Howell TBI AMC 360 Overheating

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Clearedhot
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Howell TBI AMC 360 Overheating

Post by Clearedhot »

All,

I've got a 84 Grand Waggy that the previous owner installed the Howell TBI on. I've noticed today on the first warm day that it started to overheat in traffic, entered the limp home mode, but was fine once I stopped and popped the hood to let some latient heat dissipate. Other than hot days and traffic, I don't have any issues other than pesky oil leaks off the timing cover. The solution that I am looking at is to remove the belt driven belt and add electrically driven fans. Has anyone else encountered this issue? Am I missing the obvious and going down a rabbit hole? The only other option I can think of is the radiator that the PO had recored a few years ago.

Thanks in advance for any help that anyone can throw my way.
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REDONE
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Re: Howell TBI AMC 360 Overheating

Post by REDONE »

Where are you located and how long have you had the wagon? Electric fans are not the solution. Nothing any of us have tried pulls more air than a stock fan with good clutch and the shroud in place. Some of us still go electric so we can turn the fans off if we find ourselves in deep water, but over heating is caused by something else, like a plugged up radiator, lean mix or bad engine builds.

Since yours came with Howell already on it, I wouldn't be surprised at all if we've seen it before.
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shimniok
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Re: Howell TBI AMC 360 Overheating

Post by shimniok »

When you say overheating, what does the gauge read? Was it full into the red?

There are a lot of possible causes to check out before going with electric fans which, as REDONE says, probably won't help. FSJ folks have been trying electric fans as an easy cure-all for many years without any resounding success, as far as I have observed. That's probably because the affected engines had cooling systems in poor condition. And I think probably the cooling systems were marginal to begin with. It doesn't help that we're dealing with a large-ish V8 engine crammed into a bay originally designed for an inline-6.

Does the vehicle have a fan shroud? If not, it needs one. The fan clutch may seem to work, but most of the ones I've had go bad within a few years. If you aren't hearing roaring fan noise when it first starts or when it's hot, I suggest getting a fan clutch.

When was the last coolant flush? Gunk build-up inside the cooling passages hampers heat transfer, reducing cooling system efficiency. Likewise with the radiator. Is it a 2-row, 3-row, or 4-row? Is the coolant the correct mixture?

Is the exhaust heat riser operating correctly?

Running too lean or too much advance, could, maybe, contribute to the problem, too.

Also... it strikes me as weird that TBI entered limp-home due to overheating. I would think the bin has parameters defined for high operating temps; my 1227747 $42 ECM bin does. Could something be amiss with a sensor? Did it throw any error codes?
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Re: Howell TBI AMC 360 Overheating

Post by FSJ Guy »

When you say limp home mode, did the SES light come on and stay solid, or did it flash? And if it flashed, was it a "regular" flash or was it flickering?

And what did the factory temp gauge read?

Any chance that you were cataloging when it happened? :- )
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az chip
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Re: Howell TBI AMC 360 Overheating

Post by az chip »

You guys asked too many questions.
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Re: Howell TBI AMC 360 Overheating

Post by FSJ Guy »

Hopefully the OP learned something, fixed it and is SO busy wheeling and driving their Jeep, that they don't have time to log back in and let us know of the success that we have enabled. LOL!
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az chip
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Re: Howell TBI AMC 360 Overheating

Post by az chip »

FSJ Guy wrote:Hopefully the OP learned something, fixed it and is SO busy wheeling and driving their Jeep, that they don't have time to log back in and let us know of the success that we have enabled. LOL!
Or, you overloaded the poor guy so much he sold it.
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Clearedhot
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Re: Howell TBI AMC 360 Overheating

Post by Clearedhot »

All,

Thanks for the education. I've read it before, but there is an absolutely amazing wealth of knowledge on the board.

After troubleshooting, fan clutch was definitely bad, and was replaced. This helped, but didn't solve the issue. Digging into receipts from the PO found that he had paid to have the original radiator re-corded. I suspect there are issues with the radiator that will need to be addressed. Or, perhaps, the rig doesn't enjoy the traffic of Washington, DC.

Thanks again to everyone for the info.


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Re: Howell TBI AMC 360 Overheating

Post by Tatsadasayago »

There aren't many qualified radiator specialists around these days and the chances yours had the core replaced are very low. Many radiator shops simply rod the existing core to remove restrictions but sell the job as a Re-Core.
You might consider lowering the coolant level so you can visually inspect the cores. If there is whitish/greyish buildup in the passages, the rest of the rad is likely worse.
I had a similar problem with mine years ago and after checking the thermostat, water pump impeller, fan clutch and doing a coolant flush, it still overheated in traffic on a 100 degree day.
I bought a new all metal replacement radiator through a friend who owns his own rad shop and the problem was solved.
7 years later it still runs at 180-185 degrees in 100 degree weather.
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Re: Howell TBI AMC 360 Overheating

Post by sonoraed »

also would be nice if new members post their location
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