average water temp.

dastang2 · Apr 3, 2004

hello as you can see in my signature, i have an engine bored out. i put a truck 3 core in the car and the stock fan shroud with iether a 160 or 180 thermo. the fan is a stock flexfan off of an 82 truck and it is close to the radiator. my gauge reads between 190 and 230 at idle. i have not got it going down the road yet but when this motor was in my truck it stayed pretty much between that and it had no shroud or thermo and it was pretty far from the radiator. i use straight water now but i want something to cool it down.i know the radiator needs to be rodded out to get the buildup out. i want an aluminum radiator if that would help and a pusher fan. what do you think. anybody with accurate aftermarket gauges that actually shows the temp. number, can you tell me what yours is and what kind of radiator you have if aluminum or stock. i just wanna do some precautionary steps before i overheat something.

Mustang5L5 · Apr 3, 2004

Pep Boys 3-core
Pep boys Bosch Water pump
Sn95 electric fan
180* thermostat
Autometer mechanical water temp gauge

My temp stays 182-188 degree all the time. If i shut the fan iff it will slowly climb if i idle but with the fan on it will never go over 188 degrees

dastang2 · Apr 3, 2004

is that a stock replacement water pump and is your radiator aluminum.

Mustang5L5 · Apr 3, 2004

Yup, stock replacement and no my radiator is not aluminum, i beleive it's just normal copper. Only cost me $150.

I routinely idle in traffic in the summer on 100 degree days. Still never goes past 188

HISSIN50 · Apr 3, 2004

i run the same as Mike in ambient temps of 90* or under. stock rad, HD clutch, steel fan,
do you have an aftermarket gauge or are you basing this off of the stocker? i assume the former.
what comes to mind:
does the fan run straight off the water pump or is there a fan clutch?
if you do drive it, and it runs cooler on the road than idling, i would look at the fan set up. now if it runs just as hot or hotter, then the rad needs some love.
the rad Mike lists is a nice unit. i will go that route when the time comes. it is either a Modine or GoDan, both good stuff.
good luck

good luck.

dastang2 · Apr 3, 2004

ok it idles with a temp. around 190. so i believe i am in the clear. yes my fan is a straight fan, no clutch. i have a 12 dollar aftermarket gauge. i would like the radiator to be rodded out. it is off of an 82 f150 with a big 3 core. i used the torch to get it in but it looks real clean.

King of Cobras · Apr 3, 2004

3 core rad out a 85 5.0L T-Bird w A/C $25 from your local wrecker. Mac 4100 underdrives. stock pump 180* thermostat, police fan clutch, Autometer electric guage, flushed and filled with Red Antifreeze in summer stop n go barely goes over 185*.

HISSIN50 · Apr 3, 2004

on later foxes, IIRC, the puter cuts timing at 220* or so, which suggests to me that that is the upper limit where anyone would want to be.
sounds like you have a good plan set up. good luck.

2000xp8 · Apr 3, 2004

230 would worry me.

My runs at 192 nearly almost all the time. Pepboys 3 row, 190 tstat. Autometer full sweep gauge.

dastang2 · Apr 4, 2004

anybody got any tips on how to make it cooler. different kinds of fluids or coatings.once i do get it rodding out i think it will be lower. if i ever find an aluminum radiator that would be good. check this link out.
click here to see 82 f150 radiator

2000xp8 · Apr 4, 2004

I put a very expensive aluminum radiator in my buddy's 92 lx, and it made no difference at all.

Michael Yount · Apr 4, 2004

Seems to me you've already identified the problem areas in your first post. You said the radiator needed to be rodded out/cleaned. If you already know your radiator isn't functioning properly, there's a place to start. You've seen plenty of posts here from guys with standard copper core radiators that don't have any cooling issues at all. Alumimum's chief advantage is simply that it's lighter than a standard copper/brass unit, not that it cools better. Actually, for similar size and fin configuration, the copper core has slightly better heat transfer characteristics than aluminum does.

I'd start with the radiator. If you decide to go electric with the fan, a puller is more efficient than a pusher - that is, it takes less electrical power to move the same amount of air across the radiator. If you have the room to do it, I'd go with a puller not a pusher.

