was released at cap removal giving it a few seconds to come out like a volcano.
Did we laugh our heads off at that bit of luck and the 20 foot high geyser even funnier is we let it cool down pored some water in it and off we went no problem those old engines were like rocks.
I just wanted to add this it was a old Jeep CJ5 that had a 350 Chevy engine in it we moded up extensively so being a Jeep the hood is all the way back to the windshield thus letting the20 foot high geyser come out unimpeded by a hood in the way also our luck.
I just wanted to add this it was a old Jeep CJ5 that had a 350 Chevy engine in it we moded up extensively so being a Jeep the hood is all the way back to the windshield thus letting the20 foot high geyser come out unimpeded by a hood in the way also our luck.
My Dad was an industrial maintenance mechanic he kept all the production equipment running he also built many custom dune buggies and any assorted custom street rods people needed out of a shop he worked at. He could weld any material on the planet he was extensively knowable of anything to do with an auto.
Why he pulled that rad cap like it didn’t matter I will never know.
Went out and cleaned all the baby-blue colored corrosion off the terminals and re-arranged my auxiliary cables. I really need to just get a buss bar for power/ground, take some connections off the battery proper.
Turn on Radiator fan (lincoln Mk 8, 100 amp start 40+ amp run)
Turn heater to high speed (15 amps?)
Voltage: 14.20-14.25 @ 132+ surge amps (surge pulling from battery) then slowly rises back to 14.35-14.40 @ 72+ amp continuous draw
Turn head lights/high beams (65W = 4.7 amp) and HID fog lights (~5 amps) on
Voltage: 13.80-13.90 @ 82+ amp draw
I didn't turn the stereo on, so figure that in as well.
I have the Denso 914AB alternator, rated 136 amps. The 913AA was the default option (117 amps/90 continuous) but luckily I have the better of the two.
Hard to say what the continuous rating is on it, 136 is likely the surge rating...based on the 913AA, I'd say the 914 would be 136 surge/109 amps continuous. And I'm drawing 82+....
Last edited by magnethead; Jan 11, 2015 at 03:26 PM.
Oh, and for grins, while i was doing all those voltage checks, I was letting the motor warm up with heater wide open and radiator fan on. As expected, it took for flipping ever to warm up, since the heater removes heat from the coolant even with the thermostat closed, and the radiator fan flows cold air against the engine proper.
Once it FINALLY hit 185, I shut it off and felt around.
The upper hose was expectedly hot to the touch. But the lower hose was COLD to the touch. Not just cool, but COLD. And both heater core lines were hot to the touch as well, similar to the upper hose.
I also noticed that the heater return line lays on the passenger valve cover...how did I not notice this before...seems kinda risky with no heat shield or anything.
I may or may not be a very lucky man
