Overheated badly this weekend...need info on DCC controller and fan setup.

[5spd GT]

Saturday in Little Rock with some friends my car overheated badly (peaked the temp guage) in some stop and go traffic. My Black Magic simply can't keep up from what I can tell. I have no problems on the highway at all. It spewed radiator fluid out of the hose (no overflow tank) and got on the engine. I thought I had cracked the block I let it cool while we were at the state fair (4-5 hours) and drove it away that night and the temp climbed quickly and peaked again. It did drop quickly once the t-stat became unfroze and all has been well. Drove fine that night and on the mustang cruise the next day.

Anyways, I am going to put my money towards a DCC controller and better fan setup...I need suggestions on what is needed to make it a reliable setup and were I can sit in stop and go traffic without worries

So what all is needed? I think a slightly bigger battery is going to help me as well and a smaller alt. pulley (which I have).

I want it to be a nice cooling setup at idle. What fan? Controller? Extras?

I have a 31x19 Griffin radiator fan that cools awesome on the highway. I have a Motorcraft 180* t-stat.

Suggestions are welcome...for those in the know...

This is 110% a daily driver

 

[TheUser]

I ordered the DCC unit and recieved it 2 weeks later, so get your order in ASAP...he warns that it may take 10 business days to receive it, so I knew before hand. All in all, the install was pretty easy. I mounted mine over beside the battery - tucked the bottom edge between the battery box/inner fender and drilled some holes to screw the top part in.

I got a used 3.8L taurus fan from a 93 taurus at a local junk yard for $50. I mounted my stock overflow to the taurus fan shroud and got some 1/8" bendable aluminum at lowes and used it to fasten the fan to the radiator...the bottom part is tucked into the stock shroud clips.

I pulled my 140amp Powermaster alt from the GT and installed it w/ my 4ga wire and 140amp circuit breaker to have the extra power for the fan.

The fan seems to blow well on both speeds - I hooked up the low speed since I've heard it should do the job. I'm sure it would have if I didn't have a bad connection; I'll have to do some re-connecting and it should be ok.

If you can get the fan w/ stock male connector that also has wires long enough to attach to, it would probably be good, but you can always use quick disconnects. I have the male connector from the taurus, but they cut the wires off like 3/8", so that's why I have a bad connection.

Anyway...sorry for the book. I'll get some pics later to show you how I did mine.

 

[5.0tbirdguy]

My '98 MarkVIII fan was about $170 after tax delivered from the dealer. That fan was overkill, since it never runs high speed after fixing my other airflow problems. The shroud is 31 x19 and I cringed while trimming it to be shallower.

Seems like a fan that never runs over half speed would last ALOT longer than one going full load all the time.

The Taurus fan may fit the bill but I went with the biggest fan I could get.

 

[darthcual]

I have used a black tragic fan twice now, once on a similar setup to yours with no problems. Both were daily drivers and I live in the same region (TX) where it gets 100+ in July/August. Are you positive the water pump isnt to blame? Is the radiator new? Have you flushed it recently?

 

[5spd GT]

It's the fan...I don't have much power going to it. I doubt it is the pump. Radiator is new (last year) and it cools excellent.

 

[TheUser]

First and foremost, I never claimed and will never claim that this is best looking way to do this nor the best anything...this is simply how I did it. In case you don't know, I mounted the taurus fan upside down so I could fit the overflow on the "passenger" side of the fan.

Here is where I mounted the DCC unit...slid the bottom in between the battery box and inner fender:

Here's a pic of the 140 amp circuit breaker mounted:

 

[5spd GT]

Thanks so much James Gives me better ideas what I'm looking at...much appreciated!

A bump...so what all should I get from dcc? This is on my daily driver and I want everything. I really like the "light" you can get that shows the fan speed...what wires/etc do I need?

What fan fits on a Griffin 31x19?

 

[TheUser]

I got the FK35 kit ($110) + the light ($10) + shipping was like $128-130ish. I haven't installed the light yet though. The kit should come with all the wires, etc that you will need to install it all. It comes w/ one black and one red wire, which you run one red and one black from the DCC unit to the fan, cut it, and use the remaining part of each for the DCC to battery connections. It has the quick disconnects and everything you might need - although I'm not so sure the taurus fan wires will fit in those quick disconnects; I soldered mine, but have to redo it, so I'll try the insulated quick disconnects provided next time.