88 347 stroker

this is my first summer with my (new) 347 stroker. I know heat can kill and engine so i put a 160 deg. thirmostat in i got a ford racing 2 core aluminum radiator and a flex-a-lite electric fan and an auto meter electric coolant temp gauge. its been hot hear in northertn VA (in the high 80's low 90's) what do you think the temp should be around before i have to start to worry. its currently running between 200-210 degrees. i just dont want to destroy the motor.

89stanglx

Sounds like something is wrong to me? I have stock 302, stock radiator, with a tiny temporary electric fan with a 180 deg stat. Mine dont go above 180 unless im in traffic for a few min then it will get close to 190 then drop back to 180 when im moving again. Its in the 90's here in SC.
If mine went above 200 i would be nervous and pullover

fordguy17

is the electric fan always on? if not what is the thermostat set too? is the sender unit in the stock (front) position in the intake manifold? what ratio coolant are you running(50/50)? have you tested the thermostat?

JD1969

200-210 is not really all THAT hot for a modified engine like yours, but it is getting up there. What fans are you useing and what is their CFM rating? Also a puller fan will be more efficiant than a pusher. Are the fans sealed to the radiator? You want the fan to seal so that it can as much air through the radiator rather than suck air from the sides.

99saleen351r

That temp is alright but not much hotter!Add some redline Water wetter and that should drop the temp about 20 degrees,costs about ten bucks

Derf00

Lol you call THAT hot (high 80's low 90's)? Sorry [8D] I used to live in San Diego and that too was considered hot. Been living in Chandler, AZ for almost a year now and that's considered cool this time of year. Hitting 108 i think next week for most of the week.

As far as your temp. 200-210 does seem a bit high for running a 160 stat. What mixture of coolant are you running? 30/70 or 50/50. Also you mentioned it's a 2core radiator. You may want to see if tey offer a three core that will fit.

Is your car an automatic or manual tranny?

88 347 stroker

thanks for all the advice. i have a flex-a-lite puller fan in the car and the cut on temp is set to 180. the car is a manual and im running a 50/50 mix. the coolant sender unit is in the front seft side of the intake. this weekend im going to get a new high flow thirmostat, flush the coolant in tht raidator/block and get some redline fluid and see how it does. ill post a reply wether this fixes the problem. thanks again.

fordguy17

use more water than coolant. it transfers heat better.

Chris C

I dont miss those hot humid fairfax days at all. Mine allways ran hot out there even with a 3 core aluminum radiator. The red line water wetter and more water than coolant did help some but not much. Does it get hot when you are sitting still or does it happen when you are moving also. Once I put in my cobra grill insert my temps would back down to 180 faster then before I put it in. Dont know if you like the looks of those but that might help alittle also.

73Cleveland

Is this red line water wetter really that good and safe?

I've never heard of it before but I want to give it a try since all of you are endorsing it.