Running too hot!!
 

Since I put the new parts on the car (heads, intake, injectors, AFPR, etc.), it's been running way too hot. It doesn't overheat, but it comes very close!! I bought a bigger radiator from the same guy that I got the heads from (kept his car cool with them), and that still didn't seem to make much of a difference compared to the smaller 3 core I had before. This radiator only has about 500 miles on it. The 160 stat that I have tested fine on the stove. I'm not sure what else to do. The waterpump I have isn't exactly new, but it's not really old either (almost a year old), and I don't hear any noises from it. Can it still be worn out even though I can't hear the bearings? If so, would a high volume water pump be a wise choice, or should a stock replacement work? Any suggestions?
Dave

I once put a thermostat in backwards and caused the car to get warm. A lean running engine will cause it to get warm too. Those are my guesses.

Cooling it
 

Sounds like you're about ready for an electric fan set-up here, since the bigger radiator didn't do it, which is a bit puzzling if it's a bigger 3-row radiator. I assume your fan shroud is in place and you have no leaks or loss of pressure from a bad cap.

You could try a new water pump first, just to be certain. If you do go that route get a new (not a rebuilt) pump and see what happens. If it doesn't do it, think about an electric fan.

well as far as the thermostat goes, it is in correctly. The waterpump is my next task, however I am doubtful that it will fix the problem. I have no leaks that I can find. When I checked the water level in the radiator today, it had gone down about an inch in two weeks. I'm going to acredit that to burping the rest of the system. I filled it up the rest of the way today and we'll see how it goes. There's absolutely nothing in my overflow bottle at all. I don't have the stock overflow setup. Just a bottle to catch fluid, not return it. I really hope there's another solution to this other than spending the cash for a good electric fan setup. The car isn't running rich according to the plugs.

Well I am shooting in the dark here but when you put your Kower Intake gasket did you Cut the cool Page larger???? What Intake gasket do you have... you want the car to run a bit rich.. leaning out will make it heat up. as was said.

alot of things will cause a motor to run hot. lean, timing, etc. i would say put a 180 thermostat in. it will allow the water to sit a little longer helping the heat exchange. also, what is hot? is the motor running at 240?

To answer the above questions, yes it's running around 230-240 when I'm not on the highway. When I'm on the highway running a constant high speed, then it stays around 185. The car heats up very quickly and unless I'm moving (highway), then it keeps climbing until it reaches the 230 area, then it stays put. I haven't actually had it overheat on me yet, but it still scares the crap outta me and it's just a lot hotter than I want it. I did cut out the gaskets to match the cooling passages. I'm using fpp-1250 lower intake gaskets. I'll give the 180 a try along with the new waterpump. For some reason I just have one of those gut feelings that my problem won't be fixed there. Would a high flow waterpump be more wise to buy, than a factory replacement? Budget is a big issue here (just had a baby on the 20th. See thread in Lounge.)
Dave

You should be able to find a decent high flowing water pump for a decent price. I picked up just a plain cast high flow pump and my car runs fairly cool with the 160 stat. And going to an electric fan didnt seem to make any big difference to me for temps. But i would say try to find a cast water pump. I think mine was under 100cdn and it works great. By the way i still have a stock rad right now but will soon be ditched.

Fan clutch?
 

I may be retarded, but do fan clutches go bad? Maybe the fan is just freewheeling?

No more retarded than I am probably...

I have had a couple of fan clutches go bad on me back in the day. I now run an flexalite m-150 in the stock shroud w/ a BeCool, moroso washer instead of thermostat, and will be running a meziere elec pump soon...(which is replacing an edelbrock hiflow if anyone is interested in it, Drastik?)

Best of luck to ya

Take that thermostat out and throw it across the street,then buy yourself a 180 stat :D

Seriously though,the 160 thermostat basically stays open all the time and never keeps your coolant in the radiator long enough to cool down.

Good idea on how to discard the old stat. I think I'll do that. I already have a heavy duty 180 ready to be put in later today.

As a matter of fact, my clutch fan does the opposite. It's very tough to move the fan when the motor isn't running. I would replace it, but I figure that it's basically like running a flex fan, so until I fix the cooling problem, I'll leave it as is.

I was thinking of the restrictor instead of the stat also, but most people have advised me not to go that route. How old is the Edelbrock? I may just be interrested in it.;)

One quick question about high flow water pumps. If the pump is flowing water faster, won't that have the same effect as the 160 thermostat? Water running through the system too fast to cool down? Or am I missing something? Please explain.

Just re-read your post--
 

ok,on the highway your temps are fine,it's when your cruising around in town,then the temp starts to rise.

is your stock fan operating like it should? as your not getting enough airflow to the radiator while doing in town driving,if your still using the original fan assembly,they do wear out over time

well basically it's running like a clutchless fan. It spins ALL THE TIME with the pulley. The clutch is all but siezed up.

Yup,sounds like it's been a long life for it already,

you know anyone who could swap their stock fan out so you could install it and then see how things run temp-wise?

unfortunately there aren't too many fox's around here anymore, just newer ones. I'd be hard pressed to find one.

well, try the thermostat. going with a high flow pump may not help. yes, by installing a high flow pump you increase water speed therefor giving the water less time to cool the engine. there are instances where a high flow does help but yours does not seem the case. here are some questions for you, do you have the shroud on the motor? do you have pulleys? have you messed with timing alot? have you bypassed any of your acc. all of these are common and i have seen it time and again cause excessive heat.

well I installed an Edelbrock Hi flow water pump and a 180 stat. I haven't driven it yet because I had to stop and come to school (that's where I am writing this). Hopefully these things will help my problem.

