Need Help with cooling

[Yoder]

i have a 79 bronco with a 351m and i run at about 200 whether its 70 or 30 degrees if that helps any at all but i took it mudding last weekend in about 55 or 60 degree weather and it was getin hot but when it wasnt hot it ran at 200 degrees.

 

[Fritz180]

ok. thanks

 

[trhaus]

to me 190 is good enough to not worry about that could even be a little give and take from the thermostat. mine usually run around 200-230 after that not so good. remember that most always a motor will over heat at idle, for not getting enough air through the rad.

 

[Fritz180]

so 230 for a 351/400m engine is not considered overheating??

 

[trhaus]

sorry i meant that my truck will usually run up to that before the let loose with their steam.

 

[Fritz180]

oh.

 

[rednck7736]

I had a 351M in my 77 F-150 and it liked to get hot when in traffic or 4wheeling.I had to replace both head gaskets cause the radator cracked and it git hot and poped a head gasket.So when I git new gaskets I punched all the holes out int he gasked to match the head so it would have no rescretion(FULL FLOW).Between that and a Brand new stock radiator which was a 3 core.It would not run over 160.I moveed back to Mississippi from Fort Campbell KY. hauling a loaded 2 axle uhaul trailor.IT ran 160 on the interstate at 75 mph.I had a 180 thermostate in it. I would let it sit and idle for 30 minutes and it would finally reach 175 but as soon as I drove it,it would drop to 160.IT sucks in the winter cause yo will only have luke warm air from the heater.

 

[Fritz180]

well I just moved back to New Jersey so I'm going to see what the temperature reaches in the summer here, but I know when I was in arizona, there was nothing I could do (on a tight budget) to keep this things cool. except to ride with the heat on in the dead summer... not good. Thanks for the imput though.

 

[Johnny Reb]

well I just moved back to New Jersey so I'm going to see what the temperature reaches in the summer here, but I know when I was in arizona, there was nothing I could do (on a tight budget) to keep this things cool. except to ride with the heat on in the dead summer... not good. Thanks for the imput though.

Well have you checked the water control valve or heads? If the control **** on the dash has a broken cable---it could cause your bronco to heat up. Also if you had a head gasket leaking it could cause the truck to over heat. I would push the lever in one direction--then look under the hood and see the position it was in-----thehn push the control lever the other way and see if your control valve has movef.If it has---its working--if not--check out the cable and heat control valve. It will be located in one of your water hoses. If that checks out good. Pull the plugs and look far water beads or white tip plug or plugs. Mine(78 with a 400 motor) runs about 210 . Doesn,t take long to warm up on cold days. A 2 row radiator seems like it wouldn,t hold enough water to me. On my other 78 Bronco-I put a 390 in it and went with the 4 row radiator. I did not want to chance it getting hot.

 

[Fritz180]

I have a rebuilt engine so I know the heads and the gaskets are good. I drove it from Phoenix, AZ to New Jersey and had no overheating issues, only lost a starter. I've never heard of a control know, so I'll check it out. If I remember, mine ran around the 210 mark and I always thought that was too hot, since I could never get an answer. I bought the 2 row radiator because unfortunately that is all I could afford at that point. Since I moved back to New Jersey I have a decent job and plan on upgrading to a 4 row once I get it back on the road and see what my temperature is. I can't remember so don't hold me too it but I believe my radiator took 2 gallons.

 

[Johnny Reb]

I have a rebuilt engine so I know the heads and the gaskets are good. I drove it from Phoenix, AZ to New Jersey and had no overheating issues, only lost a starter. I've never heard of a control know, so I'll check it out. If I remember, mine ran around the 210 mark and I always thought that was too hot, since I could never get an answer. I bought the 2 row radiator because unfortunately that is all I could afford at that point. Since I moved back to New Jersey I have a decent job and plan on upgrading to a 4 row once I get it back on the road and see what my temperature is. I can't remember so don't hold me too it but I believe my radiator took 2 gallons.

Fritz, I rebuilt a 390 one time buy the book.Torqed the heads and all. About 20 minutes later white smoke was coming out the exhaust. The book WAS WRONG and I had to tear it back down and get all the anti-freeze out and the oil pan off andf clean it all out. One way to check for a slight leak is look at the plugs for moisture and whiteness. The heat control valve is in one of the water It shuold be on the line coming out of the block. I went through the whole deal of my Dodge over heating and it was the radiator---Even though you buy new parts at the store. You can get bad parts. I would start with checking the thermostat. We all make mistakes and sometine the thermostate gets put in upside down.Good luck.

 

[AdamDude04]

Fan clutch test, MUST be done with engine RUNNING! Get a magazine or news paper, wrap it up (cone shape) and stick it in the fan area. If fan is working it'll just chew up the paper. If not..it'll slow down and may even stop. Do this after you got it up to operating temp/overheating.

For your area, you never freeze, so I'd run a 80/20 mixture. 3/4 diluted water, 1/4 pure coolant. water is the best heat transfer out there. Coolant just raises the boiling point and lubes the internals in the water pump/thermostat. It's common for guys out in las vegas to run a 90/10 mixture in their rigs. Doesn't take much coolant to raise boiling point. PLUS with the system under presure, that also raises the boiling point of water (incase you're affraid of boiling points).

