running hot

[blk9450]

i was driving today on the highway just crusing at like 2500-3k and my temp is goin up and my fan is on high. now usually i just have to turn my fan on to cool it down after it goes past about half on the guage, but i was keeping it on today @ about 80 degrees (warmest time i drove this year) and it was still climbing. i had to put the heat on to keep it steady at half. now i dont have anything crazy done to my motor, why wont the stock radiator cool me down, what can i do to keep my cool?

 

[87'GTstang]

Checked to see if your thermostat is opening?

 

[Michael Yount]

How old is the stock radiator - is it original? They do clog up and mineral deposits inside the engine and radiator over time reduce their efficiency. The don't simply keep working forever. If it was heating up while you were at speed, you simply either have something blocking airflow to the radiator, or you've got something that's reduced the ability of the radiator to transfer heat.

 

[blk9450]

yea i dunno i think its original, i guess i should flush it out tomorrow, plus that black plastic air dam type thing is in my garage since i painted the car, that probably makes a difference. what should i flush it with?

 

[blk92stangg]

Is it worse at idle?

 

[blk9450]

nah it cools down slowly at idle...

 

[blk92stangg]

Well, if your rad was clogged, I would think it would heat up no matter what. Maybe check to see if there is rubbish clogging up the front of your radiator and AC condenser, as Mike (first name basis ok? ) suggested. A radiator flush wouldn't hurt either, as well as freshening up the fluid. May as well do the cheap fixes before you drop cash for new radiators and water pumps.

 

[Michael Yount]

That air dam is VERY important at pushing air up and across the radiator at speed. Put that back on and see if that doesn't solve the problem.

 

[blk9450]

well i checked to make sure no crap was clogging the rad, (on the outside) and its clear ill try the air dam tomorrow, plus will alum heads make a big cooling difference?

 

[Michael Yount]

Pretty sure your air dam is gonna make a difference. You'll want to be certain you've got the cooling system in perfect working order BEFORE you add aluminum heads. Overheat them, and you've usually got much bigger problems than you would with cast iron.

blk92 - sometimes when a radiator is just beginning to be inefficient, it will work sufficiently at low speed because the engine isn't working too hard; it isn't generating much heat. As you increase speed, the engine's working harder to overcome aero drag, and as it works harder, it generates more heat. Conversely, if overheating occurs at low speed but not at cruise, it's usually fan related - not moving enough air across the radiator.

 

[blk9450]

very well stated, i appreciate the help

 

[mustang88GT]

<---- took down the air damn as soon as i got the car and have not had a over heating problem that was related to that and mines a GT. that thing just gets in the way when jacking up the car, which i end up doing bout ever week for something or another...

 

[blk92stangg]

Ah, good thing you cleared that up for me. That's whats cool about this board, you learn something everyday.