new 347 problems, just finished it, STRESSED OUT! advice needed

[manpowermustang]

I bought a 91 Foxbody after seeing the light. I junked the motor in it after 2 weeks. I got a block from Ford, 347 kit from CHP, trick flow heads cam and intake, 70mm Accufab throttle body, 75mm Pro-m, And 30lb injectors, and the othe misc junk. It started up perfect.

First prob, timing and fuel pressure??? I have it at 12-13 now and fuel pressure at 35psi.

Second is the major one to me. Im over heating. I boild over twice now. I pulled off mu heads thinking that I didnt have the coolant ports open in the back of the block, but they were fine, blocked in the front and open in the rear. I have a 160 thremostat and am running at 200 degrees. I have a stock radiator in it but read of 347s w/ stock radiators. I was by a friend to run a 195 or 180 thermastat and 2 bottles of water wetter. I have about 10 miles on the car and it took me 9 months to build. I'd love to drive it before it snows out.

Third, oil pressure. I have a dummy stock gauge still but it seems to be between 3/4 and all the way high. I have a stock oil pump not a high volume. I was tol taht it will dropp as it breaks in. As far as oil ????

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. This is a fantastic site, thanks

 

[90mustangGT]

I pulled off mu heads thinking that I didnt have the coolant ports open in the back of the block, but they were fine, blocked in the front and open in the rear.

What do you mean by this, blocked at the head gasket or at the intake gaskets? I didn't think any cooling ports were supposed to be blocked? I'm a bit confused.

 

[90Notch]

Set timing at 14 to start, fuel pressure should be 39psi (no vacuum to start). Dump the 160 t stat and run a 180. FP should be about 1/2 way on stock guage (assuming working properly) and will raise a little when you rev it.

 

[manpowermustang]

Sorry I ment that I thought I may have put the head gasket on backwards, I thought that I didnt have the coolant passages open in the read and blocked in the front, cuz on the head gasket one end has coolant passages and the other end doesnt.

 

[87'GTstang]

So let me get this straight, you are running a combo that sounds every bit of 300 hp with the stock radiator? Do yourself a favor and get a very good 2-row aluminum radiator in the first place weather that turns out ot be the culprit or not. Every time you run too hot, you risk doing a lot of damage with those nice new aluminum cylinder heads - they don't agree with high temps.

Also I second the 180 t-stat, 160 is too cold for any engine to run very well and efficient at that.

Just think of this, if you are boiling over, then you are every bit in excess of 240 degrees most likely.

 

[TC93]

What kind of fan are you using?? If its a stock set up check the fan clutch. If it's electric, what size is and do you know how many CFM's it pulls? Also you sure you got all the air pockets out of the cooling system??

 

[mackey]

Yea I am pretty sure the coolant holes go in the front of the block...

 

[TIMMY2734]

Did you burp the system?

 

[houstonstangguy]

yeah i agree with mike on the stock fan clutch. although you didn't say anything about the water pump so that could also be it.

however, the easiest thing it could be was like timmy said, maybe you didn't burp the system and it is only low on coolant. are you checking it hot or cold?

 

[EMW150]

Yeah, put a good radiator in it. Afco sells a nice aluminum for 179.00. If you said it's boiling over at 200, it sounds like you need a new cap also. Go 16 lb. Also fresh engines will tend to run a little hot for the first few hundred miles till they loosen up a bit. 200 degrees wouldn't bother me on a fresh engine but not much more than that.

 

[5.0 HOtrain]

When my stock radiator crapped out I bought a stock replacement copper radiator. It worked great with the 350hp 302, and continues to work great with the 580hp 418

 

[5.0 HOtrain]

Third, oil pressure. I have a dummy stock gauge still but it seems to be between 3/4 and all the way high. I have a stock oil pump not a high volume. I was tol taht it will dropp as it breaks in. As far as oil ????

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. This is a fantastic site, thanks

Do yourself a HUGE favor, put a mechanical gauge in it, for oil pressure and temperature. Dont go by the stock gauges. Good luck.
mike.

 

[hllon4whls]

Back to basics.
Before you spend a ton of money, lets do a couple of things.
Lets make sure that you can see the water flowing in the rad. You can pull the T-stat and verify that it is opening in a pot of water on the stove. Use a thermometer to check the temp. Is the T-stat in the right way?

If you are using stock belts, did you get a reverse rotation WP?

Take a step back from it and give it some good thought. You can figure it out without throwing cash at it.

 

[manpowermustang]

Thanks for all the tips, Ill start looking into all the advice. Did anyone run a stroker with a stock radiator though? And am I correct by the coolant openings on the head gasket being in the back of the block?

 

[manpowermustang]

any more tips on fuel pressure?

 

[5.0 HOtrain]

Did anyone run a stroker with a stock radiator though?

Re-read my first post man
mike.

And my block is 1/2 hardblocked

 

[manpowermustang]

when you said 1/2 blocked do you mean blocked in the front and open in the rear. The reason is, is that I was told by a few guys that the coolant passage is open in front on the pasanger side and open in therear on the drivers side. I didnt do that, I have the head gaskets on the motor where the coolant holes are open in the back. I called trick flow on that, but these guys I know said that was wrong and to call Ford. What up with this info?

Thanks

 

[5.0 HOtrain]

Hardblocked means the water passages are filled with a cement like substance. This adds rigidty to the block and cuts down on flex. The block holds less coolant like this.
mike.

 

[FrdMustangCpe]

upgraded motor = upgraded cooling system. get a 180* t-stat, nice new radiator and a elect. fan and you should be sitting nice. if not you might have problems else where. good luck

 

[jruppert]

I over heated constantly with my 347 and stock radiator. I went to a steeda aluminum setup and has been consistently cooler since.