5.0 Cooling Problem

[spadus]

My 347, EFI conversion is complete. My '74 runs great but too hot. What radiator do you fella's recommend? Ron Davis seems pricey and the Ebay crowd doesn't have the ability to swap locations for the inlet/outlet.

 

[broncnaz]

What are you calling to hot? Have you verified that the guage is correct?

 

[Greg_B]

Wow...

My 5.0 wants to run too cool and I just have the stock 3 core and it isnt even in great shape. I dont even have a fan shroud. I have even thought about a hotter thermostat... I am still running the stock Mustang stuff ...whatever that is.

Greg

 

[Steve83]

Hotter is better, until the oil fries or the fuel detonates. What's your (accurate) temp?

 

[spadus]

It runs around 220 around town and hit 240 on the highway going up hill. At 7,500 feet in cooler weather it still runs around 210. i have a 180 thermostate, yes it is new. everything that deals with the motor is new! The guage is an Autometer and we have checked the exterior engine temp with an infrared thermometer. It's a 347 stroker, 9.2:1 compression that's 30 over. Big Dart iron heads and 2.5" exhaust from the shorty headers to the tips over the rear axle. It's obvious the stock radiator does not have the capacity for 300 H.P. I don't want to spend $550 on a Ron Davis alum radiator unless it is absolutely going to help 100%. thanks.

 

[Viperwolf1]

I have a RD radiator but I can't say if it cools any better than a stock radiator. I swapped radiators and motors at the same time. I doubt there would be enough of a difference to get your temps down to a more normal level. If you do get one and even if it does drop your temps by 10 degrees you would probably not be satisfied with it.

What fan and shroud setup are you using? I think more gains could be made for far less money there.

 

[Steve83]

Have you ever scoped the tanks on that radiator? I'd be surprised if more than half the core tubes were fully open. I think a new radiator (ANY type; brass or Al) would be a big/noticeable/appreciable/worthwhile improvement.

 

[spadus]

It's the stock 3-row radiator that was rodded out and refreshed (I wasn't kidding, everything to do with the motor is new--if it's in the engine compartment, it's been painted, powder coated or new factory finish!). I have the stock shroud and we repositioned the radiator & Shroud so it fits perfectly around the stock fan from a '92 T-bird serpentine setup--even on the same angle the engine is sitting at. We are ordering a new fan clutch just to make sure. but i don't think that's the problem since it doesn't get hot when I'm driving slow or idoling. The fan actually sits 1/2 way into the shroud, not buried all the way in and has about 2" of space between it & the radiator.

 

[broncnaz]

A couple of ideas are head gasket installed wrong which causes the engine to run hot especaillly at higher speed. You might want to try a 195 T stat unless the computer has been tuned for a 180 t stat or at least a new Tstat I had a similar issue once and found the 180 T stat was not closing at all even when stone cold. So at slow speeds it was fine but at high speeds it would heat up. What the diameter of the T bird fan? it might be a bit to small for the bronco shroud and it could help to either run a bigger fan or space it inside the shrouf a little more. While you wouldnt think it would be a issue at speed you never know because if the fan is pulling air from the engine compartent then the airflow coming into the radiator is getting backed up and will cause it to run hot.

 

[Viperwolf1]

Gotta ask-you don't have a standard rotation fan on a reverse rotation serp system do you?

 

[av bronco]

I just took off my clutch fan, it was too effective, sounded like a jet taking off when it kicked on, I bought on of those 150.00 ebay rad.specals,the outlets on mine are normal, well worth the money. if your new clutch fan dont cool it off time for a new rad. there are a millon diffrent theroys on cooling, mine is if you have a 180 thermostat and it gets hotter then 190 your cooling system is failing.

 

[spadus]

Thanks but Av Bronco, your picture is messed up! I think i might look into the fan/shroud combo some more. maybe it's not pulling the air through enough??

 

[bigmuddy]

I didn't see it mentioned but what tranny on you running? If its and auto tranny and is plumbed through you radiator it might be too much for the radiator. I have a stock 5.0 and was running the C-4 through a newly cleaned stock radiator and it would still run hot occasionally. I pulled the C-4 and went to a 5spd tranny and the problem was fixed.

Ben

 

[73azbronco]

If your C4 is heating the radiator to much you have a C4 issue... Or will have a C4 issue.

 

[bmc69]

You might want to try a 195 T stat unless the computer has been tuned for a 180 t stat .

Ditto. 180 is too far below stock design temp and htat really matters for the EFI systems..you will want to correct that once yr overall temp problem is under control.

 

[clkwrkorg36]

I've got a similar motor setup, and when I added the transmission cooler most of my problems went away. The other thing I did which eliminated the problem was moving the battery to the drivers side and extending the air intake forward to behind the headlight.

 

[chase8266]

on my 70 bronco it was running hot until i switched to a intake manifold that had the water cross over in the rear of the manifold for the heads,stock 302 manifolds have this and most aluminum intakes dont,now the 302 runs cool

 

[bigmuddy]

If your C-4 is plumbed through the stock radiator and you have a bigger engine, it is not a C-4 problem. But something will have to give and my point was instead of replacing the radiator, just stop cooling the C-4 through the radiator. And what I should have said was to add a large tranny cooler. In my case I replaced the tranny with a 5 speed because I was going that was anyway.

Ben

 

[spadus]

Ditto. 180 is too far below stock design temp and htat really matters for the EFI systems..you will want to correct that once yr overall temp problem is under control.

What is optimum temp range? Someone mentioned a 195 T-stat. That should make the engine run around 205--210 +/-? I am guessing that 210 should be the upper end? If that's true, my temp problem is not that far off!

Yes my C-4 is plumbed through the radiator but it also goes through a cooler that is attached to the front of the radiator--would a bigger tranny cooler work? The tranny has been rebuilt also, and that is working well.