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She's HOT
- Thread starter Arnie897
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jimbo74
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replace the radiator, use distilled water in the new one.......
peopel say tap is fine, but tap introduces a lot of sediment, sediment that reacts to the system and cuases blockage......
peopel say tap is fine, but tap introduces a lot of sediment, sediment that reacts to the system and cuases blockage......
Brian_B
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I don't know about better than factoryor the explorers, but radiator barn used to have the best prices for my old ranger. Another place that had pretty decent prices was radiator express.
radiatorbarn.com
radiatorexpress.com
radiatorbarn.com
radiatorexpress.com
gijoecam
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Arnie897 said:Well today was about 75 degrees outside and she started heating up again with the new t-stat, fan clutch, and cap. What else could it be? Do I have too much stuff blocking my air flow?
It's possible, but there's only one way to find out.... take it all off and see if the problem goes away. Was the truck fine after you added all the stuff and suddenly started overheating, or has it gotten progressively worse as you added more stuff?
The only parts you haven't replaced are the water pump and the radiator, correct? Obviously the rad is the easiest of the two to replace, but there's still no guarantee it'll cure the problem.
For radiators, I recommend Modine. Any CarQuest sells them and most Murrays can special-order them. They're high quality and made right here in Michigan. JC Whitney used to sell them, but I'm not sure if they still do or not.
Also, is it remotely possible that the truck isn't really overheating? Maybe the sending unit for the guage is on the fritz and its resistance has changed, causing the guage to read a false high when, in fact, the engine's running as cool as it was before?
-Joe
Arnie897
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The only started to notice this problem after the hot weather came around. The last thing I added was the winch and that solenoid pack behind the grill.
As far as I know the only things left are the water pump and the radiator. How would I go about checking the sender unit? It only gives me hot readings when I'm towing or trying to pull 80mph down the express way with my 4.56's.....so this leads me to believe that it's probably not the problem, but it couldn't hurt to check.
Maybe it's because I have a radiator for an automatic and my truck is a 5-speed? Could the air in the radiator from the tranny cooler make a hot pocket?
As far as I know the only things left are the water pump and the radiator. How would I go about checking the sender unit? It only gives me hot readings when I'm towing or trying to pull 80mph down the express way with my 4.56's.....so this leads me to believe that it's probably not the problem, but it couldn't hurt to check.
Maybe it's because I have a radiator for an automatic and my truck is a 5-speed? Could the air in the radiator from the tranny cooler make a hot pocket?
gijoecam
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There should be enough cooling capacity in the OEM radiator and cooling system to run the engine at WOT full load all day long without overheating. Someplace yours is falling short.
I realize this may sound like a dumb question at this point, but are you running a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and water? It might be worth buying a $5 float hydrometer for coolant to make sure it's not too thick.... too much antifreeze will do exactly what you describe.... it's not a good conductor of heat.
You don't have a set of underdrive pulleys on it, do you?
hmmmmm.... I'm just about out of guesses. A new Rad couldn't be a bad thing, but pretty much all radiators for trucks come prepped for the auto trans cooler lines. The only affect a manual could have is reducing the need for cooling the trans fluid. It should in no way reduce the cooling capacity of the radiator core.
If it's OK when you traveling light, but not when you load 'er up, it could certainly be a lack of airflow across the radiator. By the looks of it, you've got almost half of the radiator blocked with accessories. It might be worth trying to pull some of the stuff off just to see if it helps. If it doesn, a heavy duty radiator may be in order.....
-Joe
I realize this may sound like a dumb question at this point, but are you running a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and water? It might be worth buying a $5 float hydrometer for coolant to make sure it's not too thick.... too much antifreeze will do exactly what you describe.... it's not a good conductor of heat.
You don't have a set of underdrive pulleys on it, do you?
hmmmmm.... I'm just about out of guesses. A new Rad couldn't be a bad thing, but pretty much all radiators for trucks come prepped for the auto trans cooler lines. The only affect a manual could have is reducing the need for cooling the trans fluid. It should in no way reduce the cooling capacity of the radiator core.
If it's OK when you traveling light, but not when you load 'er up, it could certainly be a lack of airflow across the radiator. By the looks of it, you've got almost half of the radiator blocked with accessories. It might be worth trying to pull some of the stuff off just to see if it helps. If it doesn, a heavy duty radiator may be in order.....
