Car is running hot

[Steves LX]

Is it just me or does everyone else have the same problem. Since its's been in the 80's I have to run my fan anytime I am driving the car or my temperature wants to go thru the roof. If I idle too long or really get on the car hard it wants to sit at 210-215. I have also noticed that if I drive 70-75MPH steay for a bit it will sit around 210 or so. I have a 3 row aluminum radiator. I have radiator releif or whatever that stuff is that Craig sells in there. I am running a 180 degree thermostat. The water pump is just a stock one from KOI. I drove the car to work this morning and just this morning that thing was wanting to run hot 205-210 degrees all the way into work. Maybe my sending unit is bad I dont know. Is it time to get a super duty water pump that will flow more or is that not going to help. I just dont know if this is normal and what is considered safe temp. and not safe temp. with aluminum heads?

[facemelter71]

Wow,thats pretty warm for all the cooling upgrades you got.I have the cheapest radiator from AZ, 16" electric fan with stock shroud,AZ stock water pump,MR.GASKET t-stat and fresh coolant,and if it gets anywhere past 180 ill click the fan on and it will stay at 180 or 175.But never goes above 180.On the highway in a hot day i can usually drive without the fan on as long as there is no traffic.

[Metcalf Racing]

I would go and put a 160 T-stat in it first maybe your 180 is trying to stick. anything over 200 you start running the risk of a head gasket letting go..

[Rick93coupe]

Did you take the little skirt off your car that sits under the nose? Can't remember what its called, but it does have a purpose and some guys take them off without thinking about it.

Might be called an air dam.

[Steves LX]

No I didn't take that off. I don't have the fan shroud on anymore either. I also have underdrive pulley's on the car. I wonder if that isn't contributing some.

[92BlackStang]

No I didn't take that off. I don't have the fan shroud on anymore either. I also have underdrive pulley's on the car. I wonder if that isn't contributing some.

check yout thermostat out could be stickin trust me you dont want to warp a head.

[89notch]

No I didn't take that off. I don't have the fan shroud on anymore either. I also have underdrive pulley's on the car. I wonder if that isn't contributing some.

Steve leave the 180 T stat in and put a fan shroud back on it. Does it have an electric fan? A 160 T stat in a mass air car will make the computer think it is still warming up all the time if it runs 160. If that doesnt work its time for an electric fan. I had on of the autozone specials(65.00)flows like 1600 cfm with the advanced autoparts electric fan controller(25.00). I could set that on whatever temp I wanted and it would stay there. We also put on of these on Snotz135 car and it runs as cool as mine.

[12seclx]

I have a stock AutoZone radiator in my car.... Proform electric fan... stock water pump... milled and ported gt40p heads w/ about 10.5 : 1 compression and an Anderson n-41 cam... Runs cool down the highway... about the "A" in Normal on the stock gauge, I'm guessing around 165/170 and in traffic or getting aggressive, 180-185....

*(I hope it's not a head gasket gettin' ready to cut loose)*

I told you nitrous was the devil.....:nono:

[kennebellcobra]

I noticed your fan looked a little small on yours. I would put a taurus or 94-95 mustang fan on it...they move some air and have a shroud made into them.

[347sc]

I have a stock 94 up Mustang Fan Im not using.
I have a dual fan setup and I run cool in traffic with the ac on. Also pop off you cap and look for bubbles and black gasket material floating in the rad. Thats early signs of hg failure. If you do have the stock fan with no shroud it will run hot because its pulling air around it instead of through the rad. Not to mention the stock fan clutch is probably wore out.

[facemelter71]

number one thing to do,is get that fan shroud back on there.It doesnt look as cool,but it will def' help with cooling.And get rid of the underdrive pullies.They turn the water pump slower than stock.My buddy had that problem on his hatch.He took his off and no more problems.

[5.0calypso93lx]

I'm thinking that it might not be the fan if you are driving 70-75mph and the car is still running 210. Regardless, you should definitely have a fan shroud on there. I would also try a 160 t stat and see what that does. I had similar issues and mine turned out to be a sticking t stat that was brand new when I put it in.

