Cooling system revamp.

Totalled · Jul 19, 2007

I found some 1/4" rubber biscuits to space the back of the hood up and let the hot air out.

Changed the angle of the dangle of my radiator by moving the lower mounts forward. I now have the same amount of room at the water pump and crank pulleys.

I can now fit the electric fan I've been using as a pusher the the back of the rad to use as a puller, I can also fit this 18" fan from my F-100 in as a mechanical puller.. The mechanical fan moves an assload of air, but it also sticks about 3" above the radiator core. It however has more clearance installed then the electric.... The electric seems to move more air at idle, but gets blown away by the mechanical as soon as you give the motor some throttle. Thoughts?

I'm hoping that not having the fan on front of the rad will cure the slow heat up it does on the freeway... since most of the core won't be blocked off anymore.

I'm tying this out with the old rad to see if moving the fan alone is the biggest improvement. I'll put the new, larger rad in a little later since it's gonna take some fab.

So what do you guys think? Electric, fixed mechanical, or flex fan?

NotMatt · Jul 19, 2007

I would try the electric as a puller first and see how that works, like you said it will unblock a lot of that core and expose it to airflow, which is one thing you have plenty of at highway speeds... but if the problem is slow heat build-up at highway speeds and more core exposure doesn't help, you probably need a new/bigger radiator, IMO.

Not Jobless · Jul 19, 2007

Flex fans suck and pusher fans are less than half as efficient as a puller.

briejer · Jul 19, 2007

You need a fan shroud. Without it, you are sucking air in from the side, not drawing it through the radiator.

CrustyJeep · Jul 19, 2007

Clutch fan. Those fawkers move serious air, but they're not annoyingly loud unless the coolant temp gets a little high. Screw the electric.

Go hit the PaP and find a suitable clutch fan with nice short blades to match your radiator.

Oops, forgot. Flex fans are the uber :rb:.

Totalled · Jul 21, 2007

This is what I ended up with:

16" fan from pick a part. I'll see how this does and work in a shroud after I get the new rad in.

Binder · Jul 21, 2007

You'll probably need to use a shroud with a mechanical fan.....

Totalled · Jul 23, 2007

Flogged it pretty good on the freeway to/from my mom's and sat at a few lights in Lacey.. never got over 200 and ran 195 most of the time. :cheer:

We'll see how it does at Evans on Sunday.

Yes, I plan on a shroud.

wheelinjp · Jul 23, 2007

I can tell you of the cheapest, and best way to cool that rig. taurus 3.8 2speed puller fan. kept my 400-plus sbc cool no problem. There are a few write ups on pirate. I have one left, but you can find them at pull a part for 16-20 bucks. They come in the 3.8l v6 taurus. It takes a 50a relay but is worth it trust me, cooling issue solved. Alot of people wire them up on a temp sensor to kick on and off automatically. Keep in mind most r-i rigs like it around 190-210 belive it or not, but I dont know if your swap is injected. My tbi sbc in my jeep loved to run at 200 all day.