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radiator question

C

cetroutt

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i've been having an issue with my car running a little hotter than normal and it not wanting to idle for long periods of time. i know that it's mainly due to the high temps we've been having lately. what i'm wondering is, if the radiator out of the V6 contours are larger than the one in my zetec? i'm thinking that a radiator swap (if it's larger) as well as a fan upgrade may help some. also do the V6 fans flow more than the zetec? thanks
chris
 
The V6 tours have the same radiator as the Zetec. The only radiator upgrade is the SVT radiator, it's about 40% thicker. You can't get a new one anymore so your only option finding one will likely be in the classifieds here. Your car has the single fan setup right? I suppose you could convert to the dual fan setup, but I'm unsure of how much of an improvement it would be also I'm not sure how much work would be involved to make it work. In reality I would start looking at the cooling system to make sure that everything is working properly before dropping the time and money to try and upgrade. Something as simple as flushing your coolant could make all the difference in the world.
 
how do you know its getting to hot? the gauge in the dash? if so that gauge is NOT accurate and the sensor for it is known to go bad and show high readings even though everything is fine.


FWIW, I ran the stock radiator and fan setup on my turbo Zetec without any overheating problems, including while beating on it down at the Dragon.
 
thanks for all of the info.

striker2 said:
how do you know its getting to hot? the gauge in the dash? if so that gauge is NOT accurate and the sensor for it is known to go bad and show high readings even though everything is fine.
FWIW, I ran the stock radiator and fan setup on my turbo Zetec without any overheating problems, including while beating on it down at the Dragon.
Click to expand...

i've noticed on the hotter days when it had be driven for more than just around town with the A/C on it would start to run poorly. also the A/C wouldn't blow as cold and i couldn't touch anything under the hood. so i'd say it's getting a little to hot for my taste.

Lavell said:
If you decide to do the dual fan upgrade, here's the thread that will offer good tips om how to do it. I went dual fans on my car and it was painless to install. I'm very happy that I did it.

Dual Fan Conversion
Click to expand...

thanks for this, while i'm not planning on upgrading to an SVT radiator i do think i will do this before next summer.

i actually came across a thread where someone had posted about cleaning the radiator and A/C condenser out with a pressure washer. so i stopped by the car wash and gave a good washing to what was accessible and i was surprised by the amount of crude i washed out, it started out looking like mud. it seems to be helping but with the cooler temps as of late who can really say for sure. i do have another question. what is the part number for the 180 degree failsafe thermostat that people seem to be liking so much? thanks
 
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