[Steves LX]

What I have is a hayden electric fan that is zip tied to the back of the radiator in the engine compartment and I dont have the fan shroud on. I have no bubbles or gasket material in my cooling system. I am going to change the t-stat out tonight. I just got back from pull N pay and they had 2 sn95's down there and one of them still had the fan. I decided to look around more and I found a fan on a 94 Cougar which is the same fan thats on the Lincoln Mark Vlll. So I grabbed it for 15.00 and the harness for it. Not sure how in the hell I am going to be able to mount it in there but there has to be a way somehow. Anyone that's running one of these any help would be appreciated. Also does anyone know how many amps that fan puts out. I noticed it has a high speed wire and a low speed wire. I plan to just use the high speed wire and the ground on it. Just curious about amps and mounting this thing
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w174/steveslx/100_1677.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w174/steveslx/100_1678.jpg

[5.0calypso93lx]

What I have is a hayden electric fan that is zip tied to the back of the radiator in the engine compartment and I dont have the fan shroud on. I have no bubbles or gasket material in my cooling system. I am going to change the t-stat out tonight. I just got back from pull N pay and they had 2 sn95's down there and one of them still had the fan. I decided to look around more and I found a fan on a 94 Cougar which is the same fan thats on the Lincoln Mark Vlll. So I grabbed it for 15.00 and the harness for it. Not sure how in the hell I am going to be able to mount it in there but there has to be a way somehow. Anyone that's running one of these any help would be appreciated. Also does anyone know how many amps that fan puts out. I noticed it has a high speed wire and a low speed wire. I plan to just use the high speed wire and the ground on it. Just curious about amps and mounting this thing
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w174/steveslx/100_1677.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w174/steveslx/100_1678.jpg

I'd imagine it's similar to this install:

http://forums.corral.net/forums/showthread.php?t=898467&highlight=mark+VIII+fan+install

[facemelter71]

160 t-stat is not a good idea.As stated earlier by 89NOTCH.Dont do that.If your going to replace the t-stat,replace it with a mr.gasket 180*.

[Steves LX]

where do you get a MR Gasket t-stat local?

[facemelter71]

Got mine at Oreilly's.On the shelf.

[Steves LX]

Thank you I will give them a call now.

[kennebellcobra]

You will need a dcc controller for that fan and have a 3g alternator http://www.dccontrol.com/fancontrol.htm This is a good one but pricey

[Timido]

How much timing do you run?

[graysonracin]

Maybe koi gave you the wrong water pump, i think i read in a magazine that some 302 water pumps flow in the wrong direction, depending on what year and all that stuff.

[Metcalf Racing]

Man run the 160 T-stat. I've owned more mustangs on here than any one on here period... It will make your car faster anyway. Every degree cooler your car is it's that mush faster.. If so you wouldn't see mustangs at the track with Ice on their motors and guys spraying them to cool them down. The guys telling you to run the one 180 is straight up giving you bad advice

[Metcalf Racing]

If I can get my car to not move the temp gauge at all I will.

[Steves LX]

Well right now I am running 10 degrees because of the spray. I normally run at 15-16 degrees base.

[facemelter71]

The 160 wont let the engine get to correct opperating temp,and it is possible for it to stay in open loop.But whatever.Shit,while your at it,just leave it out.It will run cooler than any car ever.......Also,what else is cool with the 160 is while your driving on the expressway,the t-stat never closes and the coolant doesnt have enough time to cool down in radiator and gets overheated any way.But hey,my advice is bad,what do i know.

[Rick93coupe]

I used to run my 408 car with a restrictor plate, basically just cut the guts out of the thermostat. It slowed the water down enough to cool in the aluminum radiator and I really only ran the fan in stop and go traffic. This was with under drive pulleys also.

By the way, this only worked in the summer months. When it started getting cold outside it took forever to heat up and was pig rich.

[Metcalf Racing]

The 160 wont let the engine get to correct opperating temp,and it is possible for it to stay in open loop.But whatever.Shit,while your at it,just leave it out.It will run cooler than any car ever.......Also,what else is cool with the 160 is while your driving on the expressway,the t-stat never closes and the coolant doesnt have enough time to cool down in radiator and gets overheated any way.But hey,my advice is bad,what do i know.I wasn't taking a stab at you. The 160 will work great during the summer. Fox body cars are not as temperamental as the newer ones the whole open loop closed loop thing isn't that big of a deal. They run great with no T-stat at all too. I've never had one over heat on me because I took it out.. The colder the better

[may93]

In my own experiences I've noticed that the stock clutch fan and shroud work best. Anytime I've used an electric fan I had at least a 3 core radiator. Headgasket could cause the problem also but try a stock fan if you have it. The amount of air that it pushes to the motor is a big difference.

[satan jamez]

I've seen to big of a radiator cause over heating in a few cases. Just look at the cars today with tiny little radiators that sit and run all day.;) Either way good luck and put a shroud back on for sure.:bigthumb

[Timido]

I wouldnt run a street car without a thermostat at all. There needs to be a restrictor plate or thermostat to keep the water from going to fast through to the block


Is this a stock guage? If it is I wouldnt trust it at all.

[YouGotJunk]

I've had my car for about 3yrs now and it has NEVER had a t-stat in it. That was one of the first things I removed and it has ran great the whole time. My car usually stays around 170 just driving around and jumps up to around 190-200 after beating on it but as long as I keep driving it a little bit..it'll cool right back down.