Heating up with A/C on.

[90RedFox]

I have a first gen explorer, 4door 5sp, 137,000 miles, and I have replaced water pump, has new 180º t-stat, new rad cap, new heavy duty fan clutch, and does perfectly until you sit idling with A/C on in hot weather. Guage will get 3/4 way up which is not in my confort zone. I'm very mechanically inclined, just wonder if this is common with these explorers. Just wonder if replacing the anemic single core radiator to a dual or maybe 3 row will help. Thanks for an help or advice.

 

[Gadget X]

Short answer, yes, a larger radiator will help. The culprit is the fact that there 8s very little airflow through the radiator when at idle, so there is very little heat that is actually dissipated. When you're moving, or when the engine is at higher rpms, there is enough airflow to keep things cool. If you spend a lot of time idling, an electric fan conversion might be in your best interests. Good luck with it! Also, welcome to the forum!

 

[90RedFox]

Thanks, and I thought about the electric fan swap. I just did this swap on my fox mustang, had to upgrade its alternator, wiring, whole 9. My explorer used to belong to my local sherrifs office, so maintenance was always up to par on it. I'm thinking it has a 95 amp alt on it. Would you recomend removing the mechanical fan and mounting the electric fan in its place, or adding it to the front behind the grill as a pusher?

 

[Gadget X]

If you just remove it and use the 3.8 liter Taurus fan in its place, you should be more than happy. Good luck with it!