55 chevy series 1 overheating

[Rodney E]

Ok I put new water pump new thermostat and new cap and still now circulation no water is going through top or bottom hose. Oil looks good and dont think its a blown head. Cleaned the radiator seems clear any ideas

[Coupeguy2001]

1. Does the lower hose collapse when the pump is running?
Could be that the inner spring has rotted away.could be starving the pump
2. Take the thermostat out of the engine, and see if water circulates. Chinese thermostats sometimes don't work
3. Check the radiator for heat. If the radiator gets hot, the water is circulating. Could be a faulty temp gauge.
4. Check the belt tightness. a loose belt will cause the pump to slow down and become inefficient.
5. use a candy thermometer or electronic thermometer.to determine your gauge is correct or not. If you have a hand held one, move it around the engine to find hot spots
6. Try flushing the block to see if there are any foreign debris that got stuck in the block/head.
7. Recheck the head outlet for any obstructions
8. use a light and mirror to determine the condition of the radiator.

[Link X]

Flush the block. Did you have a Rad shop clean the rad, they can boil it and take the tanks off and "rod" the core to clean any build up.

[OrrieG]

I think this is an old double post.

[mr48chev]

I didn't see another thread on the same subject.

Coupeguy 2001 hit on most of the regular overheating issues.

The only thing I would ask is what engine does the truck have in it? Stock six stock 8 or a later model engine?

On the coolant circulation, it won't circulate until the thermostat opens. Also some styles of thermostats don't let the air bleed out of the block and head real well and trap air.

[OrrieG]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

On the coolant circulation, it won't circulate until the thermostat opens. Also some styles of thermostats don't let the air bleed out of the block and head real well and trap air.

small 1/8 hole drilled in the t-stat helps with that.

[dsraven]

coolant should circulate through the heater hoses at all times, if you have heater hoses. you can disconnect them from the heater and then use a short piece of clear beverage tubing to connect the two pieces, that way you can see if bubbles are moving through the system. the hoses should also get warm though, if you just start the engine and run it without disconnecting anything. if you don't have a heater you can also just install a couple of plumbing nipples into the threaded ports on the engine to accept heater hose for a flow test. what is the history on the rad, clean inside or was it blossomed around the ends of the rad tubes that can be seen through the rad cap? good flow through rad with garden hose running into top and lower hose off? what is the engine temp getting up to when running? is this an old engine that sat in a field for years and may have a mouse nest in the block somewhere?