1973 Bronco 302 overheating.

[DeepC73]

I just thought I would share this in hopes of helping someone else out there with a similar issue. I replaced my engine back in July with a rebuilt 302, .030 and a slight cam (stage 3). It runs great but will get hot if I’m sitting in a drive-through or sitting in traffic too long. I was about ready to install an electric fan; in fact I bought one already. I was looking at the fan, planning the electric fan install and noticed that the front of the fan was basically even with the back of the shroud. I measured and it was 2” away from the radiator. I took a sheet of paper and put it on the grill when idling to see how much flow it had currently so I could guage the improvement. I added the 1 inch fan spacer that I took off when I installed the new engine to throw the fan closer to the radiator and farther into the shroud. I tested it by letting it idle for almost 45 minutes in gear. It peaked at 190 and stayed right there. I have a 185 degree thermostat in it. By simply bringing the fan closer through the shroud to the radiator made a huge difference. I tested it again after the test. If you are overheating, try this. Keeping it closer to the radiator make a significant difference.

 

[gr8scott]

I run 1.5" worth of spacers to accomplish the same thing.

 

[bmc69]

Rule of thumb I've always used is that the fan should be about 1/2 of its blade width inside the shroud. Sounds like that's about where yours ended up.

 

[Broncobowsher]

Post a picture of your setup. There are several things that a picture will tell that you may never tell us in words.