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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / foam in the coolant

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Posted By Discussion Topic: foam in the coolant -- page: 1 2     1933 09-07-2010 @ 6:19 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 25 Joined: Oct 2009 I have a 33 V8 Ford that runs just fine. I have Skips waterpumps and a new radiator. When the car is driven under 42 mph the coolant is just fine. When driven a little faster the coolant will foam and push a little coolant out of the radiator overflow. Is there a recommended anti freeze I should be using? I do have aluminum heads so I should not use straight water. Any ideas. Keystone 34 3w 09-07-2010 @ 7:20 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 23 Joined: Aug 2010 Get some water wetter or purple ice additive.This stuff makes the water coolant cling to the metal and dissipate heat faster. I had the same problem a month ago. I also diluted the coolant to a weaker mixture and added water wetter. Did an 800 mile tour at 55-60mph trouble free. The foam in the rad was like when you pour a hot beer in a cup. I can now keep the coolant right up to the little hole in the top tank. Hope it works for you ford38v8 09-07-2010 @ 7:43 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 2736 Joined: Oct 2009 1933, Straight water is not good for any system, aluminum or not. The minimum required is a water pump lube additive, and a sacrificial anode rod to prevent electrolisis. elelctrolisis attacks the rod instead of the aluminum heads. If you can't find one at a car parts store, go to a hardware store and buy a magnesium anode rod intended for use in home water heaters. A 3" chunk of this dropped into the top tank will last several years. I('ve heard that Water Wetter is a good product, but have no experience with it. This may itself have the required water pump lube, I don't know. If you don't live where it freezes, there is no other advantage to having antifreeze in your system, and as you have found, there is a disadvantage in having foam. Alan 37RAGTOPMAN 09-08-2010 @ 4:49 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1942 Joined: Oct 2009 Try using PEAK antifreeze,] lower detergent [ and only mix 50-50,as in the directions, ALSO foaming is from air, FILL THE SYSTEM when HOT, to make sure it is full, I had the same problem in my 37 to find out it was 1/2 gallon low, this caused foam to overflow out of the radiator. hope this helps, 37 RAGTOPMAN, an KEEP on TRUCKIN,,,!!! also retorque your heads a few times,and check your oil, to make sure no coolant is leaking into the crankcase,[ you will see a white foam on the oil stick and on the bottom of the oil filler cap]I had this problem with my 37 and later went to cast iron heads,and this solved this problem. GM 09-08-2010 @ 7:04 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 15 Joined: Oct 2009 Do you have Skips 3 lb pressure valve. If not water pumps out the over flow tube with or without his pumps. It is a little worce with his pumps because almost twice as much water is being circulated. The radiators on all of these old Fords have enough resistance that without a pressure cap or the 3 lb valve over a quart of coolant is lost. I have never used a standard type anti freeze that foamed when the system has a valve or pressure cap and the radiator is filled up into the neck. Foam is caused by air or a compression leak. With the radiator filled there is no room for air. I see on the test machine which is a sealed system that when stock pumps are tested for 5 minutes and the cap removed there is a sound of air being released. With the high volume pumps there is no air to be heard. This is due to the impeller configurations, the paddle wheel spins it's wheels stiring up air and the more positive drive impeller isn't doing as much slipping in the water. Fill the radiator up into the neck and run at a fast idle with the cap off. Run for a half hour with a house type fan UP AGAINST the grill watching for bubbles. If you have a compression leak the bubbles will be small at first then get larger as it gets hotter. YOU NEED TO HAVE THE RADIATOR FILLED UP INTO THE NECK to see the bubbles. You can't see them down in the tank. If the bubbles are less then 3/8" in diameter Barrs stop leak usually will seal them. Larger ones need further investigation. I had one that in a half hour it went to 229, the bubbles got larger the hotter it got and were close to 1" and at that point would spit at least a gallon of water. G.M. supereal 09-08-2010 @ 7:14 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 Back in my Model A days, the coolant would foam enough to splatter the windshield. We tried all sorts of things, such as distilled water and additives, and discovered that Sierra brand antifreeze cut the problem considerably. I agree that the 3# valve would help to contain the overflow, but only if compression leaks are not present. If you suspect that is the cause, find a shop that can place an exhaust analyzer in the radiator neck. If combustion products are found, either a head gasket is failing, or a crack in the block has opened, and it is very likely the problem will increase. fredeick 03-06-2011 @ 11:32 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 1 Joined: Mar 2011 I have the same issue with a 1950 239 V8. Tried everything. It just foams out about 2 qts and then runs a little hot. Did you ever figure out what you could do? I was thinking of getting a 3 pound valve for the end of the overflow tube? supereal 03-06-2011 @ 12:43 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 With your '50, I suspect that your radiator cap is either faulty, wrong for the car, or the radiator filler neck is damaged, preventing the cap from seating. Your cap should be marked with a "7", as a seven pound cap is correct. We have found gas caps on radiators that prevent pressurization, allowing aeration and loss of the coolant. However, pushing out that much coolant will make your engine run hot, in any case. Look for coolant in your oil, which would indicate an internal leak. If you see white smoke from your exhaust, a blown head gasket is likely, a a good shop can pressure test your cooling system. MG 03-06-2011 @ 2:20 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1249 Joined: Nov 2009 supereal is spot on. Have a competent radiator shop test you coolant for hydrocarbons - a sign of combustion gasses leaking/being forced into your cooling system. Don't try to mask a more serious problem with additives. 37RAGTOPMAN 03-06-2011 @ 5:32 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1942 Joined: Oct 2009 I had the same problem with skips pumps, it was that there was not enough coolant in the system. get his special valve and follow his instructions, and you problems are OVER, you will run cooler and not add any more coolant once you do it. I ran my all summer with no coolant added, been there done that, 37RAGTOPMAN

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