Overheating while towing....pls. help w/advice!

[astroclimb]

Hi All,

Just found BroncoZone, cool place to learn from. Am looking for advice on how to best address the following; did a search, found lots of useful info., but didn't find specifics that I'm hoping somebody will provide.

I've '92 Bronco 5.0 l w/5 spd. manual, about 172k miles. Use it to tow our about 4,500# camping trailer and as a backup vehicle in winter time. Driving home yesterday while towing trailer it tried to overheat, basically if the temp. outside was ~85 deg. (southern New Mexico afternoon) it just wouldn't keep cool w/out me backing off significantly. Once we got further north and more into evening, outside temps around 65, then all was again well, could drive normally even though grades were in fact steeper. Within the last ~2000 miles I did cooling system flush and new coolant. Also, Bronco runs great all the time (Summer, winter, etc.) when I'm not towing. Where's the best place to start? Radiator? 2-row, 3-row, or 4-row? Water pump? T-stat? Hoses? Oil cooler? All of the above? Really I'm hoping some collective wisdom out there can help guide me in a rational approach rather than a hit-and-miss or complete swap of all relevant parts.

Also I noticed the car seemed to run much worse when it was warm; ran great with just ~20 deg. cooler outside temp. Am I imagining something here?

Thanks to all who are willing to help!

Todd

 

[miesk5]

yo

Is your coolant gauge showing a regular opening & closing of the T Stat during normal NO Tow driving at a stady speed?

Such as being @ middle of gauge, then slowly going to left; then back up steadily to Middle again.

If not, pull it and test it in old pan with thermometer and appropr temp water.

I'd go for a 4 row Modine rad.

If you don't have the OEM towing package in the Bronco, then a 4 row rad will cause probs with the shroud fitment.

Modine is rated very high...they merged w/Transpro, so here is the new line-up:

http://webbase.transpro.com/radcat/

1992 FORD BRONCO 5 Liter V8 (N) 432183 Ready-Rad Plus; w/ Heavy Duty Cooling; w/ Maximum Cooling

1992 FORD BRONCO 5 Liter V8 (N) 432186 Ready-Rad Plus; w/ Standard Cooling; w/ Air Conditioning

1992 FORD BRONCO 5 Liter V8 (N) 436009 Brass Tanks with Copper Brass Core; Heatbuster Extreme Service

1992 FORD BRONCO 5 Liter V8 (N) 436025 Aluminum Tanks with Aluminum Core; Heatbuster Extreme Service

Make: FORD

Core Size: 27 1/2 x 18 1/2 x 2 5/8

No. of Rows: 4

Tank Inlet: 3 1/8 x 19

Tank Outlet: 3 1/8 x 19

Inlet Connection: 1 3/4 Top Right

Outlet Connection 1 3/4 Bottom Left

TOC: 12

Construction: Copper Brass

Mounting: Channel

--

next up is the Goodyear High Miler Hose Kit - check Summit. Rock Auto/NAPA for best prices.

--

Thermostat w/Pressures & Gasket Parts Catalog, Bronco/Ford truck & all Fords w/Ford Part Numbers & Cross References; 29.35 MB PDF Source: by fordinstallersupport.com

--

 

[Seabronc]

In addition to what Miesk5 said, you will want to add that transmission cooler. That single item made an enormous difference in my cooling. I have also replaced the stock fan with a Lincoln Mark VIII 4200 CFM electric fan.

Good luck,

>-

 

[Jeffy300]

During the summer time, I simply remove my thermostat and have no issues with heating while towing with my Bronc...Works well for me... just sayin.....

 

[wileec]

In addition to what Miesk5 said, you will want to add that transmission cooler. That single item made an enormous difference in my cooling. I have also replaced the stock fan with a Lincoln Mark VIII 4200 CFM electric fan.

Good luck,

>-

5 speed not remote cooling there. The trouble starts with the 5 speed, when I got my trailer I looked into it with stock gears and a 5 speed the bronco has a little bitty tow rating like 3500# upgrading the radiator is probably your best bet. In the mountains around CO I was in bad shape with the 3500# trailer I bought, I upgraded to 4.56 gears and now my engine does not have to work nearly as hard to maintain speed. And it is much better off road with the low gearing.

edit. BTW welcome to the Zone lots of great people here.

 

[astroclimb]

5 speed not remote cooling there. The trouble starts with the 5 speed, when I got my trailer I looked into it with stock gears and a 5 speed the bronco has a little bitty tow rating like 3500# upgrading the radiator is probably your best bet. In the mountains around CO I was in bad shape with the 3500# trailer I bought, I upgraded to 4.56 gears and now my engine does not have to work nearly as hard to maintain speed. And it is much better off road with the low gearing.

edit. BTW welcome to the Zone lots of great people here.

Hey wileec,

Sounds like you're in similar situation to me with lots o mountains to climb over. When having heat issues I was mostly running in 4th gear. I'll need to poke around to find gear ratios, but just to be clear I wasn't running in 5th and lugging the motor (at least I don't think so...).

You have suggestions on upgrading radiator?

Will look at all the other suggestions, esp. the T-stat. Not sure I want to run without one just 'cuz often the weather can change pretty rapidly in these parts, even in summer, and a sunny and nice day can turn to 40 degrees and rain/snow.

Todd

 

[wileec]

I would look into the information in miesk5's post looks like good stuff. I pulled a couple of times with the stock gears and hated it. The lower gearing had to increase the towing capability a bunch, (do not know how much though).

 

[AdamDude04]

Change coolant and take a flashlight and look down into your radiator via cap - See if you have build up or not..

You live in NM, so depending on your climate, you can get away (if permitting) a different coolant ratio.

Typical is 50/50, half water, half coolant.

Coolant slightly raises boiling point, and also acts as a **** for water pump/thermostat. However, remember that a pressure radiator system also raises the boiling point.

Water transfers heat much better than coolant. The more water, the better heat transfer you have, thus the better cooling power you'll have. Now depending on your weather, you can put in a mixture of 30/70 or even 10/90 if you wish (lots of folks in Vegas run this) - Lots of drag cars use 0/100 as their vehicles are never raced in freezing temps and they often tear down their motors anyways lol

So remember, mixing up your coolant ratio isn't a "patch" fix like many think..it's just gaining better performance coolant wise! Back that with a better/bigger radiator you're just adding to the performance.

Distilled water only! Very important. And easy way to add in the mixture is figure out how many gallons your whole system holds. If you do say a 30 parts coolant, add the coolant first, THEN fill the rest up with water..

GL!