New guy asking his questions now!

[mattyj]

Hello,

Here we go,

I have installed a 454 in my truck but the owner who had it before me replaced the stock 350 w/ a 454, so thinking that it was the stock motor that came with the truck I replaced the old 454 with a 454 punched to 468. I think its bored .30 over!

But since I have put the new motor in I have been having temp problems, I have replaced the water pump and I have upgraded my rad to a four core rad. I have checked for leaks and have not found any, and my coolant level does not drop! What have I done wrong, also I have replaced the temp sending unit and the gauge with an auto meter gauge!

I have asked around and no one seems to have an answer, but I was reading and somone said that if your head gaskets are blocking a coolant hole in your head your motor will over heat! I could have swore I did everything right, but I am a rookie and we do make mistakes right?

The thing is my motor cools down @ when I am on the highway or on a long stretch of road with no syopping and starting, and it does not overheat when I am hauling my camper and bike trailer when I go camping. The temp gauge hovers right around the red section when it gets to its warmest point, but it has not yet boiled over!

i have no idea what is wrong can you help?

My other question is I would really like to get a cam and some headers for my truck, first I have no idea what kind of cam I want and have no idea who to get it from? And I also want to put headers on my truck, to try and pull fuel economy out of the 468. Does anyone have any idea who I should go too? My truck is 1980 k10 with a big block, does anyone run this type of set up?

Thanks in advance,
MattyJ

[J-Spec C10]

Yikes, thats one huge engine. Maybe the fan isn't moving enough air? What type of fan(s) are you using?

[apstguy]

How about the thermostat? A defective one will cause it to overheat, but usually, they don't cool off on long stretchs. Hmm... I agree about the fan thing. Maybe a defective fan clutch? If not, your water passages in the head might be blocked like you said.

[gchemist]

mattyj,
Welcome to the site.

It maybe time for these:

Here is a writeup on a conversion.
Checkout Mike's setup too.

Before you go installing electric fans there are a few things you can do. Since you live a cold climate, you can't run near 100% water. Use the minimum amount of antifreeze as possible. Try a high performance thermostat. What is your current temp? I would try a 180 or 185. You may also consider a Stuart Water pump (http://www.stewartcomponents.com/)
Another problem may be the tranny you are running. Consider adding an external tranny oil cooler. If you by pass the radiator tranny oil cooler you will have less heat to remove too.

Headers will definately help the BB breath better. Look at Headman headers or any thick flanged header.

[79BIG10]

I agree that the fan is the first thing I'd check. If you are using a mechanical fan and not using a shroud it's time to get one. That's what it sounds like to me. Also if this doesn't help you may want to get a lower running thermostat.

[bigblock73]

454 bored 030 over is a 461 i believe...454 bored 060 is a 468 for sure.

Look at your fan and shroud...the fan should be halfway in the shroud and half way out...in otherwords...centered. You might still have the 350 shroud (wider than a 454 shroud)...thus causing your fan to be tucked all the way in.

Oh, and welcome to the board.

-Jeff

[Blue Beard]

Welcome to the board from Washington State..............

Keep us posted on what results you get........

[Captkaos]

What does the autometer guage say the temp maxes out to? What kind of thermostat is in it? I am running a 180 in my 454 and I had no shroud and a 3 flue radiator, it never got above 200 in 105 summer temp.

What is your timing set to? It could be the motor is out of tune.
That will make a motor run hot. Get a clutch fan.
As for a cam, what areyou wanting to replace it for? If you are looking for economy out of a 454, you don't want to go bigger, especially with a 4x4.

[rockman20]

Could be a few things already stated here, but I will just be the parrot and repeat them! :p

1) I would suggest fan and shroud. Check how far in the fan sits inside of the shroud. Also, how big is the opening in the shroud and how big of a fan do you have? Do you have a clutch fan or direct drive? If clutch, have you replaced it or is it original?

2) Timing and fuel mixture can cause an excessively hot engine as well. Make sure that you are running the correct timing and take a look at the plugs and make sure that you are not running too lean on the mixture.

3) Thermostat can be the next possibility.

4) What kind of gauge do you have? Is this the stock gauge in the truck or an aftermarket? Mechanical or electrical? I ask because I hate mechanical gauges. I had a temp gauge with the long air filled line that ended with a probe that went into the intake. That gauge always read 225 when I would run around town. I finally spent the cash, got a set of Autometer Phantom electrical gauges and now I am reading 180-195 running on the street.

Keep us posted

[bpmcgee]

Everyone's made good points.

To check the thermostat, feel the hoses that run from the radiator to the engine. As the engine heats up, they stay pretty cool until the thermostat opens, then BLAM they get really hot. If this doesn't happen, then you've got a bad thermostat. Of course, if your radiator isn't getting very hot, then nothing you can do with fans or shrouds or anything will help you.

Also, it's amazing what timing can do to your temperature! If your timing is off, it will be VERY hard to keep the engine running at a safe temp.

[mattyj]

I currently run a direct drive fan, I have not checked the depth of it as of yet to see how far it sits inside the shroud. i went out and bought a big block shrould from a wrecker!

I checked and my thermostat must be working because my rad hoses are getting hot. But i need to change my thermostat any way, so I will change it to a 180 degree stat.

And would anyone have any idea what my timing should be set at? And i am currently running a 600 cfm edelbrock carb, with manual choke. i have misplaced my manual for it so how would i check the mixture? I have not pulled the plugs yet but i plan on doing them with the thermostat.

And I am leaning towards buying doug thorley headers has anyone ever used these type of headers? And when I get more info on headers i would like to know what kind of exhaust i should run? 3" or smaller, what type of mufflers sound good? and should I get the muffler shop to put in one of the "H" pipe things between my dual exhaust?

Thanks for all the info, keep it coming cause i am going to need it when i start busting out the wrenches and put the big beast on the hoist for some Chevy tuning! Ha!

Matty!