Installed U/D pulleys, Runs Hott!! suggestions??

UnderPressureGT · Jul 24, 2004

FYI, i have a stock radiator , reanufactured WP put in 6 months ago, No thermostat, and a flex fan installed..... The car would run no hotter than 190 during the day and 180 at night... this seems awefully high being that i have no thermostat.. Anyways, today i got my hands on a set of Steeda U/D pulleys and man did they do a nice difference... only... the temperature runs hott! When the motor is under load, the temperature would go higher. Before i made it to my house, the gauge was a hair under 210.

FYI, i have a pillar watertemp gauge taking the readings, not the stock gauge. If my radiator is the problem, i will go out tomorrow and buy a Ron Davis aluminum one for 250 at my local ford dealer, Downs Ford... but before i do that, what do you guys think? do i need a new radiator? what could it be???

blackstangt · Jul 24, 2004

first off, put your stock pulleys back on, the aftermarket slow down your water pump to obviously dangerous levels. A thermostat is probably a good Idea, and If you want to, for no other reason than weight and performance, go buy the radiator anyway

blackstangt · Jul 24, 2004

also run a shroud if you dont have one

UnderPressureGT · Jul 24, 2004

I do have a shroud on the car. I do not want to put my stock pulleys on because these made such a great difference.. Also, alot of people have underdrives, sooo they have to be doing something that i dont know here???

IMPORTSMOKER · Jul 24, 2004

hey guy....do your self a favor and ditch the pulleys...save up for an electric supercharger!

Daggar · Jul 24, 2004

IMPORTSMOKER said:
hey guy....do your self a favor and ditch the pulleys...save up for an electric supercharger!

Bwaaaaaaaaahahahahaha.

What I think everyone is trying to say is that the downside to those pulleys are not worth the teeny tiny bit of extra horse power you get wrecking operations of pretty much everything else under your hood.

90mustangGT · Jul 24, 2004

The stock radiator I think was designed for the 4 cylinders. A better radiator would make all the difference, you will need a t-stat or you'll run too cool with a good radiator. What about the fan clutch? If that's on it's way out, the problem will get worse. Underdrives will cut the speed of the fan and waterpump, combine that with a tiny radiator, you'r asking for it.

CRASH7772 · Jul 24, 2004

I have no issues with my underdrive pullies and I have the stock cooling system (with the exception of electric fan). Try a high flow aluminum water pump maybe? I don't even run my electric fan unless I get into bumper to bumper traffic. How do you know what temp your running? Do you have a aftermarket gauge? It might be that you were running colder than you thought and now your actually where you need to be. Pullies usually get a bad name becasue of simple problems that are easily fixed or the stock temp gauge running different than before.

maverick0716 · Jul 24, 2004

I still have the stock radiator in my car with pulleys. The thing is I got it recored a couple of years ago and it made a huge difference in cooling. Chances are you radiator is all bunged up inside. I also run a 180 thermostat, and my car runs below half way on the guage.....even when its damn hot out.

393Bird · Jul 24, 2004

I am running a 393 stroker with under drive pulleys, and a 3500 RPM stall speed converter on the street. It has NEVER gone over 180 degrees. I am using (2) 24,000 GVW transmission coolers mounted in front of the radiator, so the heat from them is dumped into the radiator also. I am using a 160 degree stat, a Summit 2 row (1 1/4 thick cores) aluminum radiator, and a Mark VIII fan. The fan is set to come on at 180, and off at 170. The stock cooling system is working at it's max cooling a stock engine in the Summer.

Installed:

UnderPressureGT · Jul 24, 2004

well it looks like ill try out the new radiator today then and see what happens

86GT-Top · Jul 24, 2004

put a thermostat in! i never understood why people dont run them. If your saying that your car is getting up to 180 and 190 without one, well, i dont wanna know what you were running at before the pulleys. In a system without a thermostat your radiator is useless. feel it, it's not gonna be hot, it will be cool to warm because nothing is getting circulated through it. So first off put a thermostat in, then go buy that Ron Davis radiator and maybe that will help.

