I have heard that the maverick 302 has an undersized radiator. Of course the engine compartment is small so it makes sense. I was wondering if you guys who souped up your 302s have cooling problems. I am concerned that I will have those problems after I finish building up my engine. Also do any of you guys use tranny coolers. If I get a more aggresive cam I must change my torque converter, and everyone says if you change the converter you much put a tranny cooler.
When we first got our car it had the stock two core with shroud and the engine was stock 302 we ran 190 most of the time and 200-210 when in stop and go traffic in 110 degree summer heat. I changed to a three core and the temp droped to 180 and 200-210 with the now working A/C in stop and go. Now we have a late model roller 10/1 comp, alum heads, intake and stuff. Same radiator but, a high volume water pump and it runs 180 and 195 with the A/C on, morning noon or night, summer or winter. The pump is milodon brand.
High volume water pumps... ...I have known people who run high volume pumps to have heating problems. They circulate the water too quickly through the radiator and it never gets a chance to cool off. You can put a restrictor in one of the hoses to slow the circulation down and that can help. When mine was slightly more than stock, many years ago, mine would get hot at night in cruising traffic at say Myrtle Beach. That was moving about a block every 10-15 minutes, in 90 degree beach heat in the night. I had an A/C evaporator coil in front of my factory original 3 core radiator. I would have to pull down a side street and get some air through the radiator. Once I rebuilt the motor in 1988 and replaced the radiator with a new one, that problem never happened again. There probably is no absolute correct answer, try what you have and make adjustments from there. But, I would be careful about thinking that a high volume water pump will solve overheating problems. My $.02 Seth
My experiences are identical to Thomas'. I also currently run a 3 row stock radiator with A/C without a problem. I think utilizing a shroud is the key. Additionally, I added a 10,000 RPM stainless flex fan after my conversion.
Might give a thought to an electric fan. Flex-a-lite makes a kit for early Mustangs that fits well. A bit pricey, but they work. Earl
That's funny, I thought that was what the thermostat was for?? I've been told or read, that the high volume pumps keep a more even pressure around the cylinders for better control of boil off at the cylinders.
The rap on hi flow water pumps really wasn't that the flowed too much ,but rather they had a reputation for cavitating which would create an over heat or running hot condition at sustained high RPMs. But since they developed that reputation early on, they have come a long ways with impeller & inner housing designs to prevent cavitation. Todays high volume pumps are of excellent quality & really don't experience that flaw anymore. Actually, they are excellent when using under drive pulleys.
Thermostat... The thermostat opens when engine coolant temp gets to a certain temp, and allows circulation. As long as temp is above the rating of the thermostat, it should stay open. IF coolant is travelling too fast, it does not have a chance to cool off while in the radiator. It happened with this motor. A restrictor in the hose solved the problem.
2 very interesting points. The 86gt I am parting out has a hi flow water pump on it. The car has a stock radiator. The damn thing has NOT been able to warm up at all!!! It never hits the first white line. When I install it in the mav, I will likely install a higher temp thermo, that should solve that, and if I have the opposite prob such as lilredtoy stated, I will put the restrictor in. Speaking from experience, the hi flow radiator works great!!!!!
I run a 2 core stock rad with mine using a 195 thermostat and one of those plastic flex fans and have no cooling problems . I used one of those steel and aluminum finned ones too but they blow up after a while ( had 2 do this ) At the track I used to run just a normal 14 inch flexalite electric which worked well . Then again ....I live in Canada and it doesnt get as hot here as down there .........especially at night
The point in my first post was, we started with a good running stock system (2 core radiator, shroud, stock flex fan, and stock pump) We up graded to the three core radiator while we changed to a 4v manifold and carb, headers, manual trans and the A/C working, whith no cooling problems. Then we built the new motor and all I added was the high volume water pump to the system. We still have had no cooling problems, the new motor has dynoed at 337 Hp and 329 Tq. weather it's driving to Indiana with 500 break in miles on the new motor in the middle of summer (4000 miles round trip) or at route 66 cruise/show (3 hours for 3 miles) we have had no cooling problems and the systems basicly stock except for the pump. I have a 16" eletric fan to put on but, the system works so good I don't want to mess it up. I believe David it trying to get a feel of what other poeple are running so he can make an informed desision on where to start with on his new motor. Now back to the "P" contest, the thermostat that I put in is a high flow 180 degree that is considerably smaller than the hose or the manifold wide open. So I would think it would restric the flow but, I could be wrong
Thanks that is exactly what I wanted. LOL not to say all the other info is not good but I was wondering if I will have a problem keeping mine cool. The only thing is I am still wondering about the tranny cooler.
Keeping an engine at, or near, normal operating temperature is important for proper performance. While it is less necessary for earlier non-computer controlled engines, all engines are engineered to run within a certain temperature range. Running an engine too cool will affect performance and mileage. Yes, too hot is much worse, but too cool is not exactly desirable either. As to the transmission cooler, I run one on my Cherokee because I occassionally tow with it. The leading cause of automatic transmission failure is heat. Manual clutches don't like excessive heat either. Even if you don't overstress your transmission like by racing the car, a cooler will significantly extend the life as a properly placed cooler can reduce transmission internal temperatures up to 30% especially in situations like urban driving which is the toughest on a car. The best place to position a cooler is right in front of the radiator where air flow is the best. This is where you can get the 30% gain in temperature reduction. Placing one inside the engine compartment reduces your cooling efficiency up to 20% below any gains you get from the cooler itself. As inexpensive as coolers are and how easy they are to install, just splicing them in your return line to the radiator, they are cheap and good transmission insurance.
Here's the list New 5.0 block from summit, Edelbrock RPM heads (1.90/1.60), TRW forged pistons L2488f 10/1, Speed Pro Moly rings, stock 5.09 rods, stock .010/.010 crank, Edelbrock timing chain, E-303 Cam, stock 5.0 lifters H locks and spider, comp cams harden push rods, Crane 1.6 roller rockers, milidon HV water pump, Melling HV oil pump, Edelbrock air-gap, Holley 4160 600 vac sec, Accel blue printed distibutor, MSD 6A ignition box and Blaster 2 coil, heddman 88400 shorty headers (1.5 primarys 2.5 collector), 2.5 dual exhaust with cross over and Hooker arrow chamber mufflers, ARP head bolts and oil pump shaft, stock 5.0 harmonic balancer, Ford Racing steel billet flywheel, and a Ford racing windage tray The heads are ported intake and exhaust and match to the intake. Timing is set at 10 static and I'm not sure what total advance is, I just put in new spings yesterday and haven't checked it yet. Carb jetting is 65 main jet, 6.5 hg power valve, 69 secondary plate, yellow secondary spring, .031 accelorater pump nozzle, green pump cam (#1 hole) Pretty much box setting although I went as low as 63 on the main jet and as high as 69, 8.5 hg on the power valve, .037 on the pump nozzle, many different pump cams before getting back.
