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How to find a "miss" or misfiring cylinder?

Never saw one of those screw-in types before. Looks like that will do the trick and give me an actual reading. It will be interesting to see how the gauge reading and the IR gun reading are different.

Of course I could just get the regular kind and run it through the firewall and I would be able to see it as I am driving.
 
OK...today I bought a temperature gauge and a gallon of coolant. I drained as much out as I could get. I replaced the thermostat while it was draining. I also replaced the PCV valve while I was at it.
I tested my antifreeze that was in the truck before I drained it. It floated 4 balls...that -25*....folks, it don't get that cold down here ever. the lowest I have ever seen in my lifetime was -8*

Anyway, when I put the new anti-freeze in it I mixed it 50 / 50 with distilled water. Then I topped off with pure water.

I let it run and run and run and run some more...I turned on the air conditioner and let it run...I put it in gear and held the break and worked it that way for a while. I could not get it to go past 185* with the IR gun and my idiot temp gauge would not go above the halfway mark (straight up and down). This is where it always ran before. I will install the temp gauge probably Thursday.

I also found this...you tell me what's wrong with this picture?
 
So, if my overheating problem is resolved, which was the cause?

  1. Stuck half open radiator cap
  2. Bad or sticking thermostat
  3. Too much anti-freeze to water ratio
  4. A little of all of the above?
 
Chief Brody said:
So, if my overheating problem is resolved, which was the cause?

  1. Stuck half open radiator cap
  2. Bad or sticking thermostat
  3. Too much anti-freeze to water ratio
  4. A little of all of the above?
Click to expand...
#4
 
I would doubt #3 unless you were running straight antifreeze. Generally recommended to run at least 50/50.
 
I'd say 1 & 2...

I've only seen one engine overheat due to using 100% Prestone with no water added,a '66 289 in a Mustang fastback 2+2 a guy I know restored to perfection..he replaced "everything" in the cooling system--new water pump,thermostat,hoses, and it would run about 20 minutes before it pegged the temp gauge and started spewing coolant out of the radiator cap..
He was ready to pull the heads off thinking it was a head gasket,when his son heard him say "I hate to waste any antifreeze,its expensive,and I just filled it full--probably spill half of it "..

He asked "you DID add water to it ,right dad?"..
"Uh no,I used ALL Prestone.."
He argued with us that 100% should be "better" because it wont let things rust up inside,and adding water would do nothing to lower the temperature or stop it from boiling over..

His son said "Dad,I'll prove it--I'll drain some out and add water--if it doesn't help I'll buy you new antifreeze"..he drained about 2 gallons out,filled it up with water from a garden hose,and we stood there over half an hour and the temp gauge never went higher than 3/8,not even halfway...his dad then admitted despite being over 65 years old--he learned something new that day!..he had raced stock cars and built engines since he was in his 20's too..
I also never new you shouldn't run 100% antifreeze either!..:doah:
 
So if I put a 195* thermostat in there and my IR is reading 185 as the warmest temp on the outside of the water neck housing, is the thermostat opening a little or not at all. I know I need to get that temp gauge mounted, but I just didn't have enough time today...spent most of my time wrestling with getting that alternator bracket off and then back on.
The bolt up front wont come off because the bolt head hits the pulley...I'd have to take the fan and the water pump pulley off to get it off.

Will the temp gauge sensor fit into the water neck without bumping the thermostat?
 
Chief Brody said:
So if I put a 195* thermostat in there and my IR is reading 185 as the warmest temp on the outside of the water neck housing, is the thermostat opening a little or not at all. I know I need to get that temp gauge mounted, but I just didn't have enough time today...spent most of my time wrestling with getting that alternator bracket off and then back on.
The bolt up front wont come off because the bolt head hits the pulley...I'd have to take the fan and the water pump pulley off to get it off.

Will the temp gauge sensor fit into the water neck without bumping the thermostat?
Click to expand...

Thought this might help. The thermostat rated temp is when it starts to open +\- 3 degrees, then fully opens once it’s 15-20 degrees higher.

http://www.stant.com/index.php/english/products/consumer-products/thermostats/abcs-thermostats/
 
I ran water wetter in my ktms, worked great. Just distilled water. Until the guy who bought the bike hauled it over the Rockies and the water cracked the outer cylinder wall.
 
Water wetter and distilled water is best for max heat transfer...but it works fine with antifreeze too.

If I was doing a project from scratch, I would use Evans... but once there is water in the system, it's a little expensive to use all of the flush products to get the h2o level down below 3%....plus Evans coolant is expensive as hell !!!

https://www.evanscoolant.com/
 
So, I have had two weeks of rain particularly on the weekends and I have changed the oil back to 10W30 but I have not had a chance to get it out and drive it to see if the overheat issue is indeed gone, and the oil pressure is still showing a bit high on that manual gauge. I need to get it out for a couple hours driving to be sure. Sometimes the weather just won't work out though...we are stuck in a pattern of 105 degree heat index and rain in the evenings, then most of the weekend.
 
For every pound of cap psi you get 3 degree's of cooling.
A 12 degree drop across the radiator is good. I used to dyno used trucks from swift on the dyno in my freightliner days. I would run them on cruise once i got them where i wanted them and then get out and confirm inlet and outlet temps with a thermo gun. My guess is the cap was the issue. However the maintenance you just did will go a long way.
 
Chief Brody said:
So, if my overheating problem is resolved, which was the cause?

  1. Stuck half open radiator cap
  2. Bad or sticking thermostat
  3. Too much anti-freeze to water ratio
  4. A little of all of the above?
Click to expand...
The radiator cap definitely had a part in it, but it's possible that the thermostat also was bad.
Radiators have to pressurize a bit to keep temperatures steady and lower so when you lose the pressure it goes up.
 
Chief Brody said:
So, if my overheating problem is resolved, which was the cause?

  1. Stuck half open radiator cap
  2. Bad or sticking thermostat
  3. Too much anti-freeze to water ratio
  4. A little of all of the above?
Click to expand...
By the way they say 50/50 mix is what you need but the real peak efficiency is 70% coolant 30% water.
 
You can check the temp difference between the top and bottom of your radiator as well. measure temps exactly where the hose clamps into the radiator. If the difference is less than 20 degrees or so, you might have a clogged radiator.
 
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