860 Ford question and info to share

cydectin

Member
Put the new style head gasket from Ford on last summer with a new thermostat. Thermostat was checked in a pot of water and was and is functioning properly. New head
gasket has ports closed off so coolant is routed from front of block to the back, then into head and back to thermostat. Problem is my temp gauge which is working fine
shows 220 to 240 before thermostat opens. Confirmed with a point and shoot temp gauge, rear of head and block are 220 to 240 degrees before thermostat opens. Once it
opens, temp will rise and fall in a decent range and will be fine, it is on initial start up where it overheats in back of block and head and still to cool in the front
to open a 165 thermostat. When that hot of coolant hits radiator tank she boils over. I think I need to drill a coupe of small holes in thermostat to let a little fluid
flow. What do you think. Also I had to put in the steel hydraulic pressure line in the belly and got it from Walts tractor and it is a perfect fit with no leaks. Put in a
rear main seal kit that is a Felpro and no leaks from it. It measured several thousandths thicker in all directions than other seals I have tried.
 
Thanks for the info on the seal and tubes..

Every time I have ever had to monkey with a thermo like in you case my problems were deeper all I did was prolong the agony...

I recommend you perform a test for combustion gas in the coolant, check water pump flow and radiator condition (flow test)...

Its my belief you are getting a air pocket in the head are restricted coolant flow B it a pump that's not pumping as it should are a restriction in the cooling system.

A thermo opens and closes slowly I am going to use a 195 as a example as its the only ones I have tested. It will start to open at 180/185 and not be fully open till about 210. It will stay fully open to about 190 and slowly close to about 180 even at 180 it will be slightly open. On the stove top you are in control of the heat installed in the engine air flow is in control of removing the heat. This is at a warm are at operating temperature at this time this is were the air is taking the heat out of the cooling system. On a bone cold engine its more violent you can not reproduce bone cold in a pot of heated water, in a pot of heated water you can only see how it reacts under normal operating conditions...

That test is good enoufh for me I am not going to go as far as to build a pipe and put cold water on top of the thermo to see how it reacts in a simulated cold condition.

You should see heat start to build on top of the themo with your gun at least around 165 with a 165 thermo just below the thermo if not find out why the heat is not getting there. It could be as simple as a thermo that's not reacting as it should. Air flow across the rad does not come into play till it reaches operating temps... Its a long road good luck...
 

Thanks for the info, I had not heard of the redesigned head gasket. Is it Felpro as well? I take it that the seal is the two piece neoprene lip seal?
 

I am a believer in the use of a vent hole in thermostats. If nothing else I find I don't get the vapor pocket preventing the thermostat from opening on the first start after a system flush. Assuming all else is correct with the engine, I feel the thermostat needs a small flow past it to best sample/sense the actual coolant temperature. In a non-flowing system you can have large temperature differences. I will typically drill an 3/32" to 1/8" hole for larger engines and 1/16" for small (garden tractor) engines.

Since the head gasket changes the coolant flow on the engine - there may be some comments hidden in the instructions regarding the thermostat....?
 
To answer some of the questions, the head gasket came from Ford/New Holland. I do not know the brand of it. The rear main seal is a Felpro I guess neoprene two-piece with
wedges and drive pins assembled with Permatex red smeared on all pieces and not ran for about 36 hours after assembly. As far as air pockets, I filled tractor radiator as
full as I could get it and then ran tractor up and down some goat paths thinking if there were trapped air I should get it worked out. I am pretty sure the hot coolant is
hitting the tank all at once and causing the boilover. I had read somewhere that Ford made this new style gasket to make tractor run cooler in summer which it has but is
causing overheating in the rear of the engine before thermostat opening. I think I will drill a small hole in thermostat to get a little coolant movement from back to
front so block and head are staying at a more constant temp. I will report back later. Thanks for replies.
 
I replaced the head gasket in my '74 2000 gas a couple of years ago with a Ford/New Holland graphite type gasket.
The coolant holes were in different locations from the original.
The parts man said it was the new style gasket to provide better cooling.
I also installed a new water pump and correct thermostat at the same time.
On startup - the engine temperature gauge would peg in the red zone for a few long minutes and then slowly cool down as the thermostat eventually opened.....
I pulled the thermostat and drilled a 1/8" hole thru the thermostat flange and installed it to the top.
It got rid of the high initial temperature.
I don't know if that temperature spike was supposed to be there for a quicker intake manifold warm-up or not, but the tractor runs fine.
 

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