My 440 gets too hot when idling

[73performance]

Ok, I started to my 440 to check for vacuum leaks, and let it run for a few minutes, after about 10 minutes of just idle, the thermometer read 220 and climbing fast! Scared me, so then I shut it off. The thermostat is brand new and after I shut it off the top radiator hose was hot, so it was circulating. From what I tried I saw no vacuum leaks, no stuck choke nothing, just got alot more problems than this little boy can fix. I am lost in this motor deal, I don't really wanna run it again, from fear of cracking something. Can anyone help me?

[694spdRT]

What size radiator do you have? I will assume you have a '73 Charger and the big blocks could be had with a 28" radiator that year. If you have a smaller radiator, no shroud, etc. your system may not be able to keep up.

I had a 383 in my Charger that would not stay cool with a 22" radiator and I put a 26" in and it stays right at 195 degrees with a 195 degree thermostat.

Let us know what the setup is.

[defiance]

I just got out of the same fight with my 440!

In my case it was the timing.  Which was especially nasty since I *thought* I had it set to 15* advance at idle, but it turns out my harmonic balancer had slipped and I was about 18* off- meaning I was *actually* running around 3 degrees after tdc!!!
in 10 minutes I'd pass 220, too... same thing, I was scared to run it more than that 10 minutes.

Now that's fixed, I've got a 180* thermostat, and I've got what CLAIMS to be 9200CFM worth of electric fans (I think the numbers are fudged, it's probably closer to 5000 - but it's enough ), I shoot to 180 in next-to-no-time, then I rarely see 185

[greenpigs]

Did you fill the radiator recently?

Take the radiator cap off and let the car run it may have alot of air in the system that needs "burped" out.

Then, the shroud as stated and run a clutch fan if not allready.

[Runner]

I just got out of the same fight with my 440!

In my case it was the timing.  Which was especially nasty since I *thought* I had it set to 15* advance at idle, but it turns out my harmonic balancer had slipped and I was about 18* off- meaning I was *actually* running around 3 degrees after tdc!!!
in 10 minutes I'd pass 220, too... same thing, I was scared to run it more than that 10 minutes.

Now that's fixed, I've got a 180* thermostat, and I've got what CLAIMS to be 9200CFM worth of electric fans (I think the numbers are fudged, it's probably closer to 5000 - but it's enough ), I shoot to 180 in next-to-no-time, then I rarely see 185

  boy i bet that car runs ALOT better now!!