Mazrolet
3/9/2007 1:04:35 PM
Hey all this is my first time posting on this forum, I have a problem with a 350 Chevy motor overheating.
Here is the scoop in 2001 I had a 350 Chevy put in my 1991 Mazda B2200 pickup you ask why well it’s a show truck and I needed it to look pretty. The motor is bolted to a turbo 400 trany and cooled by a 4 core Griffin aluminium rad with dual Flex-a-lite fans. Also I swapped out the rear end for a Ford 9 inch to get the right gear ratio.
When the motor was built it ran around 180-190 degrees but it was set very rich for break in time. The next few years I didn’t drive it much because it always would run around 220 degrees and I got tired of keeping the heat on in the summer, did I mention I only drove it in the summer. Now I can only drive it at night on those cool summer nights or with the heat on even that gets the temp up to 220-225 degrees.
I have changed the thermostat several times trying different ones to see if this would help and I ended up just running an open thermostat because nothing else worked. In 2002 I had the shortie Hedman headers wrapped but then was told about horror fire stories so I took it off. In 2005 I got the headers ceramic coated but didn’t notice a drop in temperature.
This is what I know the trany should have been a 700 to give me the overdrive also because of the custom truck the front bumper cover is not letting that much air through the front. Before I go and change the trany and front end of my truck I want to know if there is anything else I can do to try to keep this motor cool.
I appreciate the comments.
nwcafesurfer
3/13/2007 2:17:54 PM
Read your post and the first thing that came to mind is all that chrome you have under your hood. I know chrome is not a good conductor of heat and you also have to consider that your engine bay is much smaller than a Chevy truck/SUV If possible look for a creative way to force fresh air into your engine bay.
The best thing you could do is install a deep sump aluminum oil pan to radiate out some of that heat. Also look into doing the same for your transmission as that will help with overall temps as well.
I dont claim to be a proffesional, good luck with your show B2200.
-Matt
