<VV> Overheating

[Smitty Smith]

Smitty Says:  David a multitude of things can contribute to overheating.  Most have been covered by JR, but I always suspect restricted cylinder/head fins first.  Yes it is quite a job to get the upper shroud off but not beyond the skill level of a novice.  The hard part is the back breaking mindless drudgery of doing the actual cleaning.  You need to take the bottom shrouds off too so you can put a light underneath to look for obstructions from on top.  Takes lots of poking and prodding with something like a broken hacksaw blade and even maybe the use of jobber length 1/8" drills to grind the crud out.  Of the many many engines I have worked on only a couple were acceptable as they were.  In any event, once you are sure the basic cooling system is functioning correctly you can look at less likely things.
  As an intrim aid, (although it shouldn't need be done on a healthy engine) you can remove the manifold covers from the engine (with thermostats) for some heat relief.  You can expect a 20° temperature drop from doing that.