I must be missing something, how did ford cool this thing from the factory?

[broke as a joke]

So I just got a new super cooler for the 78, it has a 460 that is completely stock, timing straight up, new water pump, new thermastat, new hoses yada.
I put a set of twin E fans off of a chrysler town and country on it becasue I don't have a fan or shroud and they are spendy, the fans move an incredible amount of air. When I'm in the snow barely moving holding the throttle at 3 grand it starts getting hot, I have let it get to 210 before and it just keeps going. My wheeling buddy has a 400 with a stock rad and a mechanical fan and he can hold his at 5 grand all day and never break 190 degrees. I know this is a whole different animal but I can't even follow him, much less make my own trail. I can already see that this will be a no-go in the mud also.

So what am I doing wrong? Also if there is a better place for this thread please put it there. Sorry for the long post..

 

[Mil1ion]

Engines run at 210*F all the time.

The T-stat is merely a switch.... the coolant gets hotter than that

 

[Blue Bomber]

have you checked to see if the hoses are pinching themselves off? i know they sell springs you can put in the upper and lower radiator hoses so they wont flatten out and cut off flow.

 

[TexasRho83]

Going with what Mil1ion said, It's been my experience that 460s tend to run a little warmer than other blocks. I had a 400 as well and she didn't break 190 either. I don't have the big behemoth radiator that ford put with the 460, nor do I have the shroud, but I do have a large e-fan in front to help out and I'll toggle it on when she starts to break 195 or so. That usually doesn't happen unless I'm cruising at highway speeds - she actually runs cooler at a lower speed and on trails/mud...

I have a 190 thermo installed.

A common occurrence is people putting in their thermos upside down. Make sure yours is right side up

 

[5.0]

.

Do you have any pics of your fans installed?

.

 

[Skandocious]

I'm wondering if those fans are moving enough air... The common junkyard e-fan swap is the Taurus fan-- seems that one moves more air than any other junkyard fans.

 

[Mil1ion]

Note:460's came with 7 blade fans w/clutch with all rads

351M/400 came with 5 blade fans with 2-3 core rads

 

[Skandocious]

Note:460's came with 7 blade fans w/clutch with all rads

351M/400 came with 5 blade fans with 2-3 core rads

Duly noted. But what's your point?

 

[Mil1ion]

460's had more blades on their fans to move more air.

 

[Skandocious]

So your point is that the 460 requires more cooling that the 351M/400? That seems pretty logical to me...

 

[radialarm]

I'm wondering if those fans are moving enough air... The common junkyard e-fan swap is the Taurus fan-- seems that one moves more air than any other junkyard fans.

Your getting behind the times Skan. Now they're using the larger lincoln fan. It's about 93 or 98.
http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2006/10/Mark8Fan/index.php

 

[Skandocious]

Those bastards! It was that exact same magazine/site that recommended the Taurus fan I know mine moves ample air but what guy doesn't love MORE POWER?!?!? I might have to troll the pick-n-pull pretty soon

 

[radialarm]

Those bastards! It was that exact same magazine/site that recommended the Taurus fan I know mine moves ample air but what guy doesn't love MORE POWER?!?!? I might have to troll the pick-n-pull pretty soon

That fan is a lot like the one I used off a 96 Tbird, when my ebay fan croaked. They still have the taurus fan on that site too, if it helps.

 

[Skandocious]

No I'm just sayin--- if the mark fan pulls more air then I'm pissed that I went to the trouble of installing the less-powerful taurus fan. I think I might have to upgrade

 

[bucks77ford]

I think the late 90s crown vics had awesome fans also. My brothers use those on their mudracing trucks and they cool great.

 

[tankrsc]

Great link. May have to do this in my truck. I am only running a 302 but this should free up alittle power and that is always a good thing right

 

[radialarm]

Great link. May have to do this in my truck. I am only running a 302 but this should free up alittle power and that is always a good thing right

You'll be surprised at the performance gain on the highway. V8s are a lot easier than the I6s, because of the extra room between the radiator and the waterpump. Welcome to the site.

 

[LEB Ben]

To the OP...I'd have another look-see at that t-stat. That radiator should be more than capable at cooling. I've seen quite a few t-stats from the local parts store that were faulty right out of the box. A quick trick to determine if it's good is to get some boiling water and drop your t-stat in, and if it opens and closes accordingly, then you KNOW it's not the t-stat. Then I would definitely check the hoses. Old hoses have a tendancy to flatten out and restricts flow. I assume you're running an actual gauge and not trying to rely on the stock dumby gauge right? If so, check out the wiring to the gauge, I've have gauges that get pinched and cause the gauge to read hotter or cooler than the actual temp.

 

[broke as a joke]

Ok, firstly i would like to thank you all for replying, to answer some questions, I will get some pics of the fan set up tomorrow afternoon, the fans seem to move lots of air, you can feel air going in the radiator from outside the grill. The hoses, t stat, and t stat housing are all new, the t stat is a robert shaw from bronco grave yard, it only fit in one way so I hope it was the right way. The lower hose does not have a spring in it, it lays kind of flat against the cross member but is not kinked, however it is a good possibility that it does under power. I don't know if I could get a spring in it with it laying on the cross member like that. How do you guys get the lower hose to clear the cross member on the f-150 4x4?

edit, yes ben I have a sunpro mechanical gauge, I also tried my friends summit and it said the same thing.

 

[Truckin4life]

Pull the hose and see if its got a spring, then go to an auto parts store, and ask for a new hose, too look at, if the new one has a spring in it, and the old one dont, get the new one with the spring, that will likely solve your problem, if not...
Maybe your radiator is clogged... have you tried flushing it?