Hey all,

I recently got an 1986 Trans Am with a 350 swap and I'm having some issues regarding cooling. At speed the car is able to cool and stay around 220 and with the heater on it drops down significantly (190-210), however, at standstill the car will begin to rise slowly in temps. I flushed the coolant today and replaced it but I am still having this issue. The air dam is in good condition and the records for the swap show that a 180 degree thermostat was put in. The current guess is that the fans are simply not able to cool the car enough in slow speeds/ standstill.

So, does anyone have any recommendations on fans to help with the cooling and if you do have an aftermarket fan how difficult was the install? Any and all input would be appreciated!

Thanks, Mr.Blu

 

Id recommend a mid 90s Ford Taurus fan. I'm running one and its a freaking wind tunnel when it turns on.

 

I second that. I had one on my 500 hp 89 Mustang LX.

I am not familiar with the 86 fans, but I had 1991 fan setup in my 385hp 350 TPI 1985 iroc with AC and it cooled just fine sitting in traffic.

Is your 86 carb or efi? The stock efi is programmed to run around 220-240 or somewhere in that range.

 

I'll look into it. How difficult was the setup and everything? Is it a direct bolt in? I'm a novice at all this stuff.

 

It's carbed. It just heats up real bad and I assume its the fan.

 

http://ultm8z.com/Ford%20Taurus%20fa...write%20up.pdf

I did a little write up that focuses on the mechanical...

 

Thank you I appreciate it! Though I just went out to check some things on my car and it seems that the fan doesn't turn on even after reaching temperatures of 220+ so I'm gonna look into that first, however, thank you taking the time to help me out. I'll definitely keep a taurus fan in mind for the future.

 

Your stock electric fans should be capable of cooling that 350. It's probably just running hot from your fan on/off switch setup. The stock setup runs very hot. I didn't like it and never could get mine quite right, so I finally switched to a Dakota Digital fan controller and bypassed the factory wiring. It was a great decision. Car never runs over 200* now.

 

Your stock electric fans should be capable of cooling that 350. It's probably just running hot from your fan on/off switch setup. The stock setup runs very hot. I didn't like it and never could get mine quite right, so I finally switched to a Dakota Digital fan controller and bypassed the factory wiring. It was a great decision. Car never runs over 200* now.

 

I'll look into that too, thank you.

 

You might want to consider a "High Flow" 180* F Thermostat, before all the work of a fan conversion. Also, make sure you are not running more than 50% Coolant to water ratio.

 

Thanks Mike. All good there. Going to source a couple of Taurus fans.

 

Don't forget, it's not just ANY "Taurus fan" you're looking for; it's the one that comes with the larger motor. 3.8L I think it is. Somewhere in the 1994 - 1997 range but I can't recall the exact time frame.

 

And make sure you run heavy duty relays!!!!!

I started out with the generic type automotive relay, but went with a 40 amp instead of 30 thinking I'd overkill it for safety.

Welp, first time the high speed engaged the relay on the high speed literally caught fire!!

I then went with Bosch 75 amp relays on both low and high speeds, and haven't had any problems since.

 

I think those are the two speed fans (lo-hi) maybe.You can tell cause they have 3 wires.Not running one in my car, but i do in my s10. I only hooked up the hi side though, since i want to cool the eng as quick as possible.Almost 10 yrs with that set-up, no issues.