Look Its Aaron · Jul 24, 2004

Why dont you have a t-stat in there? I would throw a 180 in...

Js5ohLX · Jul 24, 2004

Yeah, without a thermostat, a car can overheat just as easy with a stuck one, the coolant flows too fast through the engine to allow proper heat transfter. I would get an electric fan. Flex fans from my experience don't move the air, and create a wall at a higher rpm, when that happens, air traveling through the grill cannot flow through the radiator. I really don't see the pullies being your real problem. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to get an upgraded, radiator as well.

jrichker · Jul 24, 2004

Do something simple & cheap - go to the grocery store and buy 2 bottles of CLR Lime & Rust remover or similar product. Pour them in a cold radiator and drive for 30 minutes. Don't waste money on any radiator flush product. Get a flush kit from the auto parts store. It puts a fitting in the heater hose that lets you connect a garden hose to the cooling system to flush it. Then flush with clear water until it is all clear. You'll be surprised what a difference a clean radiator makes.

The whole deal should cost less then $12, and you can use the money to buy other goodies. If it doesn't work, then you are out less cash than 1/2 tank of gas would cost.

While you are flushing the system, look carefully at the front of the radiator for dirt, dead bugs and small animals obstructing the airflow through the radiator. Clean and remove any that you find. Look at the fan and make sure it isn't cracked or damaged. Put the thermostat back in, it does not significantly obstruct flow once it opens.

A 3 core brass/copper radiator is more than adequate for the engine you have, and the $180 Autozone GDI 433138 is more than enough.

Ranchero5.0 · Jul 24, 2004

Without the therm the coolant flows too fast to transfer the heat to the radiator fins. Seems stupid, but it happens. I'd also ditch the flew fan, as said above they suck...

Jamie

Daggar · Jul 24, 2004

jrichker said:
Do something simple & cheap - go to the grocery store and buy 2 bottles of CLR Lime & Rust remover or similar product. Pour them in a cold radiator and drive for 30 minutes. Don't waste money on any radiator flush product. Get a flush kit from the auto parts store. It puts a fitting in the heater hose that lets you connect a garden hose to the cooling system to flush it. Then flush with clear water until it is all clear. You'll be surprised what a difference a clean radiator makes.

Often the simplest solutions are the best. I like that.

Click to expand...

89MustangGX · Jul 24, 2004

Ranchero5.0 said:
Without the therm the coolant flows too fast to transfer the heat to the radiator fins. Seems stupid, but it happens. I'd also ditch the flew fan, as said above they suck...

Jamie

I do agree -- the flex fans are ok, but unnecessary and hurt performance. The thermostat can cause you to run hot.

Most cars out there don't need fancy expensive radiaotrs or special waterpumps -- they just need what they have from the factory to work right. There are alwasy exceptions when you get to extremes, but a stock type setup will have no problems cooling most cars -- even with underdrives.

Icepick · Jul 24, 2004

I live in South Florida and after a month of trying to use u/d pulleys i put the stock ones back on, the horsepower wasn't worth the overheating aggrivation.

Michael Yount · Jul 24, 2004

There's not a one size fits all on u/d's - some have charging/cooling issues, some don't. Just because someone else hasn't had a problem, or has had problems with them has no bearing on another car's situation. Lots of variables there - age of vehicle, condition/size of radiator, how much engine/heat you're dealing with, where you are (New Hampshire doesn't tax the cooling system quite as much as bumper to bumper traffic during July in Miami or Houston), a/c or not, auto tranny or not, type/condition of cooling fans, etc. I'd pay some attention to your radiator - if it's stock it's likely got mineral deposits on the inside. Try Jrichker's suggestion (man knows his stuff) but don't be surprised if you need a replacement or a re-core on yours. Once that's done - and you put a t'stat back in (A MUST!) see what you've got. If it's still causing problems, put the stock pulleys back on. You'll be able to recoup some of your money by selling the u/d's on ebay or in the classifieds here. I had to remove mine and replace them with stock pulleys to solve charging, cooling and a power steering pump that whined during low engine speed parking lot manuvers.

Installed U/D pulleys, Runs Hott!! suggestions??

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