To further diagnose your issues, drive the car a bit. High temps at idle that drop as you drive faster mean you're not moving enough air across the radiator at low speeds - usually a fan or shroud issue. Higher temps as you drive faster usually mean a radiator issue - not enough heat transfer. You'll get the best heat transfer with pure water, however, that assumes you've got a cooling system that's capable of keeping the water below boiling point at all times, and yours sounds marginal. Adding antifreeze raises the boiling point of the coolant which may actually provide some protection in your case. You should at least add corrsion inhibitors and water pump lubricant to the water. Sounds like you need to have the radiator looked at.

dastang2 · Apr 4, 2004

well the reason i posted is because th emotor is bored too much. .060 over. i was told that i could see if my fan is pulling good air through the radiator by putting a rag or paper towel in front of the radiator to see if it stays, then kill the engine and it should fall off. mine does that.

HISSIN50 · Apr 4, 2004

dastang2 said:
i was told that i could see if my fan is pulling good air through the radiator by putting a rag or paper towel in front of the radiator to see if it stays, then kill the engine and it should fall off. mine does that.

now i have heard of that test, and though im no engineer, i think that is a relatively generic test, intended to weed out the lamest of fans.
i have seen fans that did not move almost any air, and they still passed that test. i could be wrong.

it goes back i think to what Michael is saying (and i think i hit upon) - do something with your radiator. if it is in really bad shape, you could be moving some air THROUGH the fins, but not be able to cool the fluid inside decently.
Michael is the one to know about the outer limits of overboring and ill effects from that.
my two cents worth. good luck.

Mustang5L5 · Apr 4, 2004

dastang2 said:
well the reason i posted is because th emotor is bored too much. .060 over.

My friend has a 0.060 over 302 and his temps are pretty much the same as my temps. He also uses the same fan, radiator, water pump setup as I do

If you are really worried about then it's time to get a quality radiator

Michael Yount · Apr 4, 2004

The test you cite about the rag falling off when the engine is stopped - all that tells you is that the rag has fallen off after the engine stops. Doesn't tell you squat about whether you have enough cooling fan capacity. You're gonna have to drive the car some more to get some more data. If you drive it and temps drop, you're probably not moving enough air across the radiator at low speed. We've said it before - that's a fan or shroud issue. If the temps don't drop, or go up, you've probably got a radiator issue. Solve the radiator issue first -- then see if you've still got air movement problems.

The strong recommendation is not to overbore a 302 past .030" without ultrasonically checking wall thickness on the cylinders. THere's enough core shift in the blocks that frequently going .060" over will cause selected cylinder walls to be too thin. If your machine shop checked that, no problem. If they didn't, then you don't know what you've got. In any event, I suspect the temp. issue has little to do with the amount or safety of your overbore.

Michael Yount · Apr 4, 2004

The test you cite about the rag falling off when the engine is stopped - all that tells you is that the rag has fallen off after the engine stops. Doesn't tell you squat about whether you have enough cooling fan capacity. You're gonna have to drive the car some more to get some more data. If you drive it and temps drop, you're probably not moving enough air across the radiator at low speed. We've said it before - that's a fan or shroud issue. If the temps don't drop, or go up, you've probably got a radiator issue. Solve the radiator issue first -- then see if you've still got air movement problems.

The strong recommendation is not to overbore a 302 past .030" without ultrasonically checking wall thickness on the cylinders. THere's enough core shift in the blocks that frequently going .060" over will cause selected cylinder walls to be too thin. If your machine shop checked that, no problem. If they didn't, then you don't know what you've got. In any event, I suspect the temp. issue has little to do with the amount or safety of your overbore.

dastang2 · Apr 4, 2004

i just threw that part about the falling of the rag in there. but i do have a shroud now and the fan pulls some serious air while idleing, and that is with it loping too. i will call a few radiator shops and have it rodded out tomorrow.

dastang2 · Apr 4, 2004

ok everybody i idled it for about 10 minutes with some revving and even some held revving. my ground off of my temp. gauge cam off so it reads right now. it did not go over 190. it stayed closer to 180 the whole time. so i guess i did put a 180 thermo instead of a 160. any more hints or do you think this is fine. since all of yours stay about the same i guess i got it worked out.i have a 4 in. cowl hood too, they say that will lower the temperature in the engine bay. is that true.

HISSIN50 · Apr 4, 2004

dastang2 said:
but i do have a shroud now and the fan pulls some serious air while idleingQUOTE]
did you not have a shroud at some point in all of this? i discounted that idea since i thought you said you did.
when i had cooling issues, Mr Yount educated me in the importance of having proper shrould seal with the radiator (even with all the stock pieces in place as came from the factory).
a good shroud with proper fitment and seal is pretty important. good work and good luck.

average water temp.

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