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Dodge Carryall WC53 Thermostat


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Hi everyone. I'm doing somewhat of an overhaul on the cooling system of our WC53 Carryall after sitting for many years unused. The current setup doesn't appear to have a thermostat.

 

Do you have any recommendations on how to approach this? I've heard whispering that people do run them. Are they necessary?

 

My new water pump has arrived and there is a threaded hole in the top of it which lines up with a funny bypass in the top neck that feeds the radiator. Is this provision for a thermostat? Before, there was a small rubber hose with a cap that fed water straight through to the old pump. Here's a photo!

 

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Any help would be much appreciated. There is a lot to clean out and I'm quite close to taking the motor apart. The rubber all needs replacing and so do the two steel pipes. I'm planning to try flushing it all first with new rubber and a thermostat before proceeding further. The radiator all cleaned out well, as well. Here are some more photos :-D

 

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Hi,the thermostat goes under the bit you have in your hand,there should be an elbow coming out of the top of the pump with a short bit of hose going to the stub on the side of the bit you have in your hand,this let's a small amount of water bypass the thermostat before it opens.

I would agree with the above comment check the spreader tube that is behind the water pump as this sends the water to the rear of the cylinder head and does often rot out and cannot be done once the radiator is back in place.

Simon

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Thank you for your replies Commander and Simon.

 

The spreader tube is thankfully made out of stainless (Must have been done when it was restored). I pulled it out with some effort and the very back two holes were blocked with flakes of rust (From elsewhere?) but it was otherwise clear and corrosion free.

 

There can't be a thermostat fitted as that whole piece is blank, as it the hole in the top of the motor.

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Thank you for your replies Commander and Simon.

 

The spreader tube is thankfully made out of stainless (Must have been done when it was restored). I pulled it out with some effort and the very back two holes were blocked with flakes of rust (From elsewhere?) but it was otherwise clear and corrosion free.

 

There can't be a thermostat fitted as that whole piece is blank, as it the hole in the top of the motor.

 

You need a thermostat, as it slows the flow of water down, where when it is flowing through the radiator, it stays there long enough to cool off. Also a warm engine has less wear than a cold engine.

 

It fits in the tp of the engine, then that piece gees over it.

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20170105_162524.jpg

 

You need a thermostat, as it slows the flow of water down, where when it is flowing through the radiator, it stays there long enough to cool off. Also a warm engine has less wear than a cold engine.

 

It fits in the tp of the engine, then that piece gees over it.

 

 

Thank you tankdriver - I just came back to check the thread now. We have had a 3 day working bee (among other things) with a few friends on the truck. I am waiting on a thermostat now. We got about a mile down the road before stopping in a pile of steam!

 

The motor gets to about 180F and then rapidly heats/flash boils. It spews out of the radiator cap and pumps the contents of the radiator out of the overflow. Here's a list below of what we've done so far -

 

Sandblasted/painted Steel top housing and bottom hose

Fitted new Rubbers

Replaced water pump

Checked cooling tube - found to be stainless with no corrosion

Replaced Head Gasket

Checked head and bores for (visible) cracks - found nothing

 

The thermostat/some kind of pressure system is my last hope before removing the motor to get it all crack tested. Is there anything other than a thermostat that we're missing in the process that you can see?

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I've known several Dodges with same problem, and especially any vehicle that has been parked up for a long time like yours, its the radiator core is rusted up inside which restricts the water flow, hence why the water pressure builds up in the header tank and blows out of the overflow, I see from the pics you ran a hose through the rad but thats not sufficient to clear it, the only way to restore the radiator flow properly is to get it cleaned out by a specialist radiator repairers

Edited by Nick Johns
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Hey Guys. There is a new development today. There is water leaking - imagine this - out of the back of the sump gasket, on the left side behind the rearmost sump bolt. There is no water on the dipstick, and after immediately dropping the oil, there's no water in the oil either.

