Reply to "Cooling System question."

Peter,

The very first thing to do, is make sure every part of your cooling system is correct and working properly. The first thing I'd do is make sure you have the correct 351C thermostat. Also, make sure the engine temp sensor is mounted in the engine block and not in the pressure tank. Then, make sure your cooling system is properly bled (of air).

Finally, make sure your fans are both working and blowing though the radiator, not running backwards; blowing air away from the radiator. A dollar bill (sorry, I see you're in the UK - use a £5 note!) placed against the back of the rad, with the fans running, should get blown away from the rad, towards the back of the car. If the fans are wired backwards, the dollar bill will get sucked towards the radiator. This assumes you have OE style fans mounted in front of the rad.

If you've done all these things and it still overheats, you'll need to look deeper. Does your Pantera overheat when you're idling in traffic or when you're driving? If it only overheats when you're idling in traffic, you have an airflow through the radiator issue. If it overheats when you're driving, it could be a number of things including a rad problem, water pump problem, lean mixture or even a spun timing ring on the crank damper that caused your timing to be set way off.