Recently acquired an '85 Firebird with a later model 350 TPI and a Borg Warner 5-Speed...has an aftermarket aluminum radiator that was installed in '06 with dual electric fans mounted on each side of the radiator in a push/pull configuration...fans are wired to run constant when engine is on.

Here's my issue. When running on the highway everything stays cool, as soon as I get into stop and go traffic the temperature starts to increase and won't go down...I can park it in my driveway and just watch the temps go up to the overheating point (over 240) as the minutes pass.

I've replaced the thermostat, water pump, and when I check my upper and lower radiator hoses both of them are hot, so I know coolant is pumping through them. I wouldn't think the radiator would be bad or needing to be cleaned out since it's relatively new and I seem to have good coolant flow. From reading other posts, I'm guessing my fans just aren't getting the job done.

I'm thinking about getting a lincoln mark viii or ford taurus fan and seeing if that can solve the problem...anyone think that is the way to go, or is there something else I should try first?

Thanks!

 

 

Are you sure the pusher is pushing and the puller is pulling? disconnect one, and test the flow of the other, and visa versa - maybe the po wired one wrong.

 

I have a 91 Z28 with a 5.7 TPI and Automatic transmission and mine is doing the exact same thing. Driving highway, it stays right under 220...but when i slow down, it goes up to 240-250 all the time. Im almost starting to think that these motors just run hot, since i changed out the thermostat and the water pump and all.

 

i have a 350 tpi trans am and mine WAS doing this. took my therm. out replaced top and bottom rad hoses (two more to get) bypassed heater core and it was still doing it i also had a ton of pressure on the top hose nut not so much on the bottom and bypass hoses. replaced radiator and car runs lower than a quarter at all times ....a/c on or off. just some food for thought. only thing after that is probably going to be headgasket. run compression check.....then update rusults man...i feel for ya

 

Yeah that was a good idea up there, make sure that the fans are pushing/pulling the way that they should. I've never had a problem with overheating because my 305 always runs cool :].But personally, what I think you should do, is just mount both fans on one side, much more effective in my personal thought.

 

I had the same problem with my 350 in camaro. I had to do a few things to correct issue. Since my car does not have air conditioning, I removed the condenser in front of the radiator to allow more air flow. At first I had two cheap fans from auto zone. I replaced them with more expensive fans with higher CFM's.. Third, I threw a mini flex fan on the motor. Runs cool now!

 

When I first put my new motor in my Trans Am it ran hot in traffic and idle and after buying 3 different electric fans I finally bought a Black Magic fan and that cured all my problems...I learned not to look at the manufactures rated CFM and all that other crap because they will say anything to get you to buy their fan. I bough one that was under $100 and supposed to flow like 3800 CFM (Yeah Right) car still ran hot, You get what you pay for when it comes to electric fans!

Black Magic fans are not cheap but you will rest assured you are moving a ton of air through your radiator...I also heard that the Lincoln Mark VIII fans work well but good luck finding one in a junk yard, might be able to get one on ebay for a reasonable price?

Post pics of your setup...I got this vision in my head you got 2 little fans each zip tied to your radiator, one pusher, one puller and no shroud, am I correct? That means you are only moving air accross a portion of your radiator the size of your fan VS a good fan with a shroud that will move air accross your whole radiator!

 

You're exactly right, just an aftermarket radiator, a fan on each side, no shroud, you nailed it to a tee. The fans aren't small (I'd say 15-16 inch) but they definitely don't cover the entire radiator.

I'll post pics when I get a chance. Thanks for the replies from everyone.

 

I found this dont cool well at all



This is what you want