 

I'm about to take the sump off to investigate further. I'm pretty sure that I'm about to find a crack but I hope not! Everything above the sump is bone dry so it's not coming from elsewhere. It's a very unhappy T214 indeed.

 

Please find a picture below of where the leak is. It's about 2 drips every 30 seconds so it's steady. I'll send the radiator in for repair if I end up taking the motor out and kill two birds with one stone. I'll keep the thread updated. Cheers!

 

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Hi I had similar problems as you with over heating on warm days with my M37,changed the pump,all hoses, thermostat,checked spreader tube and repeatedly flushed everything,then took my radiator to a shop who completely re cored it and have had no problems since,wish I had done it sooner😀 and have had no problems with over heating since even on very warm days.

Simon

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Hi I had similar problems as you with over heating on warm days with my M37,changed the pump,all hoses, thermostat,checked spreader tube and repeatedly flushed everything,then took my radiator to a shop who completely re cored it and have had no problems since,wish I had done it sooner😀 and have had no problems with over heating since even on very warm days.

Simon

 

I've now arranged to meet with a few people to help take the front off again. We'll do the radiator as you suggest :-)

 

New Pressure cap and O-ring (current pressure cap doesn't work and is missing the seal), thermostat and wipers are on their way. I've sandblasted the sump today and am going to paint it racing black :cool2:. If it overheats after all of this then I'm going to abandon the motor. Lol.

 

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Hi you are in the North island aren't you as it gets a bit hotter up there( we have friends down south),do you go to the WarBirds show as we are hoping to come over next year to see our friends and visit the show

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Hi

 

Testing Thermostats before putting them in to use. I might have missed it but didn't see any mention of testing the thermostats. I have discovered that many (most) new thermostats are slow to open the first couple of times they are heat cycled. Really annoying to be running in an engine on test stand and all of a sudden see it blowing coolant all over the place.

 

I test all (new and old) thermostats now before putting them in an engine, simple put a pot on the stove with a thermometer bring water temp up to just below the value of the themostats 140, 160, 180 F etc. Then put the thermostat into the water and watch is as temperture is raised you should see the thermostats open slowly if it is not opening at + 5 of the value there maybe a problem.

 

But if it is a new thermostat it may need to be exercised to get it going because out of the box they are often slow to operate the first couple of time taking as much as 20 degrees (F) to get them moving. What I do is to bring a pot of water up to just below boil and dip the thermostat in when it opens may take well over a minute dip it in to cold water to close. Do this several times and you should see the thermostat opening and closing faster. Doing this limbering up exercise for thermostats is far less dramatic done in the kitchen than blowing coolant all over the place.

 

Cheers Phil

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We ended up taking the radiator out of a spare hybrid dodge that My Grandfather made for farmwork in the 70s. The radiator is the same part number and the difference in flow is like night and day. We have fitted that radiator into our carryall and will test it with the new thermostat and pressure cap while the old radiator is repaired.

 

In the mean time, the only thing really barring the vehicle from running is the sump Gaskets. I have a spare cork set (albeit a bit dry, trying to saturate them in oil as we speak) but there is a funny seal at the very back of the sump, pictured here:

 

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Is anyone able to identify this seal and whether it's necessary? By the location of the bolt holes on the sump, it looks like the cork should seal the oil out of that area. I have no idea of the material or how I can get more. My only full Gasket set doesn't include anything of its type!

 

Here are some more photos of the farm dodge if you're interested :-)

 

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Hi you are in the North island aren't you as it gets a bit hotter up there( we have friends down south),do you go to the WarBirds show as we are hoping to come over next year to see our friends and visit the show

 

We are in the Bottom of the North Island in a small town called Featherston, about 30minutes from the airshow being held in february. We're planning on having our stuart and GTB there at a minimum :-) That show is wings over wairarapa, but I've never been down south to Warbirds over Wanaka or the Omaka airshow. I'd really like to go one day!

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