Radiator inlet and outlet

[Shep69 149]

My 69 with factory AC has the larger 24 inch BB radiator fitted but one thing I’ve noticed is that the inlet and outlet hoses are on the same side . I’m assuming these are are single pass radiator so having the hoses on the same side would this have any effect on cooling . 

Would it be any benefit to swap the outlet to the other side and get a new water pump with the outlet to suit.

 

[barnett468 418]

There will only be a small gain from having a "cross flow" rad, and if your car runs hot now, a cross flow of the same exact spec will not cool it.

Does it run hot now?

[Shep69 149]

Yeah Barnett it’s on the warm side with the AC on in traffic now that it’s starting to warm up here down under. Got to just about 220 . 

I had the radiator out a few years back and cleaned out and repaired a crack in the bottom tank. 

Also changed out the original Ac fan with twin thermo fans during the winter to see how it would go this summer. 

I just thought that having both inlet and outlet hoses on the same side might be also not helping. I wasn’t going to put a cross flow radiator in but just toying with the idea of moving the outlet to the other side . I thought this may help with the cooling . 

[barnett468 418]

1 hour ago, Shep69 said:

Yeah Barnett it’s on the warm side with the AC on in traffic now that it’s starting to warm up here down under. Got to just about 220 . 

I had the radiator out a few years back and cleaned out and repaired a crack in the bottom tank. 

Also changed out the original Ac fan with twin thermo fans during the winter to see how it would go this summer. 

I just thought that having both inlet and outlet hoses on the same side might be also not helping. I wasn’t going to put a cross flow radiator in but just toying with the idea of moving the outlet to the other side . I thought this may help with the cooling . 

1. How hot was the outdoor temp when it got to 220?

2. What did it cool down to once you were going faster?

3. How long did it take to cool down?

4. Exactly what electric fans did you install?

5. What engine do you have?

6. Do you know how far it is bored?

7. How many rows deep is your rad?

8. What temp is your thermostat?

[Shep69 149]

50 minutes ago, barnett468 said:

1. How hot was the outdoor temp when it got to 220?

2. What did it cool down to once you were going faster?

3. How long did it take to cool down?

4. Exactly what electric fans did you install?

5. What engine do you have?

6. Do you know how far it is bored?

7. How many rows deep is your rad?

8. What temp is your thermostat?

1 - around 30deg C 

2 - Didn’t really get a chance to test that out

3 - I just shut it down 

4. - twin thermo Ford style that are a perfect fit. 

5 - 351w with AC Iron heads

6 - unknown but Im thinking it’s standard as it’s got the standard style dished pistons .

7 - 3 core radiator BB style 

8 - I tried running a 160 but I know this isn’t helping once it’s open it’s just circulating water around and around. Barney would you recommend a 190 . 

[unilec 57]

Have you measured the inlet to the radiator and the outlet, should drop about 10-15 deg F

[barnett468 418]

did you just get this car and it has been doing this since the beginning?

can you post a photo of the rad tubes from the rad cap hole?

is this a stock engine or high perf?

that rad does not flow as much air as an original used ford contour fan.

dished pistons don't mean much as far as bore size goes but it sounds so far that you have a big problem and it might be bored .040" or ,060". either way, you may very well end up spending around $800.00 us to get it to cool properly.

a 180 t stat is all you need when the cooling system is sufficient. i doubt a 190 will help much but that is a cheap, easy place to start.

 

 

[Dave R. 85]

Was the single fan that you removed the correct fan and clutch and shroud set-up? The right parts there should cool sufficiently if the motor is stock or near stock. My '69 CobraJet is .030 overbored and the stock system keeps it cool. Mine is non-a/c but these systems were functional as designed. Over the years a lot of our cars have had "improvements" made to them by previous owners. Removing shrouds or wrong shrouds, flex type fans, etc. has taken place at the hands of someone that was trying fix a problem. Sometimes, starting with the basics helps.   Dave R.

[Shep69 149]

14 hours ago, unilec said:

Have you measured the inlet to the radiator and the outlet, should drop about 10-15 deg F

I will have a look on my next break Neil . 

[Shep69 149]

45 minutes ago, Dave R. said:

Was the single fan that you removed the correct fan and clutch and shroud set-up? The right parts there should cool sufficiently if the motor is stock or near stock. My '69 CobraJet is .030 overbored and the stock system keeps it cool. Mine is non-a/c but these systems were functional as designed. Over the years a lot of our cars have had "improvements" made to them by previous owners. Removing shrouds or wrong shrouds, flex type fans, etc. has taken place at the hands of someone that was trying fix a problem. Sometimes, starting with the basics helps.   Dave R.

Cheers Dave . 

Yes the original fan and shroud was correct . I was just wondering about the radiator having the inlet and outlet hoses on the same side .  Plus running the AC isn’t helping . 

[Shep69 149]

13 hours ago, barnett468 said:

did you just get this car and it has been doing this since the beginning?

can you post a photo of the rad tubes from the rad cap hole?

is this a stock engine or high perf?

that rad does not flow as much air as an original used ford contour fan.

dished pistons don't mean much as far as bore size goes but it sounds so far that you have a big problem and it might be bored .040" or ,060". either way, you may very well end up spending around $800.00 us to get it to cool properly.

a 180 t stat is all you need when the cooling system is sufficient. i doubt a 190 will help much but that is a cheap, easy place to start.

 

 

Hi Barney,

Ive only really noticed it since installing the new AC components. It was factory AC but the previous owner removed all the under hood parts. 

