running hotter than normal

horsesnake95

New Member
Aug 7, 2003
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illinois
I just recently bumped the timing up to 12 degrees and now the car seems to be running hotter. It used to never seem to be above the middle of the temp gauge before now. The only other thing that has changed is i'm running 92 octane with alcohol in it whereas I normally run 93 octane that is alcohol free. Any suggestions?
 
My suggestion is not to trust the stock piece of feces ford calls a temperature gauge. It is THE most inaccurate piece of equipment to ever disgrace a mustang. Get a real gauge, and know for sure how hot you're running. Or you could back down the timing and see if the car runs cooler. Also, the lower the octane, the more volital(sp?) the fuel is, meaning a hotter burn (also detonation under some circumstances) so it is possible I guess. Good luck
-Chris
 
I don't know about yours, buy on mine, according to the Tweecer: O means 195 ish.

You don't need it to be accurate, just consistent. If it normally reads O and out of the blue it starts reading A then you probably are actually running hotter than normal and should find the problem.

As for the problem, you should tell us your setup and the symptoms and any other details we might need. You say you're running alcohol, are you running a KB or some kind of boost?
 
And did this come on all of a sudden or in the past 3 months (for example)? It was 110*F here today, and that obviously can cause one to run hotter.

WHen does it run hot? On the highway or in town, etc? And with the mention of alcohol, I take it this pertains to a blended fuel from the station (as opposed to you playing chemist in the garage)?

Good luck.
 
I normally try to run gas without the ethanol in it, but ran a tank of 92 octane with 10% in it. I also have noticed that I was about a gallon short of coolant in the radiator. There haven't been any spots under the car, and i've looked all over with a mirror and a flashlight and can't find the block leaking anywhere. I also haven't noticed any white smoke at all in t he exhaust. Anyone have any ideas where that coolant is going?
 
Mine is running hot too. Which Cooling fix?

If you look on the sticky portion of this list, three different cooling fixes come up. I think that you can adopt one of these fixes to help. My '94 347 Convert is running hot also. I thought about doing the fan fix but need help.

Which fan fix do you guys recommend?
 
jmoore16 said:
If you look on the sticky portion of this list, three different cooling fixes come up. I think that you can adopt one of these fixes to help. My '94 347 Convert is running hot also. I thought about doing the fan fix but need help.

Which fan fix do you guys recommend?
What are the options and when exactly is your car running hot? (I am not sure what you are referencing with regard to 3 fixes). Then again, I am trying to figure out what happened to all the formatting and graphics here. :D
 
horsesnake95 said:
I also have noticed that I was about a gallon short of coolant in the radiator. There haven't been any spots under the car, and i've looked all over with a mirror and a flashlight and can't find the block leaking anywhere. I also haven't noticed any white smoke at all in t he exhaust. Anyone have any ideas where that coolant is going?


Umm... check to see if you have coolant in the engine oil. I would really hope not... but give it a look.

Also, check the coolant reservoir, as our cars are prone to acquiring hairline fractures on the tank. Make sure it's not wet on any area of the tank.
 
If you read above there is no coolant in the oil, it is black and not milish white. Secondly if the car is running properly you should just have to have the radiotor full and never need t he over flow tank. I've run my car like t his for two years. I have no clue where this coolant is going. Like I said I went over the block with a flashlight and mirror and found nothing to indicate a leak. If anyone has any suggestions I would t otally appreciate them.
 
Actually, there is a "hot" level and a "cold" level on the tank. It shouldn't be empty.

Have you inspected around the lower intake for leaks? Honestly, I can't think of much more to help you diagnose the leak... but I'm sure someone will chime in that'll give the answer away.
 
Cooling Fan Fix

Looking closer at the three cooling fan schematics in the sticky note on this forum, I have decided to go with the double relay set-up shown about half way down the note.

One question to anyone who has done this - Do I unhook the wiring to the fan motor and run this new wiring or do I splice my circuits into the existing wiring?

I am worried about running power back into the CCRM from the wrong direction if I run power into the CCRM from the output side.

Thanks.
 
Did you bust off the plastic piece that goes across the bottom of the car under the radiator support? If that is gone the radiator picks up a little temp from the loss of airflow. I didn't have one for the longest time and as soon as I put it back on the temps stabilized a little more.
 
Missing air deflector

The plastic air deflector has been missing ever since I have owned the car. My trouble is really cooling around town and at idle. If I am at speed on the freeway, the car cools fine. I will look for a deflector and add it.
 
Ground the #17 wire?

Sounds great but...

I can't find my CCRM. It is supposed to be mounted to the bracket that supports the top of the overflow bottle but my bracket has a slot in it (for the bottle) and two holes for 8mm bolts that attach the bracket to the top of the rad support. No CCRM.

Can I run 12 volts to the fan from a relay?
 
jmoore16 said:
Sounds great but...

I can't find my CCRM. It is supposed to be mounted to the bracket that supports the top of the overflow bottle but my bracket has a slot in it (for the bottle) and two holes for 8mm bolts that attach the bracket to the top of the rad support. No CCRM.

Can I run 12 volts to the fan from a relay?

Your CCRM is the module that plugs in near the top of the fan/radiator. It has 24 wires coming out of it towards the passenger side. You'll need to pull a bolt out to be able to get the plug out, then pull away the loom that covers all the wires so you can access the wire(s) you need. Here's how I did mine. I got two 3 terminal (power,accessory,ground) lighted rocker switches. I ran a wire from Pin 14 and Pin 17 (low speed and high speed) to the accessory terminals. Then for the low speed, I ran a 12v source to the power terminal, and a ground wire to the ground terminal. Howver, the high-speed fan is opposite, and works when supplied with ground. I ran the 12v lead to the ground terminal (merely for the light in the switch) and the ground wire goes to the power terminal. There ya go!