Thermostat..you could try a 170 stant.

Electric fans are great to come by. Use only while sitting in traffic of low speeds. I'm not exactly sure how to set it up..but on both my trucks the electric fan is set on-demand - only comes on when coolant reaches a certain temp. Maybe certain electric fans have that part of their kit?

But sounds like you got a much deeper issue.. this summer it was about 100* out when we went camping. a 5hr drive in pure sunlight. Truck never wentn above 180 degrees..then sat in traffic for 2hrs with A/C on, and never went above 200. ...just to give you an idea of what yous hould be at. Oh, and my thermostat is stuck open. Maybe removing yours will help lol

 

[Fritz180]

well thankfully I moved back to new jersey, so I will no longer have to worry about 100 plus degree weather. I believe it will be nice and cool on the east coast. If not. First thing is a better radiator. I think that would cure my issue because its smaller than normal. If I had a head gasket issue I would think I would of had an issue driving it cross country. The thermostat I believe is a 180 because that is the lowest I could find. I went through a few of these T-stats to find out if that was the culprit. I appreciate everyones help, but I'm going to wait until I put it on the road and drive it in NJ summer and fix accordingly. Thanks again everyone

 

[AdamDude04]

well thankfully I moved back to new jersey, so I will no longer have to worry about 100 plus degree weather. I believe it will be nice and cool on the east coast. If not. First thing is a better radiator. I think that would cure my issue because its smaller than normal. If I had a head gasket issue I would think I would of had an issue driving it cross country. The thermostat I believe is a 180 because that is the lowest I could find. I went through a few of these T-stats to find out if that was the culprit. I appreciate everyones help, but I'm going to wait until I put it on the road and drive it in NJ summer and fix accordingly. Thanks again everyone

Not sure where you are in Jersey..I used to live in Mount Holly. however, Vinces Automotive on White Horse Pike (Lindenwold) is a ma an pop shop that will deff take care of you! I did a lil work around their shop, and that is where my Bronco was serviced at for nearly 6-7 years. They do exlecent work, good prices, and very friendly/personal. Just tell them Adam/Karen Jarvis sent you. You won't be disapointed /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I'm planning to go back there to them to have my motor fully rebuilt..and I live in CO, nearly 2k miles away ^_^ /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[Fritz180]

I just looked on mapquest and they are about 2 hours south of me. I'm closer to New York City. I'd love to find a place like that in my area, but I can't find anything which I think is kind of weird. Maybe one of these days one will pop up.

 

[AdamDude04]

I just looked on mapquest and they are about 2 hours south of me. I'm closer to New York City. I'd love to find a place like that in my area, but I can't find anything which I think is kind of weird. Maybe one of these days one will pop up.

Yeah might as well save them for the major stuff lol

There arn't too many good shops around these days unfortantly. Just the major chain stores that don't know what they're doing...

 

[Rons beast]

i would install a larger rad. every 351 / 400 i have had runs hot.

Dito TRHAUS. I don't think a two row is big enough for your motor. Especially if it's .30 over.

 

[Johnny Reb]

Fan clutch test, MUST be done with engine RUNNING! Get a magazine or news paper, wrap it up (cone shape) and stick it in the fan area. If fan is working it'll just chew up the paper. If not..it'll slow down and may even stop. Do this after you got it up to operating temp/overheating.

For your area, you never freeze, so I'd run a 80/20 mixture. 3/4 diluted water, 1/4 pure coolant. water is the best heat transfer out there. Coolant just raises the boiling point and lubes the internals in the water pump/thermostat. It's common for guys out in las vegas to run a 90/10 mixture in their rigs. Doesn't take much coolant to raise boiling point. PLUS with the system under presure, that also raises the boiling point of water (incase you're affraid of boiling points).

Thermostat..you could try a 170 stant.

Electric fans are great to come by. Use only while sitting in traffic of low speeds. I'm not exactly sure how to set it up..but on both my trucks the electric fan is set on-demand - only comes on when coolant reaches a certain temp. Maybe certain electric fans have that part of their kit?

But sounds like you got a much deeper issue.. this summer it was about 100* out when we went camping. a 5hr drive in pure sunlight. Truck never wentn above 180 degrees..then sat in traffic for 2hrs with A/C on, and never went above 200. ...just to give you an idea of what yous hould be at. Oh, and my thermostat is stuck open. Maybe removing yours will help lol

 

[Johnny Reb]

As I was reading yopur reply about sticking a paper in the fan. Along time ago I had put a new water pump on my 66 fairlane gt. It was real cold that day and as I was watching the fan. I got to thinking about people said you could stick your hand in it and stop the fan and it wouldn,t hurt your hand.hahahah--Well like a *******--I stuck my hand in the fan to find out. The fan quit---it didn,t cut my hand--but it being cold--I thought I had lost my fingers and man that hurt like ****-hahaha---Some stupid things we will do. I know----some people wouldn,t tell this--but I thouoght is was funny and stupid as ****-------hahahaha----I won,t do it again.hahahah