OK need some help here i biult a 388 (.060 over 350 with a 400 crank) 4.06 bore and 3.75 stroke. I want to go to the next Hudge third gen meet but i need to get there with out over heating. my car will run 220 No Less while sitting and 240 on the move 245-250 on the high way. My water pump is working great. i can tell from the movment of water in the rad. i replaced my old 2 core with a 3 core upgraded rad, this made no differnce. i did not have a air damn so i got one and put it on. still has not changed a thing. both top and bottem hoses are new. No the bottem hose is not colapsing, right now there is a 165 High flow stat in it. i have also tried a 195 thinking it would hold the fluid in the rad longer... well that did not work. i have a single electric fan and before i spend 300 on double fans i want to know if you guys think the will bring the temp down...also where the two air filters use to be for the 2.8 has all been removed, so you can see the rad. from up above... is this Bad i was thinking made the air is flowing up threw that instead of threw the RAD. would running no stat be a good idea? I have a friend with a 406 running it with no stat to stay cool but he has the opasit problem from me.. his gets hot when it sits and cools when he drives he also has a flex fan on it. and i belive its just ONE big single core RAD.

i dont know give me some help guys i need to get this babey cool. people have told me its bored to big and inpossible to cool... this is not what i want to hear... there has got to be a way to cool this thing down..

P.s i have a can of 40 below in it now too... that didnt change a thing....
sorry this post is so long just wanted to make sure i included everything

 

just thought i would give you guys a pic. so you can picture it.
i have a ram air hood you would think that would help keep the engin bay cool too....?

 

wow green grass, dont get that here.

ok lets just go over what all is involved in the cooling system. the engine is not plugged up with a bunch of crap. i am guessing is was cleaned thouroughly while the engine was being machined. the thermostat is fine right? might want to try it without a thermostat, see what it does. the hoses are good and the radiator is good. so it comes down to air-flow through the radiator, nothing is in front of the radiator? maybe the condenser that is beat to **** so it doesnt flow? since the fan has nothing to do with how the vehicle cools on the highway and it overheats on the highway there is a good chance the fan isnt the main reason of overheating in city traffic. the engine running lean will cause it to overheat also. there are some things to check, but i bet you knew them all.
brady

 

well i took the condenser out. and as for tunning my car i do have it Just a tad lean.. but not enough to afect the temp. i would rather have a "clean running car than a rich smelling car" my timming is set right i do know that.. i had some one tell me that making a cover where the filters go might help because air is exaping threw that opening.. thats the next thing im going to try out i guess... keep the idea's coming tho i need to get this car to run cool before i cook my motor
im willing to try anything withen budget

 

Is your airdam intact? thats all i can think of to cause overheating on the highway...

you could get your temp down by putting on the dual fan setup for extra cooling..

my drivers side fan comes on at 227 and my passengers at 237 or whenever i flip the switch i installed..

so my car runs a constant 220 in traffic or on the highway..

 

Hi.
Is the temperature sensor in one of the heads or the thermostat housing?
Have you been able to check the water temperature with a thermometer?
If the sensor is in the head, and the inlet manifold gaskets are not properly blanked, the cooling flow partially bypasses the heads. This gives you hot heads and under temperature coolant, a leathal combination for a long trip.
The first head gasket set I got were incorrect from the supplier, the next set from a better supplier were OK so you have to check what was fitted at the rebuild.
If the sensor is in the thermostat housing and the coolant really is too hot, the coolant is not being cooled enough by the radiator.
You can check this by lightly spraying cold water from the outside all across the radiator for a few minutes while the engine is hot and running. If the engine cools down, then your problem is either undersized or restricted radiator or inadequate air flow.

 

Hi Again
I just looked again at the picture of the car, and did I read that you have taken out the original air filter that would link to the air inlets in the hood.
Out on a limb here guesing, but I wonder if you should try blocking off the hood scoops.
It is possible that the air comes in the scopes very efficiently at speed and it looks like it comes in behind the radiator. It is remotely possible that the air flow coming in the hood scoops is working against the radiator inlet air flow. This might be enough to reduce the air flow across the radiator and cause the overheating.
This is a swag. Good luck

 

Well i have a Rpm airgap intake and this intake has water ports on the yop in the back so im taking the temp from back there instead of the head. i did this because my headers run pretty close to the sensor when it is in the head. soo i dont think its a problem with the gasket. i'll try yout cool water idea and see what this does... i figured a 3 row radiator on a small block would be plenty tho... i guess i could be wrong..

