72 dodge charger

[chopjake]

Hi, I am a new member but I need some tech. help. Have a 72 dodge charger 440, 4 barrel, has cam but dont know what it is, bought it like that. My problem is overheating at times. have changed thermostat, new alum. radiator. when it overheats I fing that radiator needs water, but dont know how it is losing it. no leaks that I can see. Dont know much about cars and would like to know what would casue that. Once water is added, car runs great at 180 deg. Has a problem b4 with car running very badly and stalling out, but I installed a 1 inch insulating spacer on carb and had no problem since. was told gas had been percolating from heat. any suggestions would be great. thanks mark

 

[70rr-brian]

Sounds like a bad head gasket maybe. If you dont see it...it is probably going out the tail pipe or in the crankcase. Have you drained oil recently to check if there is any antifreeze in it? A compression check should probably be done to isolate the cylinder/gasket that is leaking.

 

[Photon440]

70rr-brian has some good points. Also, do you have an overflow bottle or does the hose just dump to the ground?

Pull your plugs, if one of them is a lot cleaner than the rest, it could indicate that water is entering that cylinder and doing some steam cleaning.

-=Photon440=-

 

[chopjake]

Thanks to everyone. will check out your suggestions.. appreciate the fast replies. thanks again mark