347 RUNNING HOT

Matter of fin density and overheating?
Hell, they (jmac) or (1-800-Radiator) would be out of business in 5 minutes if they made parts that did not hack the mission
How many so called wrong? ones have you installed, and had trouble with?
You can't just sit back and say it will not work
You'll never get anywhere
And be hot with no A/C in the process
You are completely missing the point. We are discussing installing a '97 GT condenser in a car it wasn't designed for. I'm not stating that the condensers won't function as designed for their intended application. Did you Google '96 GT cooling system TSB? Ford's fin dense condenser design in '96 was a partial cause of the '96 models overheating issues.
 
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Here are pics of a NOS '97 condenser installed in my car:
20220807_153911-jpg.1089143


20220807_153905-jpg.1089142


Take notice of the fin design, the rubber seals on each end of the condenser and how the 2 lines are positioned.
 
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Here are pics of a Spectra unit I ordered.
There are no end seals or provisions for them. These seals are very important. The 2 lines come out at a different angle and they are longer.
The OEM unit is actually beefier built than the Spectra.
So; a repop '97 condenser isn't a mirror image of the original. Aftermarket companies are under no obligation to copy the original to the "T".
 

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You better just turn on the heater in PHX with engine mods
Why? I can drive around with ac on with 110 plus degrees outside. I designed my cooling system to work with the modified engines. Until you've lived here; you have no idea how hot it is here. It's brutal.
With my first 347; my coolant temp hit 235° with the ac on. That's with the factory cooling system.
I was able to reduce that by 20° with the changes I made.
 
I thought you could not find a Ford one
That looks nice
SLC is pretty damn hot too
I used to run the intensive washer system on my Bimmer to put water on the radiator in traffic
Worked, and I could use the air
I can find nos units on Ebay. The same seller has sold them for several years. He bought out the last of them before they were discontinued. I pay over $300 for one though. SLC is hot.
 
I would be you can save more if you can ID what brand the LMR condenser is and buy it direct instead.


Parallel flow condensers are the most efficient design, especially if you are converting an R12 system over to R134a. This is pretty much what is on every vehicle these days. Those early SN95's used a 6mm Piccolo condenser which was OK, but the 97+ design was an improvement in AC performance because the smaller passages allow the refrigerant to be in contact with the cooling surface of the condenser. with the 6mm design, a lot of refrigerant just cruised through the middle of the tubes and didn't see as much cooling because of this. More airflow through the condenser AND a more efficient transfer of heat away from the refrigerant.

Given that the 94-98 SN95 was a transition year with both designs, it doesn't surprise me to see some manufacturers supplying the old design and some the new. I would definitely recommend the legwork needed to get the new design if you are changing out your condenser.

For you fox guys, i've only seen the new parallel flow condenser offered so it's less of a concern as to what condenser to buy. The fox condenser is an older serpentine style condenser that is no longer made outside of NOS units, and TBH you really don't want one of those. If you are converting to 134a and have your stock OEM condenser, I wouldn't bother with flushing it and trying to reuse it. I would ditch it completely and install a new condenser and you will most likely improve performance.

I have a new parallel flow in my fox but i'm running R12 and I see 35-38 degree vent temps at idle on a hot humid day. My DD's in the same conditions runs 40-44 degrees.
 
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I want to thank you all again for your suggestions even though we're getting off my original topic...
I want to remind everyone again of my situation...
Before I rebuilt the engine, it was a stock 302 with an AOD with the usual bolt ons, stock fan and shroud, a/c worked mint and the engine never overheated. I tore the car apart to freshen up the 302 and it morphed into a 347 and built AOD with a stall convertor and Lentech valve body, this is where I'm at now with it running hot. Today I took the front accessories off just for my own piece of mind, as you can see from the pictures, the head gaskets are in correct, thermostat was a 160 degree (forgot is was that) and was installed correctly.

A lot of you guys are saying it's my fan/shroud setup, it overheated EXACTLY the same when I still had the oem fan and shroud installed.

I want to remind everyone that I have oem pullies, new Motorcraft water pump, rotating the correct way, SVE aluminum rad with the rad cap it came with, Mishimoto fan/shroud combo, I have the Holley set to turn both fans on at 185 degrees, fans are PULLING air through the rad. It will sit and idle at approx. 190 degrees and not overheat, as soon as I start driving it, it will climb to about 222 degrees before I get chicken and shut it off. I'm at my wits end here. Looking for any ideas you guys may have.
Cylinder head 1.jpg Cylinder head 2.jpg Engine front.jpg
 
I don't recall,how did you "burp" the system? I never had a problem with any of my Foxes,except my current one. I HAD to use a no-spill funnel to get the air out. BTW,I'm running a 331 with turbo. Champion radiator,HD water pump,HD fan clutch.
 
I want to thank you all again for your suggestions even though we're getting off my original topic...
I want to remind everyone again of my situation...
Before I rebuilt the engine, it was a stock 302 with an AOD with the usual bolt ons, stock fan and shroud, a/c worked mint and the engine never overheated. I tore the car apart to freshen up the 302 and it morphed into a 347 and built AOD with a stall convertor and Lentech valve body, this is where I'm at now with it running hot. Today I took the front accessories off just for my own piece of mind, as you can see from the pictures, the head gaskets are in correct, thermostat was a 160 degree (forgot is was that) and was installed correctly.

A lot of you guys are saying it's my fan/shroud setup, it overheated EXACTLY the same when I still had the oem fan and shroud installed.

I want to remind everyone that I have oem pullies, new Motorcraft water pump, rotating the correct way, SVE aluminum rad with the rad cap it came with, Mishimoto fan/shroud combo, I have the Holley set to turn both fans on at 185 degrees, fans are PULLING air through the rad. It will sit and idle at approx. 190 degrees and not overheat, as soon as I start driving it, it will climb to about 222 degrees before I get chicken and shut it off. I'm at my wits end here. Looking for any ideas you guys may have.
Cylinder head 1.jpg Cylinder head 2.jpg Engine front.jpg


I said this before, and will say it again. The Mishimoto fan/shroud setup flat out sucks. My car overheated constantly with this fan/shroud setup. I switched to dual contour fans and never had an issue after that. My car has an On3 Turbo and I live in Hawaii. Yeah, it's not 118 degrees here but it isn't exactly cool here.....