Topic: 66 coupe exhaust leak

[mustangluver]

i recently got my grandmothers mustang over the summer. i recently noticed that on the passenger side manifold by the exhaust pipes meet the manifold itself smokes a little. the other one doesnt do that. so i know that it not normal. also the lil oil cap has apperently smokes a bit now too. after a few min the manifold leak isnt seen color wise but its felt and seen although clear. also, the engine overheats in 30 min which has been a issue since my grandmother got the car. she got it from a previous owner, not sure if she was the original owner however. was wondering if it would be worth the 80 dollars buying a cooling fan to put in front of the radiator. my grandfather put a fan with more blades and put it closer to the radiator. Please Help.

[Soaring]

The gasket (a round one called the donut) is leaking at the manifold where it attaches to the pipe.  Just replace the donut.   Regarding the overheating, it could be several things.  One would be the old radiator is still the two row variety.  If it is, then replace it with a 3 or 4 row.  Add a recovery tank.  Add a shroud.  Use a liquid in the radiation called Water Wetter.  Use about a 50/50 mixture of distilled water and anti freeze, Change out the thermometer to a new 180 degree thermometer and add a new 13 lb. radiator cap.  Get back to us if you need any help with any of this stuff.  What you are talking about is called a push fan that is electric.  You would have to upgrade your alternator if you did that.  99% of the time, the stuff I listed above will do the trick, and you don't have to do it all at once.  Try the new radiator first, and if it doesn't quite do the trick, add the shroud.....etc...

[mustangluver]

i do have one question so far, how would i check to see if my radiator is a two row. my thermostat is fairly new theres a shroud on it. imma see if the hyper coolant works next time i go up there. thanks

[Soaring]

i do have one question so far, how would i check to see if my radiator is a two row. my thermostat is fairly new theres a shroud on it. imma see if the hyper coolant works next time i go up there. thanks

To check if your radiator is a two row, take the cap off and count the rows of fins. 

[mustangluver]

hey how many lights (courtesy) are there supposed to be? i have two. but a wiring diagram i found online shows more. also. ive noticed recently that something on my engine dont have enough clearance. and has apperently dented the underside of my hood when tightened down. its where the nut and bolt is for the dent i mean. idk if it the carb thats in there or wat. please help.

[Soaring]

Show a picture of the damage you are talking about.  You only have so much clearance under the hood for aftermarket carbs. 

[Jeff73Mach1]

When you say the engine overheats are you relying on the gauges alone?  Stock gauges aren't always that accurate.  You can get a cheap infared heat gun for about 30 bucks that will tell you actual temperatures and it may be that you sending unit is not accurate.

If it is boiling over and coolant is coming out the overflow, then you definitely have an overheating problem.

Another thing to look at is the condition of the radiator fins.  If there is a lot of damage and the fins are bent over, this will reduce airflow quite a bit.  You can gently go  through and straighten fins.

Since the car has done this a long time I would be inclined to verify the gauge readings before spending any large sums of money.

[mustangluver]

Jeff,
the gauges are an aftermarket item and fairly new. it does boil over and already got an overflow tank in an attempt to fix it. it is a labor day weekend project. and how on earth would i go off n straighten the fins on it?

[Tim175]

I usually just use a small bladed screw driver and do it that way, there are specialty tools for the job though which would probably be better to use than my method

[mustangluver]

do i need to remove it? note the radiator is only 2 yrs old

[Soaring]

If they are bent over, you could use a short handled screwdriver and try to unbend them that way without taking out the rad.  Just be careful not to punch a hole in them.  I would wrap a thin piece of cloth around like a piece of an old T-shirt around  the tip of the screwdriver.  If you don't have a 6 blade fan, then there is where you should start, assuming you have at least a 3 row rad. 

[Jeff73Mach1]

I use a small plastic piece out of one of my kids happy meal toys. LOL

If it is a few bent fins, that is not your problem, if it is a whole bunch . . . well it is a contributor, but still not likely to be the sole problem.

Check the water pump for good flow (You can usually feel it through the upper hose when the thermostat opens) and you can look with the cap open to see if there are any bubbles in the radiator (that would be very bad)

First thing I would do would be to have the cap pressure tested or replace it.  If that doesn't fix it I would consider a thorough flush of the system and a fresh thermostat. (always test a thermostat before installation-they don't always work)

Some folks remove the thermostat and that causes it's own type of problems as the water never gets a chance to properly warm up in cold weather and many systems can't cool as well with the water flowing through the system too quickly.

If the fan your grandfather put on is a flex fan, replace it with a standard fan. The fan should sit fairly close to the radiator (completely within the shroud)  If not add a spacer.

What engine is it you are working with?

[mustangluver]

LMAO plz tell me ur kid never found out on that lol. could it be possible that i dont have a recovery tank? or were those not installed then? and i dunno bout grabbin a hot hose. i have to flush it anyway. corrosion was found in my radiator. i bought a anti rust thing from prestone. correct me if im wrong but a four row needs 2 gallons yes?

[mustangluver]

its a 289

[Soaring]

hey how many lights (courtesy) are there supposed to be? i have two. but a wiring diagram i found online shows more. also. ive noticed recently that something on my engine dont have enough clearance. and has apperently dented the underside of my hood when tightened down. its where the nut and bolt is for the dent i mean. idk if it the carb thats in there or wat. please help.

You have two courtesy lights under the dash, and one in the back of the center console if you have one.  That's it. 

[mustangluver]

oh.

[Soaring]

No, recovery tanks were not installed on a 66 289 Mustang.  You can purchase one from Autozone, or just steal one off of any car at the junk yard.  Right below your rad cap is a tube that points to the ground. Just route that to the recovery tank. 

[Jeff73Mach1]

Auto Zone and O'Reilly's both had tanks for about 8 bucks when I was in there the other day.

As to happy meal toys, I throw them away when the kids go to their mother's house and they know that I am not going to keep them around unless the toy is something they think is really cool.

2 gallons should be plenty and the hose should not be all that hot.  I have what my neighbor calls "pencil pusher" hands even though I do some welding and a lot of work that should leave them calloused and rough.  If it doesn't burn my hands (and it doesn't) then you should be fine.

I have seen one odd cooling problem that was a bit harder to diagnose and though the odds are 100-1 against it, some applications use reverse rotation water pumps and the wrong pump will not cool your engine properly.  I think the later serpentine belt pumps are reverse rotation and if a standard pump had the wrong impeller it would cause problems.  Some of the rebuilt stuff on the market is pretty iffy. 

I may be wrong in this, but I don't think an overflow tank will assist with cooling, it will just keep the overflow contained so you don't make a mess.

[Soaring]

A couple of things.  An overflow tank will keep your rad completely full at all times because when the hot engine is shut off, the excess hot fluid goes into the overflow tank, then gets sucked back into the rad when it cools.  All modern cars have it. 
Secondly, I disagree with the idea that the fan should be all the way inside the shroud.  It should be half-way inside the shroud.  like this......

[Jeff1967]

I would like to install a recovery tank in my car, Where do you have yours mounted?

Jeff