water pump pully

[Bully Bob]

I live in "realville" "If the Emperior has no clothes.......!"

"designed and built almost 45years ago and expecting it to perform like a new vehicle?"

If it were built in 1920's., it should still perform well.! People drove those old rigs 3000 mi. across the USA on dirt/mud/rain/up-n-down hilly wagon trails, in the heat..!

The only real improvement over the 60's vehicles & now, would be electronics & "the jury is still out" on that...

I feel the same as you.... I'd want to (at least) know what's causing that. More likely I'd keep poking/testing 'til I found the culprit.

Ya., 180 up to 200 & back down....prob. not a big deal, but I'd be ****** if it started going over 200.

It's poss. the rad. internals are caked enough to "insulate" & not allow good heat transfer.... but still pass water. (the fan blowing on it & helping is a clue)

It's poss. to get a "bad" t-stat these days as well.

I had a '70 Land Cruiser (with that 'lil grill)...it had a chevy 350 stuffed in it & it ran 180 day/night/winter/summer/up-n-down hills/slo-n-go...etc.

I hate to tell ya to spend more $$ but maybe, as you said, a new rad. is in order.

(BTW., is that an AUTO or STICK.?)

You've been helpful on this board & as you know, W/O "laying an eyeball" :-B on these things.....it's really a guessing game.

 

[Rons beast]

I don't think you mentioned if you have any other modifications to your Bronc. If you do that can change the factors that would allow every other part to work exactly as designed. In most cases there is no detrimental condition, IE: overheating, poor milage, etc. when a vehicle is modified with proper work and parts. That being said, it could be the cause of your condition, and the extra fan is the "cure" or as Bully says the "bandage"

I have been running a 160 tstat, in The Beast for about 5 yrs now. Some say you can't use anything under 180, but that is what I'm doing. Here in Fla. when it's 101 in August and I'm stuck in traffic, I never go over 190-195. That measured with and Ultraguage. My rad is 5 yrs old too. (put in with the 160 stat.) I believe like you that heat is the enemy of an engine, and prefer to keep mine as cool as possible and still working properly.

You may be more "picky" as you say, but that isn't a bad thing. It's up to you, but I would keep the electric fan.

One thing to check, after the engine is warmed up and the coolent has been flowing for awhile, shut it down and feel the core of the rad. See if the top or bottom feel substantially warmer than the other. If so you may have the beginings of a blockage in the rad. If not, hit that fan switch when needed and be happy!

Good Luck.

 

[riggermortis]

as far as what i ment by performing like a new vehicle, the new cars/trucks have the years and research behind them and are running much more efficently in all areas, heating and cooling, fuel, intake and exhaust, ect... if that bronco was built today im guessing it would have a much larger aluminum radiator. anyway as far as what i have done to it, it was rebuilt by a local shop about 2002-2003 .30 over pistons and a mild RV cam, drove it daily until 2004-2005, installed speed density mustang EFI. drove it daily up until a little over a year ago, then it got parked for a better gas mileage commuter. between 2005 and 2010 i installed oem power steering(6 turn box), oem power brakes, 65amp alternator, 3 speed with overdrive(SROD)from a late 60's early 70's econoline, 4 inch lift, and 35" BFG's, dana 44 and oem disk breaks. most resent, high volume water pump and high flow 180 stat from WCB. it has had all of these mods for a while and never had issues so im wondering if it might just be time for a new radiator since it is the original from '67, i will check it later today for hot/cold spots because for whatever reason that never dawned on me, but hey thats what these forums are for right?

 

[Bully Bob]

WOW Rigger...!

That's quite a list & nothing I haven't had/wouldn't like to have. (meaning nothing radical)

(BTW, all that should have been in you sig. all along, for obvious reasons)

Nothing jumps out as an overheat culptit. ('cept the rad.)

& OMG.! This has turned into "H2o thermal dynamics metallurgy engineering 101" --- :-B :lol:

You know your committed to posting any & all results...?

Water-cooled combustion engines simply run/perform better between 180-200 deg.

The T-stat has nothing (for the most part) to do with the running temp of the motor. (I believe the newer design eng's. all run @ closer to 200 for optimum performance)

One could put in a 90deg. 'stat (in their EB) & the eng. will still run at 180 deg.

All the 'stat does is wait 'til a given temp is reached., then it opens.

Some folks try removing the 'stat for better cooling.., only to find it takes longer to warm up & in some cases actually overheats.

The EB rad. was plenty large & likely oversized fr. the factory. (It's way bigger than my 'lil 6cyl rad.)

However, the new V/8 styles, like Wildhorses has, is an improvment. (4 core, etc.)

 

[riggermortis]

hey i did finally get to check for hot and cold spots on the radiator, and unfortunatly it would appear that i do have some cool spots witch would indicate restricted or plugged passages /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> this would and should explain my insuficient cooling problems. looks as if a new radiator is in order after all ( might be a while before that happens due to lack of funds, and to make matters worse the moab trip i was all excited about is off too! everyone petered out on me and cant go for one reason of another. oh well maybe this fall, and that will give me time to get the new radiator anyway. i will post and let everyone know how much cooler it runs afterwards. thanks for all the input and brain scratchin! i will try and help out wherever i can!

 

[Rons beast]

Cool! (no pun intended.) You dilligently worked and found the problem.

Good luck with the rad.

 

[crankman]

Have you checked your airflow in front of the radiator? I just get a t shirt and toss it in front of the grill it should stick to it like glue. If it does your pulling thru some good air at idle. I cant remember if you had a fan shroud but you do need one. You need the coolant overflow bottle to IMO it allows the rad to push out any fluid and then it will draw it back in later when you cool down. As BullyBob said getone of them temp guns and check the upper and lower part of the rad and see if your actually cooling. Mine sits at 190-195 and creeps up a bit sometimes but will go back to 190. I also sealed the top of the grill area which helps force the air to go thru the radiator instaed of over the top. I believe WildHorses has the kit to do that real easy to install.