Engine Cooling Issues

mredwards0421 · Dec 14, 2014

After draining my coolant (from 50/50 to water with water wetter) during a tune-up I drove home (about 10 miles) I noticed the temperature rising higher than normal, it got up to about 3/4 of the way from the top while stopped but it would go down a bit while driving. The electric fan never turned on during this drive. Once I made it home I heard a noise coming from the under the hood (after I turned the car off) and figured out that the radiator fluid was boiling in the radiator and overflow tank. I never figured out what caused it to overheat and cause the radiator fluid to boil.

****Another note, I found a blown fuse where i believe the power was going to the electric radiator fan and swapped it out after the tune-up.***

Today I drained and refilled the radiator, adding water and water wetter, and took it out for a drive. While driving the engine temp gauge in the car stayed low at about the 1/4 for the first half of the 15 min drive. The fan never came on (it is wired to a switch that turns it off and on when working properly). I stopped midway through the drive to check to make sure everything was working ok, and didn't notice any issues. The temp rose up to the 1/2 mark and stayed around there until I got home. After this drive I also heard a noise coming from the engine bay (after I turned the car off), after investigation I found that the radiator has a crack on the driver's side end tank and is leaking. My question is, can these two issues be related? Could the radiator fluid not be circulating due to a faulty t stat? Should I just swap out everything (radiator, fan, t stat etc)? Could the crack on the end tank be due to too much pressure in the system? Could my fan not coming on have cuased this? Any insight is appreciated.

mikestang63 · Dec 14, 2014

Yes to all your questions. Your coolant system is supposed to be closed- the crack is lowering the boiling point and also allowing coolant to be lost. You need to replace the thermostat, radiator- do not get one with plastic end tubes, hoses, and I would flush the system since you put water wetter in. I would not use anything but antifreeze and distilled water. You also need to fix the reason why the E fan is not coming on. I do not like the idea of a switch as you do not know when to turn the fan on and off at the proper temperature, and the constant turning off and of the fan shortens it's life cycle. Get a temperature switch. Hayden, flex a lite, and DCC all make them.

I would recommend before you do anything rent a coolant pressure tester and test the entire system including the cap. Find out where all the leaks are. Repeated overheating can lead to all sorts of bad things like blowing out head gaskets.

mredwards0421 · Dec 14, 2014

Ok, I appreciate your response. I will replace the thermostat and radiator and fan next weekend and i'll go back to running antifreeze in the radiator. Also, to clear it up, the fan is hooked up to an automatic switch that activates based on the engine temp.

Any idea where I can get the pressure tester? I was reading that the 180* t stat is a good choice, do you have any input on that?

mikestang63 · Dec 14, 2014

autozone or advanced auto will rent you a tester for free. 180or the stock 192 thermostat is fine. If you have iron heads run the stock 192

mredwards0421 · Dec 14, 2014

Awesome, I'll jump on that tomorrow after work. There's an Advanced Auto down the street. I have TF aluminum heads so i'll get the 180* t-stat, i'd just like to keep everything running cool due to the extra heat provided by the Novi 2000 S/C.

I found this as a complete radiator kit, what do you think of it?
http://www.latemodelrestoration.com...ng-50L-Complete-Aluminum-Radiator-Upgrade-Kit

mikestang63 · Dec 14, 2014

That's a boat load of money for a no name radiator and fans that only pull a combined 1900CFM. The stock fan pulls about 3000. If you are looking for a drop in radiator and e fan setup., I would keep looking.

Others may give you their opinions, but I like Champion radiators. They are US made,all aluminum with welded end tanks, a good warranty and under $200. I got mine used for $100 but Steeda and others sell them new.

Pricing out what I think is one of the best setups that uses an OEM quality fan
radiator $170
E fan- new Taurus fan from Rock Auto- $70 or used at a junkyard $30- pulls well over 3000 cfm- will need to be trimmed and some fab work
Flex a lite variable speed controller 33054 $ 110 from Summit
Silicone hoses are nice but stock rubber hoses have lasted me for years and are much less. $40
Mr Gasket thermostat $10-12 from retailer
Stainless Steel overflow $20 on Ebay or just reuse your own plastic one
other parts- wiring, coolant, etc. $30

Google "taurus fan and flex a lite conroller install" There is a good install write up in the tech section here and on the Corral. This is not a very good picture but you can see the taurus fan and ss overflow bottle. The controller is mounted under the CAI in the passenger fenderwell

What's wrong with your E fan?

mredwards0421 · Dec 14, 2014

What year Taurus fan would I be looking to get? Do you know anything about the Mark VIII fan?

