engine temp very high

[marcus_sho]

I just put the engine back in my black 89 and have had overheating problems, first the fan motor went out, the only place I could get the original was from Ford for $260, so I put in and after market electric fan 16" 1100cfm, this helped but my temp gauge is still at the N, I took the temp of the radiator hoses with an IR thermometer and it was 220, the temp on my red 89 that runs at M was at 198. Before this the black car ran at the R. Think this may be a problem I will check it with the IR later tonight, when the engine was out I pressure washed the engine bay and thought I would spray out the exhaust sytem, I think this may have plugged the cats? Also is the original radiator a single or dual core radiator?/and where to purchase?
Thanks

 

[rangerj]

Marcus,
NAPA sells a radiator made by Modine for the SHO. It has a lifetime warrenty. As of last December the retail price was $231.36. You should have no trouble getting it for approximately $175 at a NAPA parts dealer. If the NAPA dealer will not give you a 25% (at a minimum) discount on parts as a "do-it-your-selfer", find a parts dealer who will.

I think that Modine was one of the OEM suppliers for Ford, but I have not been able to confirm this. Anyway, the Modine radiator is an exact duplicate of the OEM radiators I have replaced in SHOs, Taurus, and Sables. I had one develop a leak in the side tank seal, and it was replaced without question. (KEEP THE RECEiPT)

As for your "cats", I've never tried pressure washing the inside of an exhaust system. I do know that if the cats are plugged that the back-pressure will create a lot of heat. I worked on a four cylinder Olds with a plugged cat, and the exhaust manifold would get red hot and glow! Hope this helps. rangerj

 

[BIGSHOMIKE]

I took mine to a local shop and they took the sides off (the tanks) and boiled it and flushed it with chemicals and put the tanks back on for $35, plus I had to spend an extra $35 because one of my tanks had a crack so they put a new one on.

 

[ragtopSHO]

I don't want to sound like a complete idiot, but i have a question. I just turned 16 and got a 1994 for my birthday. My question is why does my sho run extreamly hot when the air isn't on and doesn't when the air is on?? Shouldn't it be the other way around??? Do i need a new thermostat??? Is my gauge broken???

TIm

 

[Hubes]

my car has been running on N lately. brand new radiator too. it goes down when the fan comes on.

 

[Xs SHO 1]

maybe its the humidity? mine goes from the "A" to "O" then back down, all summer.
i have a new radiator and fresh coolant....

 

[SHOZ123]

The car isn't getting hot when the A/C is on because the engine fan is on when the A/C clutch is engaged. For $25 you can get an adjustable thermostatic switch and turn the fan on at any time you want or automatically at what ever temp you want.

The OEM fans won't come on until the temp at the thermostat is ~215F and at a speed below 43mph (Gen 2 I think). If you have the fan come on at 180F then you won't be running as hot. Actually 215F isn't realy bad for the motor but it is robbing power through heating everything up.

If you put a 180F t-stat in and then a fan controller set to 1802F or so then it will easily stay in the mid range.

As far as the radiator goes Modine is the OEM maufacturer of the sorry radiators on the SHO. Go to www.radiator.com and get one the next day.

 

[marcus_sho]

thanks

How hot is to hot for the engine? I also found out that my coolant to water ratio was to low, I fixed it and that took care of it boiling over. Is the temp gauge reading at the top of the O correct for 215F or do i need a new sending unit?
what is everyone else getting for tempature?

thanks for the info.