To answer the last questions, The only pulley that's not stock is the crank pulley. I don't have anything bypassed, but the smog pump is removed. I do have the shroud in place and the timing is at 14.

well, that may help you out. if you got the race crank pulley it will slow down the pump and a high flow may help. good luck

same problem here.
 

I run hot, 220, 230 or so, only when I stomp on it, have a 180 but car sits at 190 when cruising around. But I still have the stock radiator. with a permacoll fan, Hopefully, The new Griffin and electric fan will keep it cool. I'm running alot of timming, Id have to get the light out to tell how much, but also running 100 octane( actually 9 gals of 93 and 5 gals of 114, they wont let you put 114 in the car if its not on a trailer. LOL so I make my own witches brew. lol-----wild turkey for cars:D

well I just got back from taking it for a test drive. I wasn't able to get on it real hard, but I drove around slowly and stopped often for about 30 minutes. It didn't get as hot as before. My gauge started reading a little funny once. It moved up towards overheating temps extremely fast all of a sudden!!! I shut it down and popped the hood, but the motor didn't seem that hot. The upper radiator hose wasn't hot yet meaning that the new 180 stat hadn't been open. I took the radiator cap off and the water level had gone down a little, but not much, probably from the air bubbles getting out of the system, so I put a little water back in it and fired it up. It had only been sitting for about 3 minutes or so from the time I shut it down and when I fired it back up, the gauge read a much lower temp. I'm getting a new gauge tomorrow morning and I'll have more time to drive it around then too. I'll post what happens.
Dave

I'm betting your looking at the factory temp gauge,correct? if you are they are about as accurate as...as ...well you get the idea...they be junk ;)

The temp gauge,fuel gauge both did crazy things every now and then on my 85GT,if I woulda kept it,i would have bought aftermarket gauges,as the stock gauges are a joke :D

sounds good so far..

well I bought an AutoMeter Ultra Lite mechanical temp gauge. I am getting ready to go install it now.

Now that I've been running my car for a few weeks with it getting hot, the starter doesn't want to turn the motor over when it's hot. The starter is under warranty, but if I take the starter out of the car, and take it to them (autozone) to test it, it's gonna be cool enough to test fine and they won't give me another one to replace it. How can I avoid this problem? Any suggestions?

You mentioned that your overflow tank doesn't return fluid, only catches it?

If that is the case, you should get a new/used one that will return the coolant. What happens is the coolant expands as the engine warms up and pressurizes the system. After a certain point the rad cap releases some pressure to not stress the system. It does this by letting some coolant pass by. When the engine cools the coolant contracts, thus creating negative pressure in the system. The cap opens a reverse valve letting coolant get sucked in from the overflow bottle.

If the coolant can't return you will have less coolant in the system after the first drive cycle. Once this happens you will slowly lose coolant over time. This is from the coolant evaporating in the 'air space' in the radiator and being pushed out when the engine heats up and only air (without evaporated coolant) return when it cools.

I bet if you switch overflow tanks you'll see your temp stay where it should be much more often.

Good luck,

Rich D.

Thanks for the info Rich. When I bought my car, it didn't have the stock overflow bottle. In fact, it didn't have an overflow bottle at all. I bought a summit one that has a valve at the bottom, so I can drain it when I need to. My question to you is: can I rig this up to where I can leave the valve open all the time and put a tube from that valve back into my radiator? If that were possible, then where would that tube go? How does the stock one work and how is it all connected?

Y'know, mine did that once. It was the damndest thing.


I think my thermostat stuck, but that's obviously not your problem. ;)

Actually Jeb, I think that is what happened as it was right at 180 degrees when it happened and it was a brand new stat. I guess it just needed a little push to open that first time. It's been fine ever since.

Mine rarely ever goes above the mid-point on the guage in normal operation. That one time, though, it went a little more than 3/4 up, then dropped suddenly. The funny thing was that I had turned the heat on, but cold air was coming out. Usually by the time it's 1/8th up the guage, hot air comes out.

Make sure your fan is turning the right direction. A while back I had a guy from the parts store give me a fan that was reversed. So the whole time it was blowing hot air from the engine forward to the radiator. #%$ was it ever hard to find that problem! Maybe the belt is routed the opposite way around the fan making it turn in the opposite direction. Possible??? I'm not sure, with fox mustangs I've found anything is.

Another interesting and confusing problem I had produced the exact same heating problems that you are having. My cause was that my battery shifted over next to the overflow hose and partially pinched it off. Within 2 mins. the temp would shoot to 220-230. I noticed the pinch and positioned the battery correctly, and the temp went to normal.
It happened 2 more times before I finally got the battery hold down fixed, then never again. You're situation is not exactly the same, but without a correct overflow setup, it is similar. Id get it exactly to the original factory setup.
BTW, I'm about 20 min up the 5 from you here in Mission Viejo. Let me know if you need any help. OOH-RAH