My E Fan stopped coming on, i'm not exactly sure why that is. I'll be looking into that tomorrow. I thought it might have been a blown fuse, and I did find one but it didn't fix the issue. I'll post a picture of the fan that is mounted now, it looks really similar to your fan pictured above and if that's the case it'll save me some $$$.

mikestang63 · Dec 14, 2014

The Mark VII fans are beasts but sometimes you have clearance issues with a blower. I had one on my 87 vert with an S trim but had to trim off about a 1/2 inch around the perimter and it was very close to the water pump pulley.

Any 93-96 taurus should work. Guys use both the single and dual fan setup. No sense getting a new fan just because you blew a fuse. Chances are you just need the proper wiring and/or controller. Take some pictures of the fan and controller.

Onefine88 · Dec 15, 2014

mredwards0421 said:
Awesome, I'll jump on that tomorrow after work. There's an Advanced Auto down the street. I have TF aluminum heads so i'll get the 180* t-stat, i'd just like to keep everything running cool due to the extra heat provided by the Novi 2000 S/C.

I found this as a complete radiator kit, what do you think of it?
http://www.latemodelrestoration.com...ng-50L-Complete-Aluminum-Radiator-Upgrade-Kit

If you do mind spending that much money (I did). Buy that SVE radiator in your link, but not the dual fans kit. They're only 1900cfm. Instead get this Flex-A-Lite Black Magic Extreme fan kit(3300cfm). http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/item/FLX-185/79-93-Ford-Mustang-50L-Flex-a-Lite-Electric-Fan-Kit
This is the rad and fan I'm running with my HCI/Novi settup. Fits perfectly with the blower pulleys. I have a stock waterpump and thermostat. It runs perfect and stays perfectly cool.

mredwards0421 · Dec 15, 2014

I checked it out today and I think this is the Taurus fan. When I was looking I saw that the plug to power the fan wasn't fully plugged in, so i believe that was the problem with the fan itself(Duh ). Unfortunately it seems like I only have about an inch(if that) from the radiator plug to the pulley. That is a problem only because this is a single row radiator, so I don't know if a larger one will fit. Anyone else have this issue?

mikestang63 · Dec 15, 2014

mredwards0421 said:
I checked it out today and I think this is the Taurus fan. When I was looking I saw that the plug to power the fan wasn't fully plugged in, so i believe that was the problem with the fan itself(Duh ). Unfortunately it seems like I only have about an inch(if that) from the radiator plug to the pulley. That is a problem only because this is a single row radiator, so I don't know if a larger one will fit. Anyone else have this issue?

That is the exact same fan I have. Keep it as it will outperform most if not all aftermarket fans. It is smaller than the radiator so you can move it around and/or flip it over to gain extra clearance. There is an opening on the bottom part of the shroud that you can easily cover. I cut a piece of an old Coke bottle, secured it with small zip ties, and then painted the fan body color so it blends in.

I have a 2 core radiator and you can see although it is tight in my pic it does fit. Just saved you $300....

What fan controller are you using?

7991LXnSHO · Dec 16, 2014

@mikestang63
I am curious why switching a cooling fan on/off via human would cause more wear than by temp and AC
Controllers.

In unrelated news, Ebay has an auction for a part I want to install iny Mustang. The listing is for a a Corvair ignition motor. Any idea how to install one?

mikestang63 · Dec 16, 2014

7991LXnSHO said:
@mikestang63
I am curious why switching a cooling fan on/off via human would cause more wear than by temp and AC
Controllers.

In unrelated news, Ebay has an auction for a part I want to install iny Mustang. The listing is for a a Corvair ignition motor. Any idea how to install one?

I am assuming that the manual cycling on and off will be done in a greater frequency than if done by a thermostatic controlled switch. More cycles of on and off leads to less life.

The larger issue is forgetting to turn it on or off though with the manual switch

jpwooly · May 22, 2015

I am looking for some help with the electric coming fan. Just stopped working. Fuses in fuse panel ok. connection to the actual fan motor is quite shaky while connected. Car heats up when sitting at an idle and cools right back down once moving again. Idiot with car mechanisms looking for help

Engine Cooling Issues

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