air dam/ overheating while driving

[ccobra70 10]

my car keeps overheating while driving, at idle it will cool back down, I posted on another stang forum and general idea is the radiator is just sitting out in the middle of nowhere and all the air is going around it,they are telling me it needs an airdam to direct the air into the rad. has anyone had this prob. I am thinking the rad. is to small for the 427w

[ccobra70 10]

my car keeps overheating while driving, at idle it will cool back down, I posted on another stang forum and general idea is the radiator is just sitting out in the middle of nowhere and all the air is going around it,they are telling me it needs an airdam to direct the air into the rad. has anyone had this prob. I am thinking the rad. is to small for the 427w

[jkskinsfan 19]

Have you checked the Thermostat? It might sound funny, but if it's stuck OPEN the coolant will go through the Radiator so fast that it won't have time to cool.

[jkskinsfan 19]

Have you checked the Thermostat? It might sound funny, but if it's stuck OPEN the coolant will go through the Radiator so fast that it won't have time to cool.

[MikeStang 247]

I would check the thermostat as mentioned above.

What type of water pump are you running? Any chance it could be cavatating? if its one of those cheep ass stamped steel impellers on the pump, dump it and locate one with a cast iron impeller, they always seem to work better in my past experiences.

I dont think the radiator is sitting out in the middle of NO WHERE...its sitting in the hole its intended to sit in...NOW that being said, maybe you should seal the face of the radiatior off around the area where it contacts the radiator support. BAsically just take some of that thick foam tape and stick it around the radiator support where the radiator contacts the support then install the radiator, giving it a nice flush sealed fit.....basically all your doing it stopping air from slipping out from between the support and the radiator before it has the chance of going through the radiator. try this and if it helps/works then work on making it all pretty... You know that some times they say if you have too much fan blocking the rear of the radiator it wil cause the same problem your having.

I had a car with an electric fan that would run cool as can be while your idling, but when you put it on the interstate it would overheat...i never really figured out what it was till i put the clutch fan back on it and it solved the problem....I then read some where that basically sometime having an elec fan running all the time going down the road will actually reduce flow due to the shrouding and lack of fan speed, leading to overheating.......can you take off the electric fans and put a clutch or direct drive fan? Just making suggestions here, not saying anything your doing is wrong, these are just some of the ways i would approach it if it were my car.

Oh if you decide the radiator fan set up aint big enough i will take it off your hands, im sure it would more than cool my wimpy 351 :)

Mike

[MikeStang 247]

I would check the thermostat as mentioned above.

What type of water pump are you running? Any chance it could be cavatating? if its one of those cheep ass stamped steel impellers on the pump, dump it and locate one with a cast iron impeller, they always seem to work better in my past experiences.

I dont think the radiator is sitting out in the middle of NO WHERE...its sitting in the hole its intended to sit in...NOW that being said, maybe you should seal the face of the radiatior off around the area where it contacts the radiator support. BAsically just take some of that thick foam tape and stick it around the radiator support where the radiator contacts the support then install the radiator, giving it a nice flush sealed fit.....basically all your doing it stopping air from slipping out from between the support and the radiator before it has the chance of going through the radiator. try this and if it helps/works then work on making it all pretty... You know that some times they say if you have too much fan blocking the rear of the radiator it wil cause the same problem your having.

I had a car with an electric fan that would run cool as can be while your idling, but when you put it on the interstate it would overheat...i never really figured out what it was till i put the clutch fan back on it and it solved the problem....I then read some where that basically sometime having an elec fan running all the time going down the road will actually reduce flow due to the shrouding and lack of fan speed, leading to overheating.......can you take off the electric fans and put a clutch or direct drive fan? Just making suggestions here, not saying anything your doing is wrong, these are just some of the ways i would approach it if it were my car.

Oh if you decide the radiator fan set up aint big enough i will take it off your hands, im sure it would more than cool my wimpy 351 :)

Mike

[MikeStang 247]

Oh forgot to ask,

What kind of serp belt set up is that ?>

I like the looks of it.

Wondering if that may be contributing to the heatng problem? driving the pump too fast or too slow maybe?

Mike

[MikeStang 247]

Oh forgot to ask,

What kind of serp belt set up is that ?>

I like the looks of it.

Wondering if that may be contributing to the heatng problem? driving the pump too fast or too slow maybe?

Mike

[70Mach03 12]

A shot in the dark but make sure your lower radiator hose is not collapsing at highway speed. Most had a spring in the hose to keep it from collapsing but many get thrown out when the hose is replaced. Squeeze the lower hose to see how easy it is to collapse. If it squeezes easily, there's a good chance it's collapsing at highway speeds because of the vacuum being pulled through by the water pump.

[70Mach03 12]

A shot in the dark but make sure your lower radiator hose is not collapsing at highway speed. Most had a spring in the hose to keep it from collapsing but many get thrown out when the hose is replaced. Squeeze the lower hose to see how easy it is to collapse. If it squeezes easily, there's a good chance it's collapsing at highway speeds because of the vacuum being pulled through by the water pump.

