Lewis Maudlin Posted August 7, 2002 Share Posted August 7, 2002 What kind do I need? I have a 355, RV cam, aluminum heads, hooker shorties, air conditioning, about 400 hp, a louvered hood to dissipate some of the trapped heat. I just got the Griffin 1.25" radiator b/c my car was overheating in the 100 degree heat that we have been having. I put the new radiator in. Tonight, it is only about 75 degrees and with the 160 degree thermostat, I still got the engine to 210 degrees sitting in my driveway with the air on. Clearly if it were 100 degrees outside, I would have blown up my car. Does a high volume water pump help? Does an electric water pump help? If I go electric, how much flow is good? Anyone have specific recommendations of a good water pump? I need to cool off and be able to run my air. HELP!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted August 7, 2002 Share Posted August 7, 2002 Thats hot, but not overheating. We did the math in a post a while ago and with 13 lbs and anti-freeze/water wetter in the water overheating is like 260-270 degs. What fan are you using, and do you have any sort of fan shroud, its super important that some sort of shroud is used to insure the air is pulled through the core correctly. I'm thinking since its sitting in the driveway and not moving that your fan isn't pulling enough air through the core, there just isn't much to the system and you can solve cooling problems two ways, more air flow, or more dissipation area (larger core or thicker, although larger is better than thicker when it comes to aluminum radiators). Since we're limited size wise, I can only assume your not getting enough air through the core. Also make sure all the air is out of the system. Anyway those are some things to maybe look at, mine will go about 195 here at 100 deg in traffic with the air on with a 180 thermo now that I put in some water wetter. Another member mentioned using a few heater cores strategically placed in the fender wells to give a bit extra cooling (while moving I'm assuming, not sure he had fans in there too) just plumbed into the heater hoses I guess. A old trick if your stuck in stop and go and it starts over heating and it works a bit but is gosh awful hot, if you turn on your heater and put the fan motor on all the way most cars will cool a bit from the extra heat disapation, not something to do when your looking to cool the car with air conditioning obviously... Regards, Lone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Maudlin Posted August 7, 2002 Author Share Posted August 7, 2002 I forgot to mention that I am running the Flex-a-lite Black Magic fan FLX-150, I believe. It says it pulls 2800 cfm. Will changing the water pump help? My car was cooling better before. Well, before summer anyway. That fan should pull enough air through. Is the Taurus fan better? Help, it is hot here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greimann Posted August 7, 2002 Share Posted August 7, 2002 A higher flow water pump may help, if that is indeed the weak link. It sounds like you have about the best setup there is for radiator and fan. Supposedly the Taurus fan has more flow, and after measuring the Black Magic and Taurus, the Taurus covers more core area, has a larger diameter fan and more blades, so that may be an option after you have tried everything else. Make sure your timing is advanced as much as possible, and run no more than 50/50 antifreeze / water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike kZ Posted August 7, 2002 Share Posted August 7, 2002 I've heard of other cars not cooling well with the Black Magic fan. I'm running the Taurus fan with a Camaro rad in Hotlanta with air, and never get above 200 degrees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted August 7, 2002 Share Posted August 7, 2002 I have been reading these postings for some time now. What I have seen, without exception so far, is people with overheating problems and no other cooling system malfunctions are almost invariably running an electric fan. Have never seen this complaint with mechanical fans. I have bookmarked threads of guys who are running a nice V8 with no cooling issues and a stock Z radiator with a mechanical fan. So my suggestion for guys who have to have electric fans is to make sure the fan you use will do the job. Follow the advice of others closely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
labrat Posted August 7, 2002 Share Posted August 7, 2002 Yeah, I have the same problem, but a mechanical fan is not an option. On an 81 280ZX, the JTR mounting method does not apply, and i can't get the motor low enough. My mechanical fan would stick 3" through my hood! Gonna try a belly pan (I think they had one stock) to try to lower the air pressure in my engine compartment. That way the fan will move more air at speed. I'm kinda out of ideas too... Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Mileski Posted August 7, 2002 Share Posted August 7, 2002 If there's anyway to vent hot air directly up and out through openings in the hood (louvers or vents that really vent), this can go a long way towards solving overheating problems. When you're sitting still, the hot air building up under the hood has a hard time escaping and it just makes a bad situation (i.e. minimal airflow through the radiator) even worse. Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted August 8, 2002 Share Posted August 8, 2002 I agree with Jim. If you can't get a mechanical fan to work, or just don't like the idea of the mechanical fan, do your homework and get a very good electric fan. The car manufacturers build all (maybe not trucks?) cars with electric fans. FWD kind of forces that! Even so, many if not all new RWD cars have electric fans. The Mustang is one. Think about this for a second. The Mustang doesn't have a huge area for a radiator either. And the hopped up ones (from the factory) pull some decent horse power. They also have A/C. And their designed to be able to run in the hottest possible climates without causing their driver's trouble. Do you think that just maybe they did their homework and designed an electric fan that pulls alot of air through that small radiator to NOT have overheating, in the hottest climates, with the A/C blasting? Of course they did. They don't want the headaches of having to replace engines that were overheated. What I'm getting at is that the OEs have much more of a reason to design a good fan than "Flex-lite", etc. I've also heard stories of the Flex-lite 150 "black magic" fan not cutting the mustard. Try a Taurus fan, or a Lincoln Mark VIII or a Mustang GT fan. Look for other big engined cars with small radiators and check out their fans too. My guess is that if you DO have an overheating problem, which I'm not convinced of yet, then the FAN you have is NOT enough. The Black Magic fan is NOT the end all to electric fans. The Mustang fan I have supposedly pulls as much through the radiator on LOW speed as the Black Magic fan does. BTW, my Mustang GT fan on that dinky little Camaro radiator is enough to keep my car below 215 on the hottest days yet (110 heat index) with the A/C blasting. Of course, it's just a little 327 though. I run the fan on high speed whenever either the A/C is running or the temp fan switch (from JET) says the water temp is above 210. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike kZ Posted August 8, 2002 Share Posted August 8, 2002 Miles may be right, I have a hood scoop, and louvers in my inspection lids. You can see the louvers, and the hole in the hood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greimann Posted August 8, 2002 Share Posted August 8, 2002 I ran across a vehicle cross reference for the Taurus fan and a resource on where to get a new one if a person doesn't want to go the Salvage yard route: 86 - 95 Taurus / Sable 86 - 94 Lincoln Contenintal 94 - 97 Thunderbird New: http://www.autobodypartswholesale.com/cgi-bin/autobodypartswholesale/F160912.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Maudlin Posted August 9, 2002 Author Share Posted August 9, 2002 Is there any reason not to run the fan on high all of the time if I switch to the Taurus fan? I have a 140 amp alternator so power drain is not a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike kZ Posted August 9, 2002 Share Posted August 9, 2002 I just run mine on high all the time, that is when the AC is on, or the temp is over 190. A friend of mine just wired his to come on as soon as he started the engine,and untill he shut it off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z ya Posted August 9, 2002 Share Posted August 9, 2002 Another thing you might try is some max flow pulleys from March. These are supposed to help. Also go for the high flow water pump. I heard that the CSI electric water pumps work killer but they dont have a mount for the alternator? Also go with a 90/10 water to coolant ratio and some waterwetter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulR Posted August 10, 2002 Share Posted August 10, 2002 OK, I picked up one of these today at the local Pull-A-Part. Anyone know what the wiring is? It has three wires: 1: Brown with Yellow stripe 2: Brown with Orange stripe 3: Black Thanks!! Paul Originally posted by Greimann:I ran across a vehicle cross reference for the Taurus fan and a resource on where to get a new one if a person doesn't want to go the Salvage yard route: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted August 10, 2002 Share Posted August 10, 2002 Black is your ground, and I believe its brown yellow for high, but simply using a jumper wire and touch positive to yellow or orange strip will tell you which is which pretty simple. Regards, Lone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulR Posted August 10, 2002 Share Posted August 10, 2002 Thanks, I would have guessed you hook connect both the yellow and orange striped wires to the battery + for the high setting, but it seems to work fine with just the one... and like you said, it the brown/yellow for "high" Originally posted by LoneInAZ:Black is your ground, and I believe its brown yellow for high, but simply using a jumper wire and touch positive to yellow or orange strip will tell you which is which pretty simple. Regards, Lone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greimann Posted August 10, 2002 Share Posted August 10, 2002 I just recently switched from the Black Magic fan to the Taurus fan and had the opportunity to do some back to back testing and put some numbers to the consensus that the Taurus fan is the 44 Magnum of the electric fan world (will blow your head clean off ). Test conditions: Drove vehicle for about 1/2 hour to get everything warmed up. Engine temperature measured through Holley EFI data screen. Ambient temperature measured with digital thermometer. Each test the car was in the garage at idle for at least 5 minutes or until the engine temperature stabilized. The fans were wired to run constantly and the Taurus fan was altered to fill in the gap in the shroud at the bottom and to have a closed cell foam gasket at the contact point with the radiator. The radiator is a Griffin 26 X 19. Taurus fan low speed = 178 engine temp - 79 ambient = 99 degree delta Taurus fan high speed = 174 engine temp - 79 ambient = 95 degree delta Black Magic fan = 189 engine temp - 80 ambient = 109 degree delta As the test shows, the Taurus fan on LOW speed beats the Black Magic. I have suspicion that with the fan on high speed, I was bouncing off of the thermostat, which is a 160 deg. unit. The temp sender for the Holley system is in the cylinder head so it will see a little higher temps than the thermostat will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denny411 Posted August 10, 2002 Share Posted August 10, 2002 what are the dimensions of the Taurus fan? I`m considering putting one (or two) on my truck for stop and go traffic,and when I`m pulling a heavy load. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greimann Posted August 11, 2002 Share Posted August 11, 2002 21.5" wide 17" high 4.75" thick at the motor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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