Don’t go up holl at low rpmsthe car will go up hills with less strain in the rpm range/
Now I’ve never owned a ford but as a kid about 1955, we took our 54 ford v8 ohv, up mt Rushmore in South dakota. Pretty hilly and the last few miles are steep. When we got to the parking lot just about every other Chev and Buick and what not, had their hoods open to cool off. Not us, no need. Of course it was a relatively light car with a decent engine and I can’t say if it was in second or third gear at the end. But a small engine in 6th gear, just not made for hill climbing. We won the drag race too. Dad was never one to back down.
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If the engine overheats in high gear, the cooling system is inadequate.
OP’s diesel makes max power at 1900 rpms, that is down low power, that is what most diesels do, make power down low… That is why they are used more for towing/heavy loads…
I may be wayyy off base here, but I don’t think that OP is lugging the engine making it overheat…
That sounds to me like OP has run different gears testing that theory out and it did the same thing…
yes exactly Dave. Thanks
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So, are we back to a coolant problem, not being the correct type, a radiator that may be partially blocked (inside or outside) and the cooling fan (has the OP installed some option like a hood bra that partially obstructs the air flow, body work, etc…) , is the fan thermostatically controlled, has it been checked, the OP did not say what speed they were traveling uphill and perhaps the speed is insufficient for good airflow through the radiator.
One final thought, as I am a licensed Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Pilot (That is a licensed Drone pilot…) and one of the factors that the FAA actually tests us on is Air Density. When the temperature goes up the air is less dense, when the altitude goes up the air is less dense, and when both factors go up, High Altitude and High Temperatures in the mountains, the air is a lot less dense.
If you have been following the news in the southwest, the airport–Sky Harbor in Phoenix has had to cancel flights during the hottest part of the day as the air is too thin for the aircraft to take off safely, taking too much runway because the planes have to be going so much faster to get the lift to take off.
The reason we have to know this is if we are flying in less dense air, the drone’s motors need more power to lift off and fly and that drains the battery quicker and the flight time is greatly reduced…
Now, with all the other factors involved with the OP, his car, his location, the altitude (in the mountains, the temperature (Summer in Spain), this just might be the straw that broke the camel back…
Yep. In college I took ground school which was a physics credit. Air density in winter and summer was beat into our heads as an important flight factor. I usually think of that when I’m on a flight in the hot summer and the jet keeps rolling and rolling down the runway almost to:the end. I usually don’t get excited and they always finally pull up enough to clear the highway and river. Seat cushions are flotation devices.
Cars of the '50s definitely overheated more often than the cars of today, but I distinctly remember that an inordinate percentage of the overheated cars sitting on the shoulder were Buicks. I recall asking my father why Buicks seemed to overheat more often than other makes, but he didn’t have an answer for my inquiring pre-teen mind.
I’m not a mechanic and never worked in the automotive field but I did drive a diesel for a number of years. Whether it applies to all or not I do not know. I think we are at a point in the discussion that everyone is right, which happens once in a while.
So imho, diesels run loose, and are hard to overheat without some other cooling problem. I always had a problem getting mine up to operating temp in the winter, even after 50 freeway miles. The radiator would have to be completely covered with cardboard. Also I had to avoid lugging the engine at low rpm or it would have no power at all. I remember one trip pulling a camper in a head wind on the rolling hills south of San Antonio. Going up the hill I’d have to shift to second to increase rpm, and shift back to drive going down the hill again. It was about 45 mph and the car was fairly new so all systems in good shape. No power at low rpm. I could floor it and nothing would happen until I down shifted. Not a good mountain car. So just my experience but never had a cooling problem until head gaskets.
Most diesel engines manufactured during the last 30 years are turbocharged and have very good low-end torque. The Hyundai 4 cylinder engine has nearly the same power output as your Oldsmobile.
No turbo on an 81 olds diesel. The rest was expensive enough without a turbo to repair too.