Hi!

So, after a lot of experimenting around and a lot of wisdom from the various threads flying around in the forum I mostly got rid of my overheating issues.

Here's what I've done:
-New three Core Champion Radiator with the two fan's (set from ebay)
-Car ran way to lean (adjustable fuel regulator and getting the vacuum lines hooked up correctly got rid of that)
-Got a "new" (used) Air damn in good condition
-Passenger side fan is now controlled via switch and RH side fan is always on
-180 Thermostat
-New (accurate) temp gauge
-New GMB Highflow Waterpump

Situation now:
Car runs great and has no emissions issues anymore + will keep at around 190 - 195 when driving on the backroads.
When I'm stuck in some traffic though or when driving slower it seems like I've still got some airflow issue since the engine may hit 220 - 230 (on really hot and humid days) still which is too much for my liking.

Any suggestions? What could get me the biggest bang for my buck in this case?

-Fan Shroud? (I could really kick my *** that I didn't order it back then)
-Better Fans? (They are 80 Watt fans, don't know if they are any good but seem to be rather lame)
-Maybe some push/pull combo with the fans I got and two additional ones?
-I will definitely come up with some additions to the air dam as I have only the middle part and there should be some side "skirts" to divert the air too, am I right?

Thanks in advance!!

 

Those fans didn't really have a shroud like the old mechanical fans did. There was nothing between the radiator and the condensor when you swapped out the radiator? I found a bunch of crap built up in there when I replaced my radiator. That will cause it to warm up a little more when just sitting in stop and go. Plus, these engines run warm to begin with. All of the skirts and air dam but the middle part is the most important. If you really want to keep it cooler maybe get 1 big pusher fan on the front of the radiator to help push the air through the radiator as opposed to just waiting on the 2 smaller puller fans to pull it through. The only other thought that I could come up with is that you have a blockage in the block somewhere that isn't allowing the coolant to cool as well as it should.

 

The condenser and the compressor were already long gone when I bought the car

I've drained the fluid like 5 times because of changing the pump, radiator, trying dexcool etc, so there should hopefully not be any junk/rust etc be left in the block

A pusher fan may be a good idea, can I just steal the juice from one of the fan cables for it or will this be contra productive?!

 

Do you have a link to those fans you are using? My initial thoughts are if this is a stock or near stock engine the dual fan setup should be plenty. Are they shrouded? Your post sounds like they are not. That will make a big difference.

I have never needed to use a pusher fan, let alone two pullers and a pusher. That sounds like there is an undersized radiator and/or fans if all else is functioning correctly. The fact that the car will run in the 190 range while moving tells me that you should be able to get the same result with a robust fan arrangement providing enough flow.

 

Coolant gauge stock or aftermarket? Reason I ask is the stock gauges are marginal at best. I bought an obd1 adapter to run my snap on verus edge on my car and live data is showing my car at 205* when the gauge is reading a touch over 220*.

 

A lot of people are unaware that the more rows the radiator has, the more airflow will be required. Otherwise, it will run too hot, as if the old radiator was still in it. The stock radiator is a 1-row.
I believe that a modern 2-row aluminum radiator is sufficient for smallblock V-8 applications. You still need the front airdam on a thirdgen to direct air through the radiator. Or open up the front bumper cover to allow air to come through. 3 rows and more, require more cfm of airflow. You really should not need any fans running when the car is moving down the road over 30mph. It's nice if you have a fan thermostat switch that doesn't wait until 220 degrees or more before kicking the fan on...

 

@PaulyC
I'm using this set here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1982-1992-P...8AAOSwJyRalb6X

Since I don't have a shroud currently I would order this one (should fit according to the description) and If I need them I could still use the two additonal fans as pushers

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1982-1992-P...8AAOSwJyRalb6X

@Jbuchanan: It's aftermarket and cross checked to be quite accurate

@T.L. Front Airdam is there and the fan's are manually controlled

 

So let’s look at the numbers, this setup has 26.25 X 16.75 = 439.7 sq in of effective core area. When you are driving at speeds you get airflow over all of that area and you don’t have issues. When stopped you have the fans that have to accomplish the same thing. Without shrouds the only areas that are getting airflow are directly under the fan itself. So if the fan is 12” that is pi*6^2=113.1 x 2 fans = 226.2 square inches. The difference between the two 226.2/439.7=.51 or just a hair above half. I would start with a shroud. I believe the cfm is probably ok but right now all of it is going through a small area with high velocity. The shroud will spread the cfm over the whole area with a lower velocity.

Not saying this is the silver bullet but it’s a best practice.

 

I'm not sure this is an engine cooling problem as much as needing an external trans cooler.

I have a 550 HP engine with stock dual fans and the engine never gets hot. The radiator is a 20 year old brass Modine that's a decent unit but nothing exotic. But I have a manual transmission so there is no trans cooling load on the radiator.

I'm not 100% sure but I don't think the trans cooler has its own air cooling circuit. It dumps heat into the water and then the radiator has to cool down the water. Giving the transmission its own liquid to air cooler, and possibly its own little fan, might make all the difference in the world. And the transmission will be much happier as well.

 

@PaulyC Thanks for the explanation! hope so
@Qwk Trip: Sorry, forgot to add the info, I have a little additional Trans cooler also! So that should hopefully not be the issue (already had to have the Trans rebuilt once, but that was due to the stupidity of the PO aka not enough fluid in there...)

Shroud is ordered and should hopefully get here at the end of the month!

 

Hi,

Sorry to bring this old thread up again --> The Shroud did wonders and did actually push the temperature between 85-95 degrees under all circumstances so far!
Thanks again guys, this site rocks!

 

Assuming that is Celsius 85-95?

Without the shroud it only pulls air over the fins in-front of the fan so always run a shroud I run 4th gen fans and you can feel the air flow from behind the car when both are on they move so much air.

 

Stock 350 radiator with stock dual fans will cool alot more than you realise. Champion 3 core. How many fins per inch? How big are the cores? Stock is a single core 1 3/8 core. Replacements are 1.25.Most of those cheap champions may be 3 core but the cores are .75 -.85 inch each. Thicker core needs more airflow. Do yourself a favor and dont shop for important stuff like cooling fans on Ebay. Put the stock duals back on and get a stock 350 radiator. The stocker rad and fans fit better and cools better than that setup all day long. Had a supercharged 355 with stock setup. Could keep it at any temp I wanted. Most here than run the stock stuff will tell you the same. Good luck with your overheating problem hope you find a solution.