Overheating so soon?

Been trying to get my 76 running smooth. When I first got it it wouldn't fire up. Now I got the engine going and run it for a few minutes at a time. I've noticed that coolant comes out of the radiator cap recovery hose. I got a recovery bottle and will set that up. But is that normal for coolant to spill out after only a couple minutes of running? I'm talking no more than 5-10 minutes.

 

It is if radiator is full to top, why recovery systems came to be... Before recovery systems you filled radiator approx 3/4 to one inch over core when cold, no higher...

 

plugged radiator.. stuck t-stat.. or even blown head gasket? Is the top hose getting hot before it pukes coolant?

Aside from obvious external causes, troubleshooting these kinds of things is usually best done from the inside to out.. not the outside working in.

Also helps to give us too much info about a car/engine than have to ask 20 questions to get an idea of potential problems and maintenance history(or lack of) that may be relevant to this particular issue.

 

Sorry about that. 1976 Mercury Comet with the little 3.3L 200 engine. Hose doesn't get hot as I only have it running for a few minutes at a time. The previous owner did put a new radiator cap on it. I don't think head gasket as I don't really see any leaks anywhere else (although that would be my luck). It doesn't see to leak immediately cause I stay in the garage for a bit and never see the leak happening. I'll investigate more tonight.

 

what Krazy said...
let it puke to find it's own running level, let it cool down and fire it up again and see if it still pukes.
to run a recovery tank you need a recovery cap. what pressure is the new cap? maybe the cap doesn't have enough pressure on it.
thinking 5-10 mins. the engine hasn't ran long enough to boil water...

 

Well, went out and fired it up. Didn't see a leak and the bucket I put under the hose last night was empty. But I did see smoke out of the engine. Assuming head gasket tried to get pics. If it is the head gasket I could try the Blue Devil. Or I could swap in the 302. Was going to wait till summer after nationals to do that. What do you guys think?

 

Those pictures are of normal old engine oil seepage... I would not be worrying about it...

 

Did it just start smoking?

Run a cooling system pressure check to test the head gasket. Even if it fails you may still need to confirm the head is not cracked before assuming the gasket is the cause. If it is leaking into the cylinder.. the pressure test will typically cause an even smokier startup than usual.

Also keep i mind that sparkplugs may show longer term cylinder leakage issues if the problem ocurred over longer period of time.

 

Thanks guys. Ordered a compression tester. Hope its not the head gasket as I do not possess the knowledge to fix that lol. I'll keep you guys posted and I really appreciate the advice.

 

a friend came by my house at 8 AM on his way home from work. we pulled the head off his Mav. and cleaned up everything. about 4 hrs. later he was heading home...

 

4 hours in mechanic time is the equivalent of 4 weeks in Doc time. Fingers crossed that's not it.

 

LOL, nice to know your limitations, but after you pull the first one ain't really much to a 6cyl...

If it's running smoothly, a compression gauge isn't likely to tell you anything...

 

Found this where it's dripping the most

 

Found what?? No pict...

 

Sorry about that