-Joe
l1tech
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It only gives me hot readings when I'm towing or trying to pull 80mph down the express way with my 4.56's...
Classic symptons of a plugged radiator. I tow an 18' Bayliner with my X...2 door 4x2 5 speed with 4.73...and I live in Phoenix..don't get much hotter than here...and with the stock cooling system in place and the ac on it never runs hotter than normal
Classic symptons of a plugged radiator. I tow an 18' Bayliner with my X...2 door 4x2 5 speed with 4.73...and I live in Phoenix..don't get much hotter than here...and with the stock cooling system in place and the ac on it never runs hotter than normal
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You can have your radiator serviced for pretty cheap, I am not sure about the Gen II but a HD Modine unit from Radiators.com is only like $180, you can find them local for this price range too.
I may have missed it but have you checked the fan clutch?
I may have missed it but have you checked the fan clutch?
Arnie897
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Replaced the fan clutch already. Just talked to the guy at Radiator.com and he said there is no HD upgrade for the 97. I have a 2 core right? Where would I get a 3 or 4 core? Or am I totally off my rocker?
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A two core is about 3" thick typically.
The HD upgrade would have been on a truck with the towing package from Ford, that is the radiator you want, on a Gen I this is a two core unit, about 3" thick as stated above, with plastic side tanks.
Having one for an auto in a 5 speed truck will not hurt anything.
The HD upgrade would have been on a truck with the towing package from Ford, that is the radiator you want, on a Gen I this is a two core unit, about 3" thick as stated above, with plastic side tanks.
Having one for an auto in a 5 speed truck will not hurt anything.
MAXIMIS1
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most radiator repair shops [not a wearhouse] will have a person that if asked to can build any radiator you want. i know this first hand from a conversion 350cid into a toy pickup i did back in 94 and i went to bone yard and found the thinkest rad i could and took it to this guy and week later he called and had it done and it was perfect.just gave him the mesaurements exaclty. only thing is this can only be done with copper rads not allum/plastic tanked rads. and he doesnt do any type of shipping or order stuff either
( but theres gotto be a small shop in your town with a simular little forgin worker/dude/hombre repairing rads lol )
possibly consider going to a cross flow rad . due to the winch and other stuff blocking lower half of rad...
( but theres gotto be a small shop in your town with a simular little forgin worker/dude/hombre repairing rads lol )possibly consider going to a cross flow rad . due to the winch and other stuff blocking lower half of rad...
gijoecam
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You already have a cross flow radiator. Coolant flows one way, air flows perpendicular to it. If he means one with multiple passes, that would require at least a 3-pass core, and it'd be tough to package it in the OEM space and still use a shroud or e'tric fan.
You could certainly opt for a custom-made Aluminum one, but I'm honestly not sure you're going to gain anything. Again, the OEM fan and rad should be more than sufficient to run at WOT all day long under max load and still have the cooling capacity to cool the engine.
Here's another idear..... maybe the engine is turning too slow to move enough air? What RPM is it running at when cruising down the freeway? Next time she starts cookin', try locking out overdrive. If the temp continues to creep up, then that idea went out the window, but if it drops down, it could be an indication of a lack of cooling air across the rad. My thought is that it takes a certain amount of HP to keep the truck moving, whether you're making it at 2000 rpms or 3000 rpms, but at the higher RPM, the fan will be spinning 50% faster.
Here's yet another though that may not have been addressed: Is it possible that the fan clutch is not locking up when it gets warm and just continues to slip too much instead of moving more air when it gets hot?
I'm about out of idears on this one.....
-Joe
You could certainly opt for a custom-made Aluminum one, but I'm honestly not sure you're going to gain anything. Again, the OEM fan and rad should be more than sufficient to run at WOT all day long under max load and still have the cooling capacity to cool the engine.
Here's another idear..... maybe the engine is turning too slow to move enough air? What RPM is it running at when cruising down the freeway? Next time she starts cookin', try locking out overdrive. If the temp continues to creep up, then that idea went out the window, but if it drops down, it could be an indication of a lack of cooling air across the rad. My thought is that it takes a certain amount of HP to keep the truck moving, whether you're making it at 2000 rpms or 3000 rpms, but at the higher RPM, the fan will be spinning 50% faster.