Its pretty much stock as far as I can tell.

i will try and get a photo next break  of the radiator tubes when I install a new thermostat. 

[barnett468 418]

if it runs cool on the highway at the same outdoor temp, your rad is big enough and it is mainly an air flow issue, but since you have electric fans, its hard to tell. factory fans will work better but they will probably not work better enough that they will fix the problem, so you may also need to try a high flow water pump and a brass milodon t stat.

also, if your ignition timing is not set to the optimum level, it can cause the engine to run hotter than it otherwise would.

 

[Shep69 149]

53 minutes ago, barnett468 said:

if it runs cool on the highway at the same outdoor temp, your rad is big enough and it is mainly an air flow issue, but since you have electric fans, its hard to tell. factory fans will work better but they will probably not work better enough that they will fix the problem, so you may also need to try a high flow water pump and a brass milodon t stat.

also, if your ignition timing is not set to the optimum level, it can cause the engine to run hotter than it otherwise would.

 

Ok cheers for the advice Barney.

I did start playing with the timing to see if that would have any affect. I’m running an msd pro billit non vac advance distributor. Also running 98 octane fuel . I can’t get the motor to ping if I advance it . Even had it at 18 deg and still no ping. Any advice on what’s a good baseline to start. I with thinking 12/14 deg. 

[barnett468 418]

1 hour ago, Shep69 said:

Ok cheers for the advice Barney.

I did start playing with the timing to see if that would have any affect. I’m running an msd pro billit non vac advance distributor. Also running 98 octane fuel . I can’t get the motor to ping if I advance it . Even had it at 18 deg and still no ping. Any advice on what’s a good baseline to start. I with thinking 12/14 deg. 

It either doesn't ping because it is a low compression engine or the total amount of advance is too low for it to ping. on the average, 32 degrees of total advance is common.

I wrote the following for people to use as a guide to check the initial timing and timing curve.

Disconnect and plug the vacuum hoses to the dist if you have any.

Start your timing at 8 degrees BTDC.

With the engine idling, advance the timing 4 degrees . Listen for an increase in rpm and irregular/rough running.

If the rpm increases and it still runs smoothly, reset the idle speed then increase the timing 2 more degrees and check for the same things.

Retard the timing to 8 degrees.

Reset the idle speed.

Increase the rpm to around 2000 and  advance the timing 4 degrees . Listen for an increase in rpm and irregular/rough running.

If the rpm increases and it still runs smoothly, reset the engine speed to 2000 rpm then increase the timing 2 more degrees and check for the same things.

POST RESULTS

 

[unilec 57]

Mark I see you have a Tefba filter, mine came with a fine filter and a coarse one, did you change to the course filter, also it may be blocked as well restricting flow.

[Shep69 149]

7 hours ago, unilec said:

Mark I see you have a Tefba filter, mine came with a fine filter and a coarse one, did you change to the course filter, also it may be blocked as well restricting flow.

Yeah Neil it came with both . I’ve checked it and it’s pretty clean with just a few bits stuck to the magnet. I’m pretty sure my instructions said use the coarse one first and then change to the fine filter . 

[unilec 57]

22 minutes ago, Shep69 said:

Yeah Neil it came with both . I’ve checked it and it’s pretty clean with just a few bits stuck to the magnet. I’m pretty sure my instructions said use the coarse one first and then change to the fine filter . 

Yes your right, got them around the wrong way. ;-)

[bigmal 225]

Hi mate, I just saw the picture of your thermos fan setup. I recently installed the same fans and had an immediate rise in temps although not over the top. I also found that on the highway the temps would creep up. I had to go back to the original 6 blade flex fan and shroud. Temps back to normal.

[Shep69 149]

On 12/6/2019 at 3:14 AM, bigmal said:

Hi mate, I just saw the picture of your thermos fan setup. I recently installed the same fans and had an immediate rise in temps although not over the top. I also found that on the highway the temps would creep up. I had to go back to the original 6 blade flex fan and shroud. Temps back to normal.

Oh man I didn’t want to hear that but thanks Bigmal.  And they fit perfectly as well. I should have bought two Spal 12 inch fans and fabbed up a shroud. Damn .

My motor was getting hot with the standard fan and cowl also in traffic so that why I wanted to try these fans out. 

[bigmal 225]

20 hours ago, Shep69 said:

Oh man I didn’t want to hear that but thanks Bigmal.  And they fit perfectly as well. I should have bought two Spal 12 inch fans and fabbed up a shroud. Damn .

My motor was getting hot with the standard fan and cowl also in traffic so that why I wanted to try these fans out. 

On the other forum they said a BA Falcon would fit perfectly so I bought a pair. They overhang the radiator an wont clear the battery and aircond pipes so I bought the same one as you which fitted perfectly. Unfortunately just doesn’t have the flow. I may do a bit more work trying to fit the BA fans down the track but for now I’ll just stick with the flex fan.

[barnett468 418]

1 hour ago, bigmal said:

On the other forum they said a BA Falcon would fit perfectly so I bought a pair. They overhang the radiator an wont clear the battery and aircond pipes so I bought the same one as you which fitted perfectly. Unfortunately just doesn’t have the flow. I may do a bit more work trying to fit the BA fans down the track but for now I’ll just stick with the flex fan.

ford contour fans fit the 24" radiator. you can get them shipped from the us. the only other fan that might fit that will flow around as much air is a sidewinder.

https://the-fan-man.com/product/side-winder-electric-fan-kit/