[Cornerstone 15]

A shot in the dark but make sure your lower radiator hose is not collapsing at highway speed. Most had a spring in the hose to keep it from collapsing but many get thrown out when the hose is replaced. Squeeze the lower hose to see how easy it is to collapse. If it squeezes easily, there's a good chance it's collapsing at highway speeds because of the vacuum being pulled through by the water pump.

 

I had this happen to me ..... Check it out and make sure that spring is in there, I guess mine was an aftermarket part because I was able to find another one with the spring and that solved it!

[Cornerstone 15]

A shot in the dark but make sure your lower radiator hose is not collapsing at highway speed. Most had a spring in the hose to keep it from collapsing but many get thrown out when the hose is replaced. Squeeze the lower hose to see how easy it is to collapse. If it squeezes easily, there's a good chance it's collapsing at highway speeds because of the vacuum being pulled through by the water pump.

 

I had this happen to me ..... Check it out and make sure that spring is in there, I guess mine was an aftermarket part because I was able to find another one with the spring and that solved it!

[Hoover 12]

Two ideas come to mind. Do you the right PSI on the radiator cap? The second one is do you have an overflow bottle or container hooked up to the overflow tube?

[Hoover 12]

Two ideas come to mind. Do you the right PSI on the radiator cap? The second one is do you have an overflow bottle or container hooked up to the overflow tube?

[miketyler 15]

When I bought my BeCool radiator they included some simple instructions that I think are pertinent. According to them overheating at idle is an air flow problem. Overheating at speed is a water flow problem.

[miketyler 15]

When I bought my BeCool radiator they included some simple instructions that I think are pertinent. According to them overheating at idle is an air flow problem. Overheating at speed is a water flow problem.

[Desert_69 11]

I had this happen to me ..... Check it out and make sure that spring is in there, I guess mine was an aftermarket part because I was able to find another one with the spring and that solved it!

 

I went to 2 local parts stores and they both told me that nobody reproduces lower hoses with springs due to rust issues:huh: Where can the springs be purchased?

[Desert_69 11]

I had this happen to me ..... Check it out and make sure that spring is in there, I guess mine was an aftermarket part because I was able to find another one with the spring and that solved it!

 

I went to 2 local parts stores and they both told me that nobody reproduces lower hoses with springs due to rust issues:huh: Where can the springs be purchased?

[ccobra70 10]

Thanks for all the responses, its a sn 95 mustang 5.0 front setup with a stock sn water pump, everything is new, pretty sure the lower hose is not collapsing but ill check, does not have a overflow just runs on ground but never have seen it run out, I think what ill do it put a new t-stat and run a little less anti-freeze Im told water is what cools the anti-freeze is just that plus corrosion inhibitor, I might run some 40 below or watter wetter as well, then try and get a little more air flow. It dosent over heat every time just very hot days the most it got up to was 210 but I just dont like it like that, that was about 45 min. of constant driving. thanks again and ill post my findings.

[ccobra70 10]

Thanks for all the responses, its a sn 95 mustang 5.0 front setup with a stock sn water pump, everything is new, pretty sure the lower hose is not collapsing but ill check, does not have a overflow just runs on ground but never have seen it run out, I think what ill do it put a new t-stat and run a little less anti-freeze Im told water is what cools the anti-freeze is just that plus corrosion inhibitor, I might run some 40 below or watter wetter as well, then try and get a little more air flow. It dosent over heat every time just very hot days the most it got up to was 210 but I just dont like it like that, that was about 45 min. of constant driving. thanks again and ill post my findings.

[ForceFed70 14]

I also think that you need to look at water flow issues. Lower hose collapsing would be my starting point as well.

 

The wire can go on the outside of the hose, so rust shouldn't be an issue. Even just some good quality hoses can help as the cheap ones tend to get too soft when hot.

[ForceFed70 14]

I also think that you need to look at water flow issues. Lower hose collapsing would be my starting point as well.

 

The wire can go on the outside of the hose, so rust shouldn't be an issue. Even just some good quality hoses can help as the cheap ones tend to get too soft when hot.

[Max Power 74]

When I bought my BeCool radiator they included some simple instructions that I think are pertinent. According to them overheating at idle is an air flow problem. Overheating at speed is a water flow problem.

 

 

This is a beautiful way to phrase it.

[Max Power 74]

When I bought my BeCool radiator they included some simple instructions that I think are pertinent. According to them overheating at idle is an air flow problem. Overheating at speed is a water flow problem.

 

 

This is a beautiful way to phrase it.

[DarkBuddha 107]

About the airdam thing... you don't wanna direct air into the radiator (it should be getting plenty through the grille), but rather, you need an airdam to direct air out of the radiator. Essentially, at highway speeds, air can get stuck in the engine compartment, functionally blocking air flow through the radiator. One solution is to put a 2 or 3" airdam at the base of the radiator support to create a low pressure area at the bottom of the engine compartment, thus giving the air a place to go. You can find 'em on almost any car built since the mid '70s, so go pull one at the pull-a-part yard or make one out of some fairly stiff plastic (something stronger than the usual garden barrier crap).

 

Hope this helps.