Here's yet another though that may not have been addressed: Is it possible that the fan clutch is not locking up when it gets warm and just continues to slip too much instead of moving more air when it gets hot?
I'm about out of idears on this one.....
-Joe
Arnie897
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Now I understand the cross flow idea. 
Just replaced the fan clutch. The engine is going at about 3k when I'm doing 75mph. I've tried the downshifting idea but it didn't help out at all. The instant I get off the express way and start city driving though it cools down.
Right now I'm powerwashing the radiator exterior to make sure the fins are clear of debris. That's what the Ford Dealer told me to try yesterday because they were out of ideas apparently.
Just replaced the fan clutch. The engine is going at about 3k when I'm doing 75mph. I've tried the downshifting idea but it didn't help out at all. The instant I get off the express way and start city driving though it cools down.
Right now I'm powerwashing the radiator exterior to make sure the fins are clear of debris. That's what the Ford Dealer told me to try yesterday because they were out of ideas apparently.
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I agree a custom radiator, although a nice addition to any cooling system, is not required. the stock unit can handle all this and then some....
He does bring up a good point, what gears are you running with your tires?
3K is about right at 75 for the OHV, 2800 is where I was at with 4.10's and 33's in OD.
The more I look at your front clip the more I am thinking you are not getting enough air in there.....
My under hood temps were WAY DOWN LOW when I had the innder fender skirts out, when I re-installed them (after the engine conversion) I cut them up and only put pieces back in to protec the door jambs and parking lamps, the air in front of the exhaust headers is open to the tire, and the under hood temps and lower now.
The next step woud be louvers in the hood or a cowl hood to let hot air escape...
He does bring up a good point, what gears are you running with your tires?
3K is about right at 75 for the OHV, 2800 is where I was at with 4.10's and 33's in OD.
The more I look at your front clip the more I am thinking you are not getting enough air in there.....
My under hood temps were WAY DOWN LOW when I had the innder fender skirts out, when I re-installed them (after the engine conversion) I cut them up and only put pieces back in to protec the door jambs and parking lamps, the air in front of the exhaust headers is open to the tire, and the under hood temps and lower now.
The next step woud be louvers in the hood or a cowl hood to let hot air escape...
Arnie897
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I'm running 4.56's with my 33's so my RPM's are up there.
I really hate the thought of having to relocate everything infront of my radiator in order to keep her cool. I was eyeballing the cowl hood over at ExplorerExpress last night but I'm pretty broke right now.
Would a engine oil cooler work well enough to keep me cool?
I really hate the thought of having to relocate everything infront of my radiator in order to keep her cool. I was eyeballing the cowl hood over at ExplorerExpress last night but I'm pretty broke right now.
Would a engine oil cooler work well enough to keep me cool?
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na, it will cool the oil sure, but thats not your problem...
You could try removig the fender skirts and see if the temps drop more, if they do you can cut holes in them or cut them into pieces......
You could try removig the fender skirts and see if the temps drop more, if they do you can cut holes in them or cut them into pieces......
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gijoecam
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Doubt it.... I don't think the added cooling capacity will be enough.
Could one of the hoses be kinking at high engine speeds? Maybe a bad motor mount allowing the engine to torque over enough to restrict the flow a bit?
Here's another idea.... Drain a portion of the coolant out and replace it with straight water. Get your mizture down aound 70/30 and see if that helps things. At a 70/30 mix, you're still good down to around 30-something below on the low end, but it increases the cooling capacity of the coolant mixture. Might even throw in a bottle of water wetter to help it. That may get you over the hump, but it's nto the best fix for you. Even the best radiator in the world won't do you any good if the air can't get to it to pull the heat away.
-Joe
Could one of the hoses be kinking at high engine speeds? Maybe a bad motor mount allowing the engine to torque over enough to restrict the flow a bit?
Here's another idea.... Drain a portion of the coolant out and replace it with straight water. Get your mizture down aound 70/30 and see if that helps things. At a 70/30 mix, you're still good down to around 30-something below on the low end, but it increases the cooling capacity of the coolant mixture. Might even throw in a bottle of water wetter to help it. That may get you over the hump, but it's nto the best fix for you. Even the best radiator in the world won't do you any good if the air can't get to it to pull the heat away.
-Joe
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