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Overheat issue with 94

Kofire

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Joined
September 6, 2025
Messages
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City, State
California
Year, Model & Trim Level
1994 ford explorer xlt
Hi I recently acquired a 1994 ford explorer. There was no overheat issue I just chose to proactively do some preventative maintenance and upgrades at the same time. It ran good but had an original radiator etc.
So. I put in an AlloyWorks 3 row radiator, new acdelco water pump, new thermostat housing, thermostat, proform brushless 14” efan which flows 2900 cfm.
As soon as I got everything installed and running I immediately started having overheat issues. I bypassed the heater core to see if that was it and it helped but I am still seeing high temps with the AC on. Much higher then I saw previously before all the work I did. I’m starting to run out of ideas. Does anybody have any suggestions or path to choose moving forward? I have tried with no thermostat, 180 thermostat, 195 thermostat and there is no difference.
If I’m accelerating hard with the ac on it will climb to the “l” rapidly. Thanks.
 



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Forget the e fan

Does the e fan have a full shroud?

Try your mechanical fan and clutch see results
Otherwise something went wrong with install or one of those parts because with a new large radiator and water pump she should not overheat

A fan needs a full shroud or air will
Literally just flow around it post up some pics of your setup

I’m guessing not enough airflow
A 14” fan is not enough, it is difficult to cool a first gen with an e fan imo especially a little one
 






Forget the e fan

Does the e fan have a full shroud?

Try your mechanical fan and clutch see results
Otherwise something went wrong with install or one of those parts because with a new large radiator and water pump she should not overheat

A fan needs a full shroud or air will
Literally just flow around it post up some pics of your setup

I’m guessing not enough airflow
A 14” fan is not enough, it is difficult to cool a first gen with an e fan imo especially a little one
Hi yes it does have a shroud. I completely understand the mechanical fan clutch vs efan argument. I just went with a very pricey high cfm fan that flows well over the cfm of the factory fan. I just don’t see how that would be the issue here. But if all else fails then yes I will just go back to stock components and see what happens. I appreciate the input.
 






I've got an old Porsche 924 I grafted a no-name 14" pancake fan with only a small shroud into. I'd be happy to hear that it flows 1500CFM, but it cools just fine, especially after bypassing the original relay and wiring. Which brings up one thing to check: the wiring and voltage with the fan running. One thing worth trying is taking the fan out completely and getting on the highway (assuming you can get right on and off). If it runs hot at speed without the shroud potentially restricting flow, then the problem has to be elsewhere. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it sure looks like you'd get plenty of airflow as long as you're moving. I put a few hundred miles on the Porsche before I fixed the fan - even got away with some in-town driving before I realized the fan had completely died, and it didn't get that hot (I was turning off the key and coasting to lights though; you definitely can't idle or crawl very long). Also, on my first car with a 302, a 16" fan with just a small shroud was plenty even for Florida and S. Texas heat (that was with a Griffin 26" radiator; the original was tiny).
 






I've got an old Porsche 924 I grafted a no-name 14" pancake fan with only a small shroud into. I'd be happy to hear that it flows 1500CFM, but it cools just fine, especially after bypassing the original relay and wiring. Which brings up one thing to check: the wiring and voltage with the fan running. One thing worth trying is taking the fan out completely and getting on the highway (assuming you can get right on and off). If it runs hot at speed without the shroud potentially restricting flow, then the problem has to be elsewhere. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it sure looks like you'd get plenty of airflow as long as you're moving. I put a few hundred miles on the Porsche before I fixed the fan - even got away with some in-town driving before I realized the fan had completely died, and it didn't get that hot (I was turning off the key and coasting to lights though; you definitely can't idle or crawl very long). Also, on my first car with a 302, a 16" fan with just a small shroud was plenty even for Florida and S. Texas heat (that was with a Griffin 26" radiator; the original was tiny).
Thanks for the info. It’s completely fine until I get into it on a hill etc. It just didn’t do that a few weeks ago until I put in what I thought was an upgrade. Just seeing if I’m missing something.
 






I put in what I thought was an upgrade.
If i read this, it should be an upgrade.

It's interesting and expensive too, but if i look at the fan

i would think those tiny blades couldn't get enough air through the radiator. (AC cooler clean?)

The shroud should be cover the whole radiator like this

What about the fan controller, which one you get? If AC is on the controller should override temperature switch
and the fan must run all the time while AC is running.

Hope you will find the issue.
(None of the Explorers i know have efans, exept one racing off-road monster with dual efans)
 






If i read this, it should be an upgrade.

It's interesting and expensive too, but if i look at the fan

i would think those tiny blades couldn't get enough air through the radiator. (AC cooler clean?)

The shroud should be cover the whole radiator like this

What about the fan controller, which one you get? If AC is on the controller should override temperature switch
and the fan must run all the time while AC is running.

Hope you will find the issue.
(None of the Explorers i know have efans, exept one racing off-road monster with dual efans)
Yes I have the alloyworks kit. The fan that came with it is a total joke. So I did my research and it was down to a spal or the proform. I went with the proform based on some YouTube cfm studies. I’m pretty stumped at the moment.
I put an inline thermostat 190 on 175 off. So its pretty much running no matter what I’m doing.
 






Another option is keeping the three row and reinstalling my old fan clutch and fan. If that works then I will buy a new fan and clutch. The whole point of this was to proactively replace older parts.
 






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