@mrdrnac - I currently have a copper/brass 4 core radiator (not stock). Which is the better upgrade, change up fans or go to a different radiator (AL?)?
@jckkys -I have seen the air dam/tool tray option you bring up, I do have a fan shroud which improved cooling but didn't get me all of the way there. Would the air dams or an updated (better) flowing fan be better?
Answers depend on other things. Like what parts do you have now that are not up to the task. Those would be best replaced first, before other stuff. But anything you do to make the whole system more efficient is a good thing no matter what order you do them in.
First of all though, let me say that you don't really have a problem. A temp of 195 to 205 when being used hard in sand dunes or traffic are results that half the members here would give their entire parts budget for!
Which makes it even harder to tell if one or more of your parts is questionable. Because your results are so good to begin with. Yes, if you could keep a steady reading of whatever your thermostat is rated for would be amazing and let you move on to other things, but if you have a 180 in there now, a temperature rise of 15-25 degrees is nothing.
For your fan, a stock one is a good fan, but if you wanted to upgrade you could find a way to mount a newer one that's larger and with more blades and with a fan clutch.
As for your radiator, it's fine too. Whether or not an aluminum one is better than your 4-core copper one depends entirely on the design of each and their good points and bad.
Copper is the better heat conductor, but many modern aluminum radiators have more efficient cores and can cool better. But with what you have, I would keep it until it fails, then decide.
Since it's thicker and probably has a denser fin count, a more efficient fan could help pull more air through. Or add an auxiliary electric fan, but that's not usually much of an option for Bronco owners. Too little room.
The air dams and fan shrouds are absolutely making things more efficient and the air flow more effective because more of it is directed through the core and less is lost around it. But they are not cure-alls for whatever is ailing a cooling system.
Just as letting air out of the engine compartment is critical, which is why there are louvered hoods and fenders, as well as inner fender liners that let air out through the wheel wells.
This is as big a deal on some Broncos as any of the other stuff we're discussing.
And on top of everything else physically making up the cooling system, your engine tune has a LOT to do with how hot the engine runs. A poorly tuned engine can often produce more heat than the cooling system can evacuate. Not all over-heating issues are coolant and air flow related.
But again, the bottom line for me is that you don't really have a problem if all you ever see is 205° under load. Modern vehicles run at 215 normally. Your basic Windsor family engine from the '80's right through to 2002 or so used something like a 195-ish thermostat. Probably back into the '70's as well. And is what many of us run now.
Each of the things you mention is a good upgrade. Anything that makes the cooling system more effective/efficient is a good thing.
Just no way to tell which one, if any, will be the golden bullet that keeps you below 195.
If any...
Paul
