89 lx 5.0 overheating

[foxbody1989]

ok my car is overheating while driving. i did put a elec fan 14inch now while driving down the freeway she steadily raises suggestions.


Ok got a 89 with i believe 99 explorer 5.0, gt40p head, Mac long tubes, h pipe,flows, tfs 1 cam, edlebrock performer intake pro products upper.

 

[skunk21]

usually the fan comes into play at low speeds. If it's over heating while cruising it could be a bad radiator. It could be plugged, or debris blocking it. might also be a faulty pump or bad stat. how is it at idle? how is the color of the coolant? The tubes get inside the radiator get blocked with age from corrosion and knock down flow. you could also run a presure test on the system to make sure you don't have an external/internal leak, you could have a small one that you can't see. If you are overheating at idle and low speeds + cruising your fan might not be pushing enough cfms or may need a shroud. normal operating temp is *210 give or take a few degrees. also make sure you still have your air deflector mounted under the core support and it didn't fall off or it's crunched up. it directs air up to the radiator since the areo cars are mostly bottom breathers.

 

[stykthyn]

have you checked the T-stat and burped the cooling system yet? I would also check to see how much pressure the cooling system could hold. It should hold at LEAST 16lbs of pressure.

 

[v8only]

if it overheats after installing the electric fan, then obviously your install is wrong, or you don't have enough fan. Put the original back on or try a mark viii fan

 

[foxbody1989]

ok

Well i put the fan on 2 weeks ago the raidiator is nasty lookin rust color so gonna have it cleaned from the radiator shop. New 180 thermostat and sensors. How do you perform the 16lb test.

 

[stykthyn]

did it overheat before you put the fan on or after?

 

[HISSIN50]

Is it a puller and is it turning the correct direction (wired correctly)?

 

[skunk21]

Well i put the fan on 2 weeks ago the raidiator is nasty lookin rust color so gonna have it cleaned from the radiator shop. New 180 thermostat and sensors. How do you perform the 16lb test.

rust colored coolant = no good. The radiator is plugged no doubt. you would have to rent a tester from a place like auto zone. it comes with different adapters, you screw one onto the radiator neck and pump it up to the correct test pressure and see if holds for a secified time. If you have a large leak or a pinner that is external it should show up, if it's loosing pressure and nothing is visable start doing some digging to find the internal leak.

Like I stated before at cruising speed the radiator is doing most of cooling and the fan really isn't coming into play like it would at low speeds. suspect the radiator and then move from there. what CFM's is the fan you have rated for? how much surface of the radiator does it cover?

 

[foxbody1989]

Thanks

Well turns out 80% plugged radaitor

 

[foxbody1989]

Hi

Well i looked at my specs for the electric fan its a 14 inch w/1250cfms is that sufficent

 

[v8only]

i've been doing a lot of research, but I can tell you from research then taurus and mark vii fans all pull between 2800-4500 cfm or so

most of the radiators I've been looking at on ebay all come with 2500 cfm units...so If I had to guess, I'd say it's not powerful enough

 

[HISSIN50]

Agreed with Jeremy. 1250 isn't enough by a good ways. 2700 CFM is all but requisite for most mild combos in most climates.