Question on radiator problem

crawler nut · Mar 10, 2013

Put a over flow bottle my radiator over flow. Engine 355 on Propane. Question is,
I fill the radiator up, ride for a day seems to warm up rather easy on a climb. Dont think the timing is quite right yet. Not over heating just 220 or so is the hotest so far, But havent had a real long pull yet, thats what worries me.
At the end of the day the radiator level is down, an the over flow bottle is full. I have drained the bottle several times, an re-fill the radiator back to full.
I am running a 14lb radiator cap. Is this normal or do I have a cooling problem?
Thanks for the help an addvice. :dunno:

Iceman83 · Mar 10, 2013

What size radiator you running and where is it mounted? Reason I ask is I had a similar problem in a previous rig where the radiator was rear mounted behind the seats. I changed the water pump on it one day and it started running hot and puking water back into the over flow. Scratched my head for a while and realized it had an air pocket built up in the coolant system and wouldn't fill up completely with water. To fix this I put a gooseneck on the intake that a threaded port on it and I installed a petcock drain in it so I could open it while I was filling it back up with water by the time the thermostat opened and it was at normal temp range all the air had bled out of the system I closed the petcock and it held almost another gallon of water. Not sure if this is your problem but mite be worth a try.

crawler nut · Mar 11, 2013

Iceman83 said:
What size radiator you running and where is it mounted? Reason I ask is I had a similar problem in a previous rig where the radiator was rear mounted behind the seats. I changed the water pump on it one day and it started running hot and puking water back into the over flow. Scratched my head for a while and realized it had an air pocket built up in the coolant system and wouldn't fill up completely with water. To fix this I put a gooseneck on the intake that a threaded port on it and I installed a petcock drain in it so I could open it while I was filling it back up with water by the time the thermostat opened and it was at normal temp range all the air had bled out of the system I closed the petcock and it held almost another gallon of water. Not sure if this is your problem but mite be worth a try.

I am running a aluminum radiator, in the front where, stock location. Its in a Jeep YJ. size is like 23 wide x 19 tall. Dont remember exactly.

InittowiniT · Mar 11, 2013

Pretty sure you have a air pocket had the same setup yj pane Ron Davis alum radiator 350sbc ran 180 degrees in July , propane makes the engine run cooler so you need to bleed air out pull the thermostat and drill two 1/8 inch holes at the edge and leave cap off let engine idle until reaches temp should bubble out.

tommyswheelin · Mar 11, 2013

I just went thought the same problem with a air pocket. Bleeding it will fix your problem

crawler nut · Mar 12, 2013

Thanks for the info guys, I will try that this weekend an see what happens. Thanks again

Lil ugly · Mar 13, 2013

I have jacked up the front end before to get air to bleed out of the pockets in the back of the motor, I have also put a low are pressure to the radiator as a last ditch effort to get the coolant to push the air out. You have to be careful on the last method as you could cause damage or push more air into the system.

crawler nut · Mar 14, 2013

InittowiniT said:
Pretty sure you have a air pocket had the same setup yj pane Ron Davis alum radiator 350sbc ran 180 degrees in July , propane makes the engine run cooler so you need to bleed air out pull the thermostat and drill two 1/8 inch holes at the edge and leave cap off let engine idle until reaches temp should bubble out.

Going to do this Sat. Let me see if I understand what you are saying.
Remove the thermostat drill (2 - 1/8 inch holes 1 in each side. Re-install, fill an leave the Radiator cap off an let run? Correct? Thanks again