Hello Everybody, I have a 73 Maverick with a built-up 302 in it with an overheating problem. the first thing we did was to install a 16" electric fan with a 180 degree thermostat. After installing the fan, the temperature didn't improve compared to the mechanical fan. I am wondering if you guys could help me find a solution to this problem. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Ford Guy
check the thermostat.. just because its new, doesnt mean it isnt working.. i went through 4 until the last one wasnt defective. did you recently do anyhting to change the car around? heads work, clock work.. etc.. that may have changed the way the engine cools also .. check to see if the fan is pushing or pulling.. is it mounted in front of of behind the radiator. also.. when was the last time the radiator was flushed.. it might need a flushing.. change the coolant etc you also could have a blown head gasket that is causing the water to heat up what temps is it running? does driving it down the road cool it off.. does it heat up sitting in traffic.. does it matter if it is hot out or does it do it when its cool outside as well
1) Thermostat 2) Incorrect timing 3) Bad water pump 4) Blown head gasket 5) New Head gasket installed backwards
The fan is mounted on the inside of the radiator and it is pulling the air through. It would heat up to almost 200 degrees while sitting. It would cool off as we were driving around 50 miles per hour. It was cool out when we were driving, around 60 degrees.
I know the thermostat is opening because the thmperature will hold steady at around 180 before heating back up again, which is where the thermostat is set at.
Are you running a 3 core Radiator? When I changed my grabber over to a V8 the books said the 2 core would work. It did not!!! Got hot FAST!!! 3 core fixed all the heat up issues. Now it runs cool as could be. Just something to think about, Jerryfow2
If it only overheats while idling ... you need a fan shroud. If yiou car was converted to a V8 ... make sure you have the right water pump pulley ... too big and it will turn too slow ...
200 isnt that bad.. but it is a little high.. i would check the radiator out.. have it tested and flushed at a radiator shop.. you can always get an aluminum from summit for about $189...
does your electric fan have a thermo probe...mine did and it was a fixed 210 degree...i did away with it and now i am down to 180-185 degrees. ......
make sure the radiator cap is holding pressure. a lot of garages can check this for you. there is a pressure checking tool. had that happen to me once, just as you described.
Thanks for all of your help everybody, I just purchased an aluminum radiator from Jeg's. Hopefully it will solve this problem. But I still have one more question: is it better to mount the fan on the outside pushing air through or inside and pulling air through? Thanks, Ford Guy
Hope the new rad helps. For future reference, a soft lower rad hose will heat the car up too. Only when driving though. Alot of folks overlook the lower hose, if it doesn't have a spring, it will suck shut while driving when it gets soft. A 160 stat wouldn't hurt anything either. Good luck Dave
It will...promise Depends on the fan and what kind of room you have in front of or behind the radiator. Some fans are made to go one way or the other, but can be wired to go reverse. They may run really loud or be less efficient if run backwards. Some are labeled to run either way and the blades are made to be efficient either way. I installed my radiator about an inch further forward in the radiator mounting area, and installed the fan pulling in the extra space I freed up. Also, may as well spend a couple bucks for a thermostatic fan switch so the fan only runs when the engine is hot. Mine ran all the time, and in the winter, it would never get above 160. In the summer, it would get to 185, but took almost 20 minutes to get there if I was driving. A little quicker if idling while sitting still. Now, it heats up to 195 quickly, then the fan kicks on and cools down to 175, and repeats as necessary. When driving the fan is off more than it is on... The first fan was a puller, but I installed it on my old radiator as a pusher, and it sounded like an airplane was coming (moved air alright, just very loud, much louder than my fuel pump, louder even than the 302!!! You could hear the fan coming before you could hear the car!!!). Also, it burned up within a couple of weeks, so it apparently was not designed to be a pusher. I ran if for a while as a puller first, and it was silent and ran fine for a couple of weeks.
