Trac overheating issue while sitting in traffic for over an hour.

[Alan Peters]

I had something interesting happen today while sitting stopped in traffic for over an hour. About 35 minutes in, the temp gauge went to the 3/4 mark and slowly climbing. The outside temp was 100 degrees and the a/c was on. After turning off the a/c and turning the vent all the way to warm with the blower on high, the temp dropped rapidly to the half way point and stayed until we started moving again. I checked under the hood and saw no leaks or nothing obvious. The fan was working and plenty of coolant in the bottle which was normal color. I just had the coolant service performed in march 2012. I do have a FIPK K&N on which I thought might contribute to the issue. Is their a cooling issue with my trac? I have 91000 miles on it. As soon as we started moving, the temp gauge stayed at the normal with a/c on at 75 mph.



By the way, my wife lost count at the number of cars and trucks that over heated after 60.

 

[EddieS'04]

Check your t-stat. I had to change mine last year. When I tested it. It only opened 1/4" in a pot of boiling water, 212degrees. It should have been wide open at 190.

 

[Scott Tanner]

also check your clutch fan... mine overheats the same way. the fan does not couple when it gets hot like it should..

 

[Alan Peters]

How would I go about testing those 2 parts?

 

[Richard L]

That's why I like Electric fans with a thermostatic control, and a manual override switch.



The OEM clutch fans are very inefficient when operating at Idle speeds in hot weather, and that's when they are needed the most. Electric fans work so much better when idling in hot weather, and with a manual override switch you can turn the fan on when you want or need the fan for cooling.



Electric fans are just as reliable as clutch fans...maybe even more so. I have had electric fans in most vehicles I have owned over the past 25-30 years and even used them in race cars. I have never had an electric fan fail and leave me stranded. I have had numerous thermostatic fan control sensor fail and that's why I always recommend adding an override switch so you can by-pass the failing thermostatic switch and turn the fan on manually.



The other advantage to electric fans is that they give you a little more gas mileage and HP by eliminating the parasitic drag that is present with all engine-turned clutch fans.



...Rich

 

[EddieS'04]

AL,

As far as the t-stat. If your is sveral years old. I would arbrutraly replace it. I bought mine @ advance. With new o-ring was about $6. They sell stant brand, which I trust.



To test one hang it in a pot of water on the stove. If you have a thermometer that reads above 212. You can see when it starts to open, and what the temp is when fully open.

I always test my new ones, just for peace of mind.



For the fan. It should free wheel by hand when cold. After driving at operating temp then idle for a bit. By hand there should be a significant amount of drag. Problem though is what is enough drag. But if it feels same hot as cold. The clucth is bad.

 

[John G]

You did the right thing by turning on the cabin heat. It's like a second radiator to cool the engine. Most drivers probably wouldn't know to do that.

 

[scott degroot]

Chances are the fan clutch needs replacing. If it does do yourself a favor and get an OE one as the aftermarket ones never seem to work correctly but don't be surprised at the price diference between the 2.



I am not a big fan of replacing mecahnical fans with electric fans on daily drivers. A proper setup is gonna cost you some coin.



I agree with Richard in that it is always the fan controller that fails, or the wiring. I don't believe I have ever seen the actual fan fail without warning.



I am not convinced that ditching the mechanical fan in favor of an electricial setup gains you any advantage. I have a 2002 Dakota that I tried an electric setup on for 2 months and over those 2 months I noticed absolutely zero gains in mpg, as far as hp goes it's hard to say scientifically but seat of the pants difference there was none but I'm sure it is different for all vehicles

 

[EddieS'04]

Scott is right. For street driven there is no gain, for electric fan. Just more headache IMO.

Also Todd Z, dyno'ed a Gen1 trac with electric fan. NO HP or TQ gain.

 

[swshawaii]

Interesting e-fan failure tread. Too bad the pics are gone.

 

[Richard L]

Electric fans do save gas and HP, but that savings is very small.



When the electric fan is off, it is saving some gas and HP because there is no parasitic drag...If you start a cold engine with a mechanical clutch fan the fan will spin at or near the same speed as the engine, even thought it is not needed to cool the engine. When you are cruising down the road at 60 MPH, that mechanical fan is still spinning (not free wheeling) and will change speeds with engine rpm....That's parasitic drag, and that requires some level of power to turn that fan and that takes HP and extra gasoline. That is probably why most foreign cars use electric fans even on inline mounted engines, and tend to average better mileage than their American made competition.



It may take a bit more power from the alternator to replenish the battery power, but electric fans are very light and easy to spin and do not consume very much power. Once you reach road speed, the alternator has replenished he power consumed by the electric fan, and there is no more power consumed by the electric fan...that means a little better gas mileage and a little more HP at cruising speeds.



Electric fans are far more efficient at cooling the engine when they are idling in heavy traffic on a hot day. Electric fans operate at maximum speed when you standing still at idle. Mechanical/clutch fans operate at their most inefficient speed when at idle, and is the primary reason companie sell auxillary electric fans to help mechancal fans keep the engine cool when idling in traffic on a hot day.



I know Todd Z ran a dyno test with an electric fan and noticed no difference in HP, but I also disagreed with Todd since that is not were the electric fan is going to show you any HP gains. The electric fan will show gas mileage improvements in normal everyday operation, not in full power drag racing scenarios.



But HP and gas savings should not be the reason to switch to an electric fan....They just do a better job at cooling the engine when it needs it the most...stuck in traffic and idling in hot weather.



...Rich

 

[EddieS'04]

Back when I used to take "Muscle Mustang" mags'. They did an article on a E-fan swap on a '93 5.0L. Dyno before and after, showed a small loss in power. They attributed it to the extra load on the oem altenator.



'94 'stang came with E-fan. Upped the altenator from 45A to 90A.

I didnt like the delay from the TC to the OBD1 fan controller. So I bought an online kit. It put the TC in the t-stat neck. Came with the fan harness and relay. Needed the harness anyway. The oem plug had melted and I had the hi-lo speed wire direct with stakons.Came with Diode blocker for the AC fan control. I went with the 180 kit. In the houston heat the low speed wasnt enough anyway. The oem controler never came on hi fan until the cap burped into the overflow. So the kit using hi speed only was perfect. Cooled it quik and stayed that way longer. Oem was cycling the fan allthe time.

The kit was great. Triple temps and the 'stang never got over 194.

 

[mike burns 3]

Not sure about my truck but I would be blowing a gasket after setting in traffic for over an hour! Somethings are nice about living in VT.

 

[Richard L]

Eddie,

Like I said, Dynos don't show small HP or Mileage gains at part throttle or cruising speeds which is where electric fans gain their advantage....and yes, you can show a loss of HP on a dyno if the fan is running while at wide open throttle...



Remember that once the vehicle reaches speeds above 25-30 MPH, there is sufficient airflow through the radiator to cool the engine and the fan shuts off. On a dyno the vehicle is not moving and there is no air flow, which may force the electric fan to continue to run. Even with an external fan set up in front of the radiator, it may still not be enough air flow to trigger the electric fan to cut off.



Electric fans require you to rethink your ideas about engine cooling because they do their maximum cooling at idle, when it's needed most. They have no parasitic drag when operating at cruising or highway speeds...and that's when the electric fan gives back the HP and mileage.



When you are operating an engine with an electric fan on a dyno, you are operating the engine at high rpm and not getting the effect of the road speed forcing air through the radiator to cool the engine. That usually results in the electric fan always running and thus no HP or Mileage improvement...and is not any better than the constant parasitic drag of a conventional belt driven clutch fan.



....Rich

 

[brian brown 3]