[70gtvert]

As long as I am moving I don't have any worries, says between 165-180. But get me stopped in traffic and opps, there she goes up over 190. I even set the fan up so I can manually run it starting at a lower temp and although this does help, in bad enough traffic it still gets up there. Now, when I was building it I did bump the radiator and it sprung 3 little leaks. I took it in to have it "fixed" (they used an injectable epoxy to block off those tubes) but come spring driving time while I was go-carting it I noticed it still had a small leak. Soooooo...I did what all idiots do and bought some heavy duty stop leak. Stopped the leak but now I'm worried it clogged up things more then it helped things. I still get a faint smell of anti-freeze while driving but no visible leaks or spots on the floor so I attribute this to the overflow tank being used. My thoughts, if I find no one else has heating issues, is it is time to replace the radiator. Nice winter project. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Brastic]

I tend to not like stop leak. Sure, if you are stuck on the side of the road and need to get home, but I would replace the radiator when I got home. Have you burped the coolant? Air pockets do weird things. And, the issue that I ran into, was the fan not being set up correctly. Once I replaced the fan shroud where the air can only go through the radiator and no more 2" gap around the fan, I have not over heated. OK, I did get hot when the fan belt snapped, but that does not count. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[gsides9]

A few thoughts. Fuel injected Fords came with 195 degree thermostats, so 195 shouldn't hurt yours. I have a stock FFR radiator and fan in my Coupe and it stays cool once we installed a fan shroud. We have 510 horsepower and A/C. I would pull the radiator out and backflush it. If you don't have a fan shroud, now is a good time to get one. Then reinstall and see if it worked. You could always just replace the radiator.

Glen

 

[John Dol]

Have you driven many miles?
Because of the placement of the air vent on the radiator it’s hard to get all the air out sometimes.
Really jacking the front of the car up can help dislodge air bubbles.
That said having three passes cut off is probably not helping.

John

 

[conger]

Was wondering if your temp also raises under hard acceleration? If so a thicker radiator with more cores might be the solve. It sounds like the rad is not able to dissipate enough engine heat to the air.

 

[70gtvert]

Lots of questions, lets see if I can answer them. Yes, this was a 1990 GT engine that I put a carb on it. No AC but the only "shroud" is that which came with the Factory 5 supplied electric fan. Is there a place where you can get a better add on one? I can work fiberglass, not aluminum or sheet metal. I've put 2000 miles on it so far. I lift the radiator cap above both the block and the radiator when I top off with fuel. It ,if anything, over fills it as once I do fill it this way on my first run after I end up with a pretty full overflow tank. And last but not least, no, there is no appreciable rise in temp if I get into it. Just sitting in very slow or stopped traffic.

 

[Nigel Allen]

If only overheating at low speeds and when stopped, it is likely an air flow issue. Might sound like a dumb question, but is your fan rotating in the correct direction? Also, does it move plenty of air? If yes to both of these questions, then a shroud is the answer. This will make full use of the surface area of the radiator. I have Mk4 with Coyote and a FF Metals shroud. I have only had the car on the road for a few weeks after 6 year build, so driving it every moment I can, including a couple of 38C days so far. I got burned to a crisp, but car ran cool as normal, so FFR / FF Metals cooling combo well suited to Australian conditions and gets a big tick from me.

The history of your radiator is not great and it is quite compromised. it is not much fun driving around having to watch your temperature gauge continuously, whilst all the time worrying about your engine getting cooked. it takes away from the fun driving experience.

without trying to spend your money for you, maybe it is time to invest in a brand-new radiator or hopefully Santa might have one in his sack for you.

Cheers, Nigel in South Oz

 

[taved]

To me that does not seem 'hot' at all.

I wonder which intake manifold port you have the temp sensor in or do you have it somewhere else (radiator).

Dave

Gen III Coupe #17

 

[conger]

I think it's an air flow issue. The fan is not pulling through the radiator efficiently to pull the heat from the coolant. I'd make sure the fan is enough CFM to do the job and the shroud should fit the fan so there isn't much gap around it. You want the fan to work in such a way as that the only source of air is thru the rad. Anyway, that's my two cents. Sometimes the cooling problems on these cars can be a real headache.

 

[RobBaker]

This sounds like to problem I had with my car which turned out to be a failed intake manifold gasket. I to could smell antifreeze which was being burnt via the exhaust ports. When I took the intake manifold off the evidence was obvious.

 

[M DOUGHERTY]

You answered your own question.
The car runs fine at speed.
And warms up at idle.
You need more air flow by adding a proper shroud that covers the entire rad, also make sure you have the high flow fan from FFR, running the correct direction.
The missing cores should have no affect on your combo. If it did it would show up at speed.
This will make all the difference in the world.
I started installing a roadster rad. Years ago. 30% larger.
And now the gen3 coupes do the same. This is nessary if you are running a 351 or larger engine.
When burping the system this is the order.
Fill through rad cap.
Open air bleed on top of the rad. And keep filling until it flows out with no bubbles.
Remove the sending unit out of the intake and do the same.
If using a heater.
Close the rad cap. And finish filling through the highest hose .
This will insure no air. Bubbles.
Fill the recirculating tank 1/4 full. This will find it balance as you drive.

 

[acmikee]

its definitely an air flow issue is you fan blowing in the correct direction

 

[Jim1855]

When I was running my Superformance cars low speed, in town stop & go, bumper to bumper cruises were always a problem. As long as 25-30mph could be maintained all was good. Manually activated fans helped but didn't fully solve the problem.

A few things that helped:
We found that lifting the rear of the hood to open up a heat passage really helped as it provided an escape path at the highest point under the hood. Never had any problems driving this way but the Factory Five hood is slightly different.
The fan shroud is important.
The manual switch helped, turn it on way before you need it.

I have no reason to believe that the Factory Five system will be any different.

Jim

 

[rich grsc]

You don't have a problem. If it is staying around 200-205 at idle in traffic and comes back to normal once moving, that's fine. Stop leak will NOT damage the radiator or cause heating issues.

 

[70gtvert]

Okay, from what I see here it is likely just an issue in my mind only as the fan blows correctly and my temps stay under 210 even sitting still (but I still smell anti-freeze, is that normal?). However, that being said, it sounds like those with shrouds are better at keeping the temperature down. Anyone out there build one? And what would they charge me to build one for me? Perhaps this would be a good subject for a new topic. Thanks all for your insight. I knew I would get some great help here. John

 

[turbonut48]

70gtvert, Make a fiberglass shroud if that s your forte. It should be great.

The Nut

 

[Fluge]

I used the cobra shroud from Breeze and made it fit the coupe. Just needed to be cut and spliced back together. Looks great and works really well.

Marc

 

[Marty D]

If you are running under drive pulleys I bet that is your problem. Not enough water pump revolutions at low RPM'S. I went back to regular size pulleys that eliminated the problem. Under drive pulleys only work at higher RPM's whether it is charging or cooling.

 

[70gtvert]

No, no underdrive pullies and yes, the fan is pulling air through the radiator so good there. May look into that Breeze piece as it looks to be the easiest and neatest option. Yes, I could do glass but since the car is "complete" (cough cough) it would be more difficult and messy. Thank you all for some great thoughts and ideas here. Happy Holidays All!

 

[70gtvert]

I used the cobra shroud from Breeze and made it fit the coupe. Just needed to be cut and spliced back together. Looks great and works really well.

Marc

Marc, do you have a pic or 2 of your modified Breeze shroud? I've contacted them but am curious to see how you tackled the modifications. Thanks.