89 306 overheating...HELP!!!!

this might get a better response in the tech section, but i'll give it a shot...

i'd check your thermostat first and foremost, or for air in the cooling system... i've had multiple thermostats bad right out of the box, try ruinning the car with the radiator cap off for a few minutes (maybe try running the heat at full blast as well) and see if any large bubbles come out

are you sure the water pump is spinning in the right direction? certain aftermarket water pumps have a reversed flow design that can get confusing if you order the wrong one...

can you hear your electric fan kicking on/off? if so, what effect does it have on your running temp?

a 160* thermostat is overkill for a fox mustang... contrary to popular belief the ideal running temperature for our cars is more like 195* so a 180* is your best bet

and if you aren't running an aftermarket temp gauge, it's pretty vital to diagnosing any cooling system problem, so look into getting an autometer or something along those lines

as you can see many things can be wrong resulting in a cooling problem, but good luck

The thing that concerns me is the hard re-starts.

What is your base timing at? It should be at no more than 16 BTDC.

Does the electric fan use a shroud that encloses the whole back side of the radiator? The electric fan may not be able to move enough cfm. A 306 will run a little warmer than a 302 due to the thinner cyl walls.

I would also recommend two bottles of water wetter. I've had two customers now, with no matter what we did, their sht would get warm, and after two bottles of water wetter, it was at 180 all day long.

Go on photobucket, open a free account, and post pictures of your set up.

Maybe check your timing?

dangeruss said:

I have a 89 stang with a 306 and while I am driving the temp guage is in the good, but when I come to a stop the temp will rise.

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That's a classic sign that the fan isn't moving enough air through the radiator. This could be for a number of reasons:

1. Fan doesn't work at all.
2. Fan too small.
3. Fan not properly shrouded.
4. Fan & shroud not covering a large enough area of the radiator (should be at least 80%).
5. Fan wired incorrectly and spinning in wrong direction.