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Car Overheating, do you think this fan and radiator will do?

  • Thread starter Thread starter SAY GO
  • Start date Start date Aug 29, 2005
S

SAY GO

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Apr 19, 2005
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Aug 29, 2005
#1
  • Aug 29, 2005
  • #1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/79-9...cmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33602QQitemZ7995556361

my car gets hot while in traffic and im still on the stock cooling system, do you think this will be enough to keepmy 306 cool?
 

Jason 302

10 Year Member
Aug 9, 2003
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Newark, Ohio
Aug 29, 2005
#2
  • Aug 29, 2005
  • #2
I was running a stock rad with a Black Magic fan earlier this year. Car would get up to 200-205 in traffic. I put a Fluidyne in, car never gets above 185 now. I highly recommend the Fluidyne, it fit right in.
 
S

SAY GO

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#3
  • Aug 29, 2005
  • #3
hmm can you send me a link to where it is sold? thanks
 

Jason 302

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Aug 9, 2003
685
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Newark, Ohio
Aug 29, 2005
#4
  • Aug 29, 2005
  • #4
Here ya go. These guys are about the cheapest, but they didn't have one in stock without a tranny cooler when I was looking for one. I got mine from Mustangs Unlimited for a little bit more.

http://www.bbandtracing.com/FLUIDYNE_RADIATORS.html
 
S

SAY GO

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#5
  • Aug 29, 2005
  • #5
wow thats expensive! gotta pay to play though i guess eh?
 

HISSIN50

"How long does it take to get help in here?
15 Year Member
Nov 29, 1999
31,179
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Aug 29, 2005
#6
  • Aug 29, 2005
  • #6
If the car only runs hot while in traffic (runs cool on the highway), that suggests a fan issue. The fact that you run cool on the highway indicates the radiator is capable of rejecting enough heat.

Where do you live?

Good luck.
 
S

SAY GO

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Aug 30, 2005
#7
  • Aug 30, 2005
  • #7
im up in michigan i wouldnt say it runs cold on the eway or crusing around but cooler than in traffic, i would say it sits between r and m on the normal scale..
 

Jason 302

10 Year Member
Aug 9, 2003
685
71
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Newark, Ohio
Aug 30, 2005
#8
  • Aug 30, 2005
  • #8
I'm glad you said that, cuz before I spend big money on a radiator and or fan, I'd put a mechanical Autometer temp gauge in that thing. The stock gauges aren't worth a darn.
 
S

Sevan

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Dec 4, 2001
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Aug 30, 2005
#9
  • Aug 30, 2005
  • #9
have you changed your t-stat lately?
 
F

fox_bodies_rule

Member
Apr 17, 2005
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Aug 30, 2005
#10
  • Aug 30, 2005
  • #10
long response, practical advice; been there, done that

Your stock cooling system should handle your 306 no problem IMHO. Here is what I started with when I bought my car and how it ended. FRPP aluminmum rad, 191 Ford stat, underdrive pulleys, bra (important piece of info here!) new hoses, ran way cool on the guage, two notches up, which made no sense since the overflow bottle would fill and under the hood was really hot. Step one, replaced the temp sending unit, "burped" the cooling system, guage read right and engine was really heating up in traffic, 220 or so and crept up the more you idled it. I agree, a quality after mkt guage is even better for checking things out. two, figure out if (you have already) you have an air flow across the rad problem (means you more than likely you have a "clean" cooling system), three start with the obvious. Any obstructions to the front openings (remember the bra? was covering up about 1/3 of the total area), make sure your air dam is in good shape, rad cap holds pressure (local auto store has tester and will do for free) and Tstat opens when it is supposed to (boiling water test), is your timing too advanced or too retarded, four are you running the shroud? (mandatory!) and if you want to put a new rad in and keep the original fan set up make sure that with the rad installed it fits right where the stock one did. The FRPP rad does not fit right at all ("slight modification required"according to FRPP catalog my aching you know what!) and I yanked it out and put in a 3 core, stock dimensions, which I explain later. If the core is thicker than the factory rad (the FRPP is) the air dam isn't as effective and the shroud will cover the fan blade tips completely (more on this later). You can buy a three core direct replacement for your two core. Its dimensions are exactly the same as stock. five, is the fan clutch shot (usual signs are dirt and gunk around where it fits into the fan on the rad side, that slick silicone feel and black color) forget the "turn it" resistance test, it doesn't tell you anything; there is a police/h/d option clutch, search for it and do not get a cheap import POS if you suspect your clutch. Is the fan cracked?(new design by Ford works really well but double what a cheap knock off runs, get from Ford dealer is the safest bet, (Ebay is dicey hard to tell what you are getting), six, do your fan blade tips stick out of the lower half of the shroud about an eigth of an inch or more? They must for the fan to be effective, that's why the fan tips are so funky looking! Also, if you are running underdrive pulleys (pulled mine because I hated the way the alternator was always undercharging the battery and the obvious water pump speed at idle) all bets are off depending on where you live. My engine now lives at exactly 195 degrees, idles forever with the A/C on and life is good.
Ford put a lot of engineering into the design and it works really well if all of the parts are working. It was designed for little old ladies to leave the A/C running at full blast at idle while they go shopping in Tucson at the mall for an hour in the middle of August. Sorry for the length of the post, but a lot of guys put in 400 dollar radiators and 350 dollar electric fans when just making sure the stock set up is working as designed will cure your ills.
 
S

SAY GO

Member
Apr 19, 2005
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Aug 30, 2005
#11
  • Aug 30, 2005
  • #11
thanks for the advice i really appreciate it! changed the tstat back when we did the motor (march) so i dont think thats the problem, it was getting hot, and we found out the water pump was leaking so we were hopeing a new one would cure the problem, no such luck. it still gets hot, i have an aftermarket gauge but nowhere to put it ( i guess its time to rip out the a/c gauges???) it did run cool with the AOD trans in it, we swapped it out for a C4 and it started getting hot, im thinking that the higher RPM cruise is making it a lil bit hot? and i know the stock gauge is semi working because when it been driving the engine is HOT i mean HOT you cant touch it for more than a half a second..thanks again for the advice fox_bodies_rule i will take nots and check those when i get home, thanks!
 
F

fox_bodies_rule

Member
Apr 17, 2005
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#12
  • Aug 30, 2005
  • #12
re. heating

You are more than welcome Say Go, post what the problem turns out to be, will you? I am always interested in this whole cooling thing, spent a lot of time researching and experimenting and am always looking for "new" solutions and explanations that keep things stock and cool!
 
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