Overheating. need bigger radiator?

ashford

ashford

Member
Dec 19, 2003
485
0
16
fargo ND
#1
i just dropped a 5.0 ho into my 62 falcon replacing a 289. the 289 always ran a little warm-about 200-210 on the highway so i could live with that,but this 302 runs about 220 or higher. both engines would warm up to 185 and stay there for awhile then climb up, and both would putt around town 190-200 and still stay cool enough at idle(electric fan). the other day i started trouble shooting my findings are(at idle in garage) 205 at themostat 205 at top tank 170 at lower tank and radiator hose. so i bought the stp radiator flush did its procedure and saw very little change. i then drained the radiator and ran water threw it to get out the antifreeze then i dumped a bottle of C.L.R. in it and drove it for awhile, came back and flushed it again, refilled with water and test drove again. the clr did help, but its still not cool enough(all this was done on a 60 degree day). i then switched with my spare radiator-no difference.

so is there any other thing for me to look at before i dump $400 into an aluminum radiator(as far as i know it uses the same radiator as the early mustang), what luck have any of you had with these?
 
#4
is your hose colapsing at RPM??

by the way if you do get a new rad, may i suggest a universal aluminum? if you dont mind building some custom brackets its a helluva lot cheaper, I picked mine up for like $160 and another $10 in aluminum pieces that i bent in a vise. I havent seen my temp guage climb since
 
#6
65fastback2+2 said:
prolly has a pooey 2-row rad, get an aluminum or a 3 or 4 row rad. I have a 4-row copper rad, 7 blad thunderbird big block fan and no fan shroud and it can sit all day in 105 degree houston weather and not hit over 195.
Click to expand...

where did you find the copper one you have?
 
#7
ashford said:
i just dropped a 5.0 ho into my 62 falcon replacing a 289. the 289 always ran a little warm-about 200-210 on the highway so i could live with that,but this 302 runs about 220 or higher. both engines would warm up to 185 and stay there for awhile then climb up, and both would putt around town 190-200 and still stay cool enough at idle(electric fan). the other day i started trouble shooting my findings are(at idle in garage) 205 at themostat 205 at top tank 170 at lower tank and radiator hose. so i bought the stp radiator flush did its procedure and saw very little change. i then drained the radiator and ran water threw it to get out the antifreeze then i dumped a bottle of C.L.R. in it and drove it for awhile, came back and flushed it again, refilled with water and test drove again. the clr did help, but its still not cool enough(all this was done on a 60 degree day). i then switched with my spare radiator-no difference.

so is there any other thing for me to look at before i dump $400 into an aluminum radiator(as far as i know it uses the same radiator as the early mustang), what luck have any of you had with these?
Click to expand...

Is the motor a modern 5.0 like out of a '80 something or '90's Mustang? Modern cars with emission stuff operate all day at 220-230.

If it's not a "modern" motor, the only answer is timing. Bump up your timing a bit and watch the temps drop to 185 on the highway. Late timing allows fuel to burn after the piston has completed the power stroke. With no piston to move, the energy released by the burning fuel has to go somewhere. In this case, it goes to heating up the water. It really sounds like both motors are timed too late (especially the new one).
 
#8
It could be a lot more than timing. It sounds like you could have a capacity problem, as in not enough radiator for the application. You could probably get a custom recore with more cores before going aluminum. Also, you may have to enlarge the cowl openiing.

62 Falcon's were not engineered for a lot of motor.
 
#9
well, i finally broke down and bought an aluminum radiator from griffin. it has a 600hp capacity so it should be more than enough to cool my 289. it was very expensive though. i had contiplated doing the chevy universal thing since crossflow rads are better, but im sure this will solve my problems. the griffin alum is 487 dollars at jegs. ill let u know how it works out. i was in the exact same boat, running around 210 degrees once it really warmed up. i was also told to switch to a 160' thermostat, but im not sure if im going to. one problem with the griffin though is it is a 4 row thickness and there is only about 3 inches of clearance between the waterpump pulley and the radiator. i had to ditch my permacool fan and buy a spal 16" med profile unit. like i said, ill let u know how it works out.
 
#10
When driving above 40mph, the fan becomes useless, there's plenty of air being forced through the radiator. So if your car is heating up at HWY speeds you may want to look into:

Timing

Carb. air / fuel mixture off, too lean

Did you top off your water/coolant once the therm. opened, you might have air in your cooling system.

Do you have underdrive pulleys?
(is your waterpump pulley smaller than the crank pulley?)
 
#11
the weather warmed up some today to about 75 degrees, i definately have a heating problem. i just dont think the 2 core radiator is enough. does anyone know where to buy a 3 or 4 core copper with the outlet on the driver side? ive found plenty on the passenger side surfing the net in the area of $150, or would the local radiator shop be able to obtain one for a resonable price
 
#12
I have learned that all a 3 or 4 core radiator does is transfer heat from the front row to the back row.I had a 4 core for the longest time and it couldnt cool what I had. When I got my Be Cool 2 row,it made a HUGE difference,but it cam with a hefty price.
 
#14
iskwezm said:
I have learned that all a 3 or 4 core radiator does is transfer heat from the front row to the back row.I had a 4 core for the longest time and it couldnt cool what I had. When I got my Be Cool 2 row,it made a HUGE difference,but it cam with a hefty price.
Click to expand...

a 2 row aluminum and a 4 row copper are going to cool at the same rate. it is the density of the metals verses their ability to absorb heat. My roller 5.0 can sit all day in 105 degree houston weather and not hit over 195, and that is without a fan shroud.
 
#16
i also noticed that if you go to the griffin site they do sell a 22x19 radiator that has inlet and outlet on passenger side part no. 1-28182-X. i dont know how the crossflow aspect would work, but it is a crossflow radiator. the problem is not many people carry them, but you can buy it from summit racing. its 213.00 dollars. this would be a great improvement for way less. i wish i would have known about it before i bought a 500 dollar radiator,http://store.summitracing.com/defau...earchinresults=false&N=0&target=egnsearch.asp
 
#17
84convertablegt said:
i also noticed that if you go to the griffin site they do sell a 22x19 radiator that has inlet and outlet on passenger side part no. 1-28182-X. i dont know how the crossflow aspect would work, but it is a crossflow radiator. the problem is not many people carry them, but you can buy it from summit racing. its 213.00 dollars. this would be a great improvement for way less. i wish i would have known about it before i bought a 500 dollar radiator,http://store.summitracing.com/defau...earchinresults=false&N=0&target=egnsearch.asp
Click to expand...


BINGO thanks for findidng that perverbial needle for me without spending $400-$500
 
#20
well basically then, im still glad i found that radiator for other people. i know the reason i didnt originally do the change to a crossflow was because i didnt think they made a 22x19 with both outlets on the passenger side. i didnt want to have to change the upper hose setup. so for everyone else, here you are, the answer to all of our cooling problems. if i could market a set of brackets and the radiator as a package, i might be rich :)
 
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