Fan Clutch

[NicolasB]

Actually, I just noticed something. There are no lines going to the thermostat vacuum switch. Could this be another reason why the car is overheating?

[Otto Skorzeny]

My car doesn't have one but from what I read on the picture you posted it looks like it might have some effect at idle - when stuck in traffic.

Hopefully it shows the vacuum line routing.

[NicolasB]

The good thing is that the chassis service manual shows a diagram of the routing for the hoses. I’ll see if I can fix that.

Back to the radiator flush, do you normally top off the radiator with coolant? There is a line on it that says “fill cold” a bit before the top. I let the air out by leaving the radiator cap off but when I usually do it on a newer car I top it off and use a funnel to see the air bubbles come out. Should I do the same or just follow what was engraved in the radiator and not top it off?

[roland]

That thermostat vacuum switch is one part of the emission system of the late 60th. It lowered the exhaust emissions in different ignition timing with cold or hot engine. Without that working thing your engine produce the same oxide as a 66 engine.

Don´t top up the radiator. It will spit out the overfilled cooling fluid when engine is hot. Newer cars use a close cooling system with a beside mounted overflow bottle. 1.Generation Toros don´t have that.

[Otto Skorzeny]

I know you're in California. Are you required to pass an emission test? If not, I'd remove the air pump and all that crap.

Fill the radiator up to about 1 1/2" below the bottom of the filler neck.

I installed a coolant reservoir on my car. It looks stock and works perfectly. With the coolant reservoir, you can fill the radiator to the brim. Be sure to use a modern vented radiator cap so that the coolant can flow both ways.

If anybody wants to install a coolant reservoir on his car to keep it from pissing all over the road, this one from Dorman is pretty nice. It has the nipple on the bottom to act as a reservoir instead of just a recovery tank.

Anyway, it fit the available space perfectly. I made a bracket from a flat L corner bracket. I utilized an existing bolt on the radiator support so no drilling on the car required.

Dorman part # 603-001 6.5"w x 5"h

[NicolasB]

In California, cars that are built from 1975+ must perform a smog check, so in this case I’m fine. The car doesn’t have an air pump, so that’s not much of a problem. Someone installed a reservoir tank before I bought the car, but I replaced the cap with a non-vented one. I didn’t know that you were supposed to use a vented cap for the system to work. No wonder the coolant kept disappearing haha

[Schurkey]

In California, cars that are built from 1975+ must perform a smog check, so in this case I’m fine. The car doesn’t have an air pump, so that’s not much of a problem. Someone installed a reservoir tank before I bought the car, but I replaced the cap with a non-vented one. I didn’t know that you were supposed to use a vented cap for the system to work. No wonder the coolant kept disappearing haha

Define "vented".

Caps for vehicles that don't have recovery tanks allow coolant to push out to relieve excess pressure. They allow air to re-enter to relieve vacuum. They're vented.

Caps for vehicles that DO have a recovery tank allow coolant to push out to releive excess pressure. They are sealed to atmosphere, so that vacuum in the cooling system will pull coolant from the recovery tank. They're also vented--but with an addition of a rubber gasket where the cap touches the top of the filler neck.

Thousands of years ago, back in the mid-1970s, aftermarket recovery tanks came with a cheap rubber gasket you'd install on your existing radiator cap to make it work with the recovery jug. In practical terms, that gasket was the ONLY difference between a rad cap for an open system that dumped excess coolant on the ground vs. a rad cap for a sealed system using a recovery bottle

[Otto Skorzeny]

I'll post a picture of the one on my Toro and the old fashioned one I pulled off a '66 Mustang

Here's an explanation with diagrams:

https://www.coolcatcorp.com/Radiator%20 ... rcaps.html

[Schurkey]

Here's an explanation with diagrams:

https://www.coolcatcorp.com/Radiator%20 ... rcaps.html

Wow! That was entirely NOT what I was expecting to see.

I learn something every day.

Went on the NAPA and O'Reillys web sites looking for photos of what I was trying to explain; but I found no suitable pictures. I suppose I'll have to pose and then post my own photo. This may be tough, I haven't had a car without a recovery tank in decades.

[Otto Skorzeny]

Hahaha! None of my vehicles have factory recovery tanks. I had to add the one to the Toro and to my F-100. I'm going to leave the '56 Cadillac alone because it will look weird under the hood. It's stays nice and level 1 1/2 knuckles below the filler neck and never pukes out when hot.

I've only owned one vehicle in my entire life that came with a coolant reservoir. 1988 Dodge Dakota.