1971 Kaiser M35A2 temp. problem

[daytonatrbo]

The deuce is known for running cool. Bjorn(cranetruck) even fitted his with an imitation winter guard to run in the summer to keep his temp up. Try blocking half the radiator with a pizza box and run around for a bit before you get too crazy searching for issues.

I wasn't real worried until I noticed that my M109 warms right up and stays there.

 

[Aussie Bloke]

G'day everyone,.....

Mine has the same issue, I put a new thermostat in when I did the head gaskets. It will stay at 160 deg. and not move above or below. I saw it move only one time it reached 180-190 while I hauled my trailer and camping gear up through the mountain passes.

My old thermostat would hover around the 180 mark normally.

Mines the same, it is always around the 160 mark, when I went up a mountain here last weekend it made it to 170 for the first time since I have had it.
Will see what it dose when I go the same way tomorrow.


Aussie.

 

[brianp454]

I purchased my truck from a guy and I recall him making a statement about removing the thermostat. I do not know if he did or not.
I recall him discussing it with some old timer, and he decided to put it back in.
Maybe I'll tear it apart and see this Summer.

My truck typically comes up to temp ok. I always let it high idle for 5-8 minutes before taking off.
I idle is less at low idle if it was warm earlier int he day.
It usually stays at 180 on the money by the gage most of the time.
I've carried about 4 tons a couple times and on one of them it was a hot summer day it is got up to about 180 after running hard on the freeway.
The NW here has lots of grades, so running it hard on the ups is the norm.
It turned out to be a little low on coolant (this was shortly after I got it and was fixing many things, including leaks).

I recently got into a mess getting caught in a massive snow storm cresting Mt Hood on hwy 26 westbound.
By the time I got the the Timberline Lodge turnoff I'd went though multiple bouts of having to scrape ice from the windshield and side glass.
It was snowing so hard visibility was limited even out of the truck.
So, I was doing a little over high idle as I could not go fast or run the engine hard.
On top of that the "heater" wasn't even coming close to keeping up with the cold and it was cold in the cab.
I got out and raised the hood at one point. The hoses were warm, but NOT hot.
I have a soft top and the weatherstrips and in poor shape also.
There's a lot of wind that leaks in...

I ended up leaving the truck a day and letting the weather clear up.
When I recovered her, it was almost all down hill as I was past the highest elevation.
The engine ran for about 20 minutes at 45-50 MPH for the water temp to get to about 125-130 with it about 45F outside.
EGT's were all time lows.
It wasn't until I hit a couple good long up grades where I ran the EGT's up to 1100 for a spell that the temp got up close to normal.

I've got good clean 50/50 anti freeze in the system.

Anyone else seen this?
How does your cab heater work in a snowstorm?
Think my thermostat was removed or is sticking open?
Is this normal without the arctic kit (or blocking radiator, adding shifter boots, new weatherstrips, etc)?

Not to hijack a thread, but; Can anyone tell me if these thermostats commonly fail open? My M109 gets up to temp nicely, but my M35 takes a long time for the needle to start moving, and never gets above about 1/3 of sweep, or less than 160°F.

Any thoughts on that?

 

[gimpyrobb]

Yes, especially if you don't have the winter front on covering part of the grill.

Lots of folks put the heater in the cab, under the "map compartment" to heat the heated air from the cab, rather than cold outside air.

 

[daytonatrbo]

Yes, especially if you don't have the winter front on covering part of the grill.

Lots of folks put the heater in the cab, under the "map compartment" to heat the heated air from the cab, rather than cold outside air.

Yeah, my M35 has the cab heater. I wonder if it's just bleeding off that much more heat than my M109 which does not have it and warms up faster.

 

[brianp454]

My cab heater is mounted under the dash as gimpy mentions.
I do not have much experience with the heater and plan to verify the levers work as the op manual suggests.
I definitely hear dampers slamming as they are moved.
Whoever installed the heater put a 1/4 turn valve inline with the coolant supply and I leave it closed in the Summer.
Funny how the heat will run you out of the truck on a hot Summer day and doesn't do Shiite when it's cold...

 

[daytonatrbo]

Yeah,mine has needle valves on each pipe connection on the engine side, but the heater core is the under-the-hood one.

 

[Lenny]

Hey guys
I drained about 4 gallons out of the radiator and then I pulled the hoses and the small housing that holds the thermostat. The water is pretty rusty so I won't reuse the coolant. After I'm done I'll give the system a good flush, fill it with water only, and see if I've addressed the problem. And if so then I'll drain it again and fill with antifreeze. But in the meantime, the thermostat is really stuck in the housing. I tried gently prying with the tip of a knife but no joy there. I suppose that I could heat the housing and thermostat as one unit in a large enough pot to do the water test when as someone previously mentioned, "the old lady is not around", but I'd really rather have the thermostat out of the housing to do it. I'm afraid though that I will destroy it trying to get it out. If this happens naturally I could replace the thermostat but then I wouldn't know if it was in fact the cause of the problem until I put it all back together and try it out. Does anyone have any ideas for separating the two? Thanks, Lenny