Having engine heat issues - need advice

Discussion in 'Technical' started by mrmalina99, Jul 9, 2016.

  1. mrmalina99

    mrmalina99 Member

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    Lately I have been having heat issues while driving my car.

    My setup:
    Mostly stock 302 Auto
    Champion 3 core aluminum radiator
    Overflow reservior
    Volvo electric fan with custom shroud
    180 degree thermostat
    Bmw fan switch 195 low trigger and 210 high trigger
    Vintage air setup with 3G alt

    I was driving my car about 30 min on highway and it was about 95 degrees out, low speed on fan had been running since I left my house. Driving at 70 for about 15 min high speed of fan kicked on and shortly after that temp light came on dash. I pulled over for about 10 min and let car idle with fan on and it cooled down some. Turned of A/C and continued drive about 10 min later dash light came back on. I finished my drive through town and temps did a lot better. I don't have a actual temp gauge but I believe it is getting quite hot. I am not really sure what could be causing this. I would think with my setup car should be staying really cool. Thoughts on what could be wrong? Driving home it was 80's and dark and high speed of fan came on (210) but no dash light this time. IMO fan shouldn't even need to run at highway speeds.
     
  2. rthomas771

    rthomas771 Member

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    Running too lean...too much timing can cause high temps.
     
  3. mojo

    mojo "Everett"- Senior Citizen Supporting Member

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    My fan runs at highway speeds in 95deg temps. Your temp sender may be going/gone south. I don't have the Volvo/BMW/SAAB setup yet. I do, also have custom shroud. I have manual temp gauge , so I know actual temp continuously. Base timing on my car 6-BTC.
     
  4. Static

    Static Member

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    Possible that the lower hose is collapsing? Ive had it happen with other vehicles. Is that an issue with these cars?
     
  5. dan gregory

    dan gregory Member

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    Make sure you have a good water pump,maybe one with higher flow will help.
     
  6. mrmalina99

    mrmalina99 Member

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    I was concerned with that too so I have the spring in the lower hose, I don't think it can collapse with that.

    What do you mean by a good pump? Its the stock equivalent pump, I changed it about 3 years ago.
     
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  7. 71gold

    71gold Frank Cooper Supporting Member

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    "Volvo electric fan with custom shroud".
    why did you need a custom shroud with the fan? got a pic. of this setup?
     
  8. mrmalina99

    mrmalina99 Member

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    Fan would not clear water pump pulley with Volvo shroud, so I had to make one low profile and off center.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  9. groberts101

    groberts101 Member

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    If the efan is running while you're driving into 70 mph wind ramming its way into the engine bay?.. you have something very off. Heavily retarded timing can also cause this issue too. Have you ever dialed in this tune with a timing light and vacuum gauge?

    Also be sure to have the vacuum advance canister on the distributor connected to FULL manifold vacuum.. NOT ported source on the carb. Won't make much difference at the highway cruising speeds you're talking about here.. but it will most definitely help add more timing lead during idle and very light throttle angles where the ported source hasn't kicked in yet.

    PS.. doubtful that it's all the issue you're seeing here.. but that shroud is pretty shallow(creating dead/reduced flow regions) and could create a damming affect which reduces total cfm past the full core area of the rad at higher speeds. Remember that air doesn't really like to turn that quickly and prefers smoother transitions when at all possible. That could stifle flow enough through that too small hole to require the efans assistance to pass enough air past the core. An easy test would be to temporarily delete it to see if the added airflow past the core at highway speeds cures some of the issue.
     
  10. 71gold

    71gold Frank Cooper Supporting Member

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    that looks like the same shroud that came with my fan.
     

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  11. Hotrock

    Hotrock Rick, an MCCI Member Supporting Member

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    How long has your Maverick been operating with the setup you described? If your cooling system has worked fine in the past, that means to me something has recently failed. If so, you may have an issue as simple as a thermostat malfunctioning.
     
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  12. mrmalina99

    mrmalina99 Member

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    Its very close but I had to make one because I needed my fan off center and not in middle.

    It has has this setup since last June, I do not remember any issue until around last October. It does ok around town and at lower speeds but gets really unhappy doing fast driving or long distances.
     
  13. bmcdaniel

    bmcdaniel Senile Member

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    Do you have to crank it? LOL
     
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  14. NCFatBoy

    NCFatBoy Member

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    I'm not sure who, but someone on this forum posted that 3-rows require more airflow and that 2-row is plenty. I assume the coolant level has been checked?
     
  15. mrmalina99

    mrmalina99 Member

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    Coolant levels are good. I think this fan could suck a small animal though radiator.
     
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