 

These are classic signs of poor airflow through the radiator at speed. You did replace the air dam, but the holes where the air filters used to be are letting the air from below exit before it goes through the rad. Running no stat, or even a 160° stat is not a good idea. Get your air flowing through the rad and not past the front and not from the ram air scoops backwards through the rad, and your problems should go away.

P.S. Try running 70% water and 30% antifreeze. The water is what carries the heat away.

 

want to let me know why a 160* stat is no good.

 

Ever here the term if your cant Duck it F*ck it.. well i ductaped the openings were the old 2.8 airfilters use to be and that didnt change anything... so then i ducktaped the scoops on my hood closed. that made it worse so i opend them back up.... i went to the store bought a 180 stat and another can a 40 below... well i took the stat out tired it with no stat and to my seprize now on the high way its gets to about 242 on the road doing 55 its about 238 and at idle its about 218ish.. so i left the stat out didnt bother putting in the 180 i put that can of 40 below in when i took that stat out so i dont know wich one helped... do you think i know fans dont really do anything when at 55mph but do you think that they might help me out with my problem?

 

Well, people who know more than I do have said things like:
the engine will run rich
the ECM will not go into closed loop operation
there is more wear on the engine at temps that low
the engine is designed to run most efficiently at higher temps
because the engine will run rich, there will be more pollution emissions

 

If you were getting 260 F I would expect to see coolant pumping out into the header tank, but that is not happening from what you say.

If that is not happening just maybe the engine is OK and the sensor is wrong or maybe picking up more metal than coolant temperature.

You need to find out what the water temperature really is, the best place for that is under the thermosatat I have a sensor in there as well as in one head.

Lean will run higher head and piston temperatures, could be risky.

 

It could be your temp gauge if it is the original one. mine was bad and I was getting close to the same temp reading you are with a slightly modded engine. Replaced the factory gauge with a sunpro mech. gauge and now the temps read 195* to 210* on really hot days. Also I have both of my fans come on while the motor is running and they dont stop runnig until I turn the engine off. Hope this helps, John

 

i know the gaudge is right i thought it was wrong before so i stuck i themomiter in the radiator and it came out pretty close
the themomiter read i little cooler but i couldnt onely expect that cause that is the temp in the rad. not the motor. so im sure its right... as for it boiling i have boubled it over a few times i havea 16 pound cap on it so it raises the boiling point just a tad.. it starts to seep in to the over flow at around 265. i took the car out agin todday with no stat on the highway and it was running 225 i am VERY happey with that... i still think i might get doule fanes just to see if they help much.. right now my single fan turns on with the key. thanks for the help guys...

 

i dont have an ECM so that doesnt apply
more wear on the engine. maybe, maybe not.
my engine is tuned for the best performance at 160*
pollution, i dont run rich but i dont care all that much. my engine doesnt smoke at all and runs clean, so

so for some guys 160* isnt all that bad

 

are you absolutely sure the radiator doesnt have crap in it

 

Ok, learn from my mistakes...............GET A CLUTCH FAN! You need a mechanical clutch and shroud on there, I don't care what kinda setup you got, it will make you run 20 degrees cooler. And trust me, running at 180 with a clutch fan makes WAY more horsepower than running an electric fan at 240 degrees.

Next thing, if your AC condenser is still in there, rip it out. And what kind of water pump do you have? Aluminum pumps cool MUCH better. I have an edlebrock victor jr. pump on my firebird, car runs at 180 in 105 degree AZ traffic. Also make sure that you run your heater hoses to the heater core instead of blocking them off...........that acts like another radiator. If all else fails, go buy a 189$ griffin. Its entirely possible that your radiator is just NOT big enough for your 383