cooling the engine down

[miketyler]

As you know I converted my 340 over to dual fan electric cooling. Seems to do ok I suppose and the needle doesn't come up much above horizontal. I am thinking the AC will add additional load and put it on the hot side of things.

How about removing the t-stat? I have heard two schools of thought, the first being it cools better with no flow restrictions and the second that the water flows so fast that it doesnt spend enough time in the radiator to drop temp and the end result is an engine that actually runs hotter.

I have put water wetter in already, will I see an improvement pulling the t-stat?       

[Carlwalski]

A/C does the opposite, it helps your engine keep cool. I have a dual electric fan set up on the Cuda but am removing them for a viscous fan kit but am getting a single fan for the front of the radiator. It's on switch.
The viscous fan will keep things cool but if I'm in heavy traffic a flick of the switch will bring the electric fan into play.


 

[GoodysGotaCuda]

It will be worse pulling the t-stat. Doesnt spend enough time in the radiator and doesnt cool as well. Been there, done that. I'd run a 180*.

[70challengerrt]

In the past on crap vehicles I pulled the thermostat and put in a big washer and drilled the hole to about 5/8 or 3/4. It works but don't know if you want to try it on you car. Around here you can get a universal aluminum radiator for about $175 add some brackets and your good to go.

[moparnut]

A/C does the opposite, it helps your engine keep cool. I have a dual electric fan set up on the Cuda but am removing them for a viscous fan kit but am getting a single fan for the front of the radiator. It's on switch.
The viscous fan will keep things cool but if I'm in heavy traffic a flick of the switch will bring the electric fan into play.


 

Not to argue with you NZ but how would an A/c keep the car cooler?I think you are confusing keeping the inside cooler not the engine,lol.The A/C compressor puts an extra load on the engine causing it to run hotter.And the A/C condensor blocks air movement in front of the radiator.The trick that has worked for me and many other old school hot rodders is drill qty 2 1/8" hole in the thermo,sounds funny but it does work and I have done it on every classic I have owned.Pulling the thermo will run cooler for shorts periods and then heat up and you wont be able to cool it back down.

[miketyler]

He probably means his pusher fan is activated by the AC switch. I don't think I've ever seen one run cooler with the AC on though. Maybe in an extreme case, you might realize some additional cooling running the heater.

[Carlwalski]

Not to argue with you NZ but how would an A/c keep the car cooler?I think you are confusing keeping the inside cooler not the engine,lol.The A/C compressor puts an extra load on the engine causing it to run hotter.And the A/C condensor blocks air movement in front of the radiator.The trick that has worked for me and many other old school hot rodders is drill qty 2 1/8" hole in the thermo,sounds funny but it does work and I have done it on every classic I have owned.Pulling the thermo will run cooler for shorts periods and then heat up and you wont be able to cool it back down.

From what I've been told the A/C unit extracts heat from your engine. A few drag races use it turned up on high + heat to help their engines out. Not sure how much it does help but it helps.

I'll try and find some info on what I'm trying to explain. Something to do with the water pump and pipes. 

[fantum]

One of the things I tried, with success was removing the thermostat from the ring that holds in the housing, then putting the ring back in the housing.  As a result you have a free flowing portal with some restriction that allows the radiator to do it's job.  I was in the Army at the time and lived in Miami, Florida and El Paso, Texas and had no troubles at all (on my 340 Cuda with air conditioning).  The only draw back was that the car heater wasn't as effective in the winter time.

It seems a lot of people have tried a variety of methods to resolve this issue with success.  I believe one of the methods suggested above should help with your concerns.  Just my 

fantum

[67Vette427]

Once you pull the thermostat it will take a long time for your car to warm up to a desired temperature. If you're having overheating problems, unless the thermostat is not opening or blocking the coolant, it won't be the cure you're looking for. If you understand how AC works its easy to see how it can make your car over heat. Like the previous reply said, you have the condenser in front of the radiator and once you engage the compressor, you've put more of a load on the engine. That in itself at idle will increase the chance of overheating. I'd look at the radiator, possibly enlarging it and/or getting more air through it. With my Corvette it will overheat at idle for prolonged periods due to its compression ratio (11-1) so I always run the electric fans with the engine fan and I run the large "Be Cool" radiator. If I'm really going to be stuck at a crawl or idle for a long time I'll even turn the heater on because that little heater core is just like another radiator with the car fan blowing cooler air through it. The things you put up with for horsepower   Are you running a 22" radiator or a 26" ?

[Robb]

http://aarc.epnet.com/application/8852/8852CH10_How_the_Air_Conditioner_Works.htm

In the real world it adds chances to your motor being even hotter, when you run the A/C

and as mentioned if you run the Heater on high, it will help cool your engine as a second radiator, but then you gotta suffer obviously, as that heat blows on you.

------------------

Miketyler:

Do you have a good fan shroud ?

[miketyler]

Yes, am running a 26" with dual electric fans from a Contour Mystique. This system has its own shroud which covers most of the affective area of the stock 26" radiatior. I don't have much road time on her but from putting around the neighborhood in OAT's around 95+ and such I would like to see the temps cooler.  My electric thermostat is adjustable. Its the type with the sense bulb that inserts into the radiator hose. It has provision for AC that will kick both fans on as soon as the AC is activated.  My AC system needs a little finish work and will be ready to charge this week. Am pretty sure I am going to have an overtemp problem. Do the aluminum radiators cool that much better than the old style?

 

[moparnut]

Personally I would never rely on electric fans only,I have always had both in the event that one fails I still have cooling.Any car I have New or old always gets an electric fan and temp adj switch on the front of the radiator.It also make the A/C work mucho better in the 100 plus heat where i live.

[miketyler]

Personally I would never rely on electric fans only,I have always had both in the event that one fails I still have cooling

Yes, dual systems is a good design for sure. These days though electric cooling is used a lot. My Lexus however has neither. It uses a hydraulic motor that runs the fan. No wires at all. It has its own pump, reservoir and fluid lines. Pretty slick.

....unless the hydraulics fail 

Looking back, I was thinking that extending the shroud to capture the lower two inches of radiator might not have been a good idea. Maybe should have left unshrouded for free air flow?   

[moparnut]

Yes, dual systems is a good design for sure. These days though electric cooling is used a lot. My Lexus however has neither. It uses a hydraulic motor that runs the fan. No wires at all. It has its own pump, reservoir and fluid lines. Pretty slick.

....unless the hydraulics fail 

Looking back, I was thinking that extending the shroud to capture the lower two inches of radiator might not have been a good idea. Maybe should have left unshrouded for free air flow?   

The shroud is only to channel the air for the clutch fan,if you are not using the clutch fan is not needed.By your pic the electric fans have their own shroud,I would just make sure there are no big gaps between your E fan setup and the radiator so the air travels completely thru the Rad.There has been extensive discussions on this subject on another message board I am on for Ford Powerstroke Diesels with the best mechanics in our country.www.dieselstop.com.(do a search under ford powerstrokes aftermarket cooling or something like that)People were trying to get some extra HP's by elimininating the clutch fan and going with electric.All the user conclusions(at least for deisels,which i would believe apply to any engine)was you cant get near enough CFM thru an electric fan like the clutch fan,which personally with my many years of building off road rock crawlers I have determined the same conclusion,thats why I will never use anything but the clutch with an electric.

[moparnut]

Now that my memory is being refreshed the reason why the eleictric fan can never pull the CFM's of an engine fan was the electric motor would have to be much bigger than would fit on the Rad to turn the fan with a blade pitch of you stock fan,it just cant do it.