temp issues

[goldbomb79]

ok, I put an electric fan on my car when i put the new engine in, and well now I have heat issues. I've got an aftermarket temp gauge on the way, but not here yet. stock has always worked before. but i have a 160 stat and I bled the coolant system. no milkshake in the oil pan and it's not leaking water anywhere. I replace the act sensor and it's still running warm with the factory gauge, and well i don't wanna burn it up. could the fan not be pulling enough air thru the radiator. it's markvIII fan.

 

[87gtconv]

If it did not run warm before the swap I dont think anything but the fan is probably wrong now! How warm is it running and is it warm from get go or just creeps up or does it take time to get hot and how hot?? Does it run warm on the highway or cant you get it that far?? How is your fan actuated by temp or manually or what?? Give me some info to work with please!!

 

[65ShelbyClone]

it's still running warm with the factory gauge

Thats a huge problem right there. You cant even tell how warm with that gage.

Did this percieved overheating problem start first thing after the fan intall?

160 T-stat is too cold, BTW.

 

[5.0fox]

better switch to a 180* t-stat and you might just have to get an adjustable fan that can be set to come on at a different temperature

 

[goldbomb79]

uhmmm, I've had a 160 for a long time, helps the motor stay around the 180* range, checked it with a turkey thermometer after i installed it. I've got an adjustable temp sensor on my fan that lets it kick on when the engine reaches a certain temp. I tried letting it run from cold to see if that would help and it still gets to warm. I never tried the electric fan before I rebuilt the motor and installed the performance parts, so I'm not sure if it's just not the fan that's not working right. and yes the temp starts at the normal temp then slowly rises and doesn't stay low enough for me. it starts to get into the 200's which isn't what i want. i think i'm gonna stick the flexfan back on it today with the stock fan shroud and see what happens and go from there

 

[Michael Yount]

Have you tried turning down the fan t'stat so it comes on sooner? Is the fan coming on, and the temp is still rising? What happens when you drive it? Does the temp stay up, or drop off with plenty of air moving across the radiator? It's awfully tough to properly trouble shoot one if you can't actually drive it - which with the weather you've been having there, you may not want to get out in it.

 

['90DarkBlueLX]

What kind of mods did you do? If you went too far from stock the it could be the radiator can't get all of the heat out. You might want to try a 3 or 4 row one. How old is the current one that you are using? It might be plugged. I had to flush out my old one and problem solved. It cost about 25bucks at local radiator shop.

 

[Michael Yount]

Oh - and if the Mark VIII fan is wired up properly, it's moving more than enough air to cool it provided the other cooling system components are functioning properly. Sure you've got your belt routed correctly so it's turning the water pump the right way and that the t'stat is in with the spring towards the engine?

 

[goldbomb79]

my mods are in my signature. yea, the belts routed the right way. new pump new t-stat- new radiator. 2 core. how should the fan be wired? how many amp relay and inline fuse should i be using. not sure what's on it now but i'll look when i get home. yea i can't drive it right now anyways to see if when i get moving it will kewl it back down because well there's to much snow and I can't get the car up the hill from my garage to get to the main road. lol

 

[HISSIN50]

i like Michael's ideas. especially the fan coming on at the temp you desire. coming on ~20* hotter than the stat opening and off ~10* over stat opening (i.e.,180* /170*, respectively with the 160* stat) seems to work well.

what does the turkey thermometer say at temp (while the gauge reads 200*)?
i agree with Michael's thoughts about seeing what it does on the open road, but a Mark VIII should be sucking the paint off the walls, and cooling efficiently while sedentary (if a road test is not feasible).

let us know what it does after the fan swap. if it's the same, i would wait a few days for the new temp gauge to arrive. could save a lot of headaches.
just my two cents. good luck.

 

[HISSIN50]

BTW, for your fuse questions and general troubleshooting, try reading this:

http://www.geocities.com/smithmonte/Auto/MarkVIII_Fan.htm

good luck.