My 68 standard is running TOO HOT! 302 4v, 10.5:1 compression, .560"/.560" lift, 294 duration cam, so big heat generator here. Car still has stock 2 core radiator, unshrouded, but freshly recored. I'm running a flex blade fan, but one with the little skinny tips, so I'm sure it's not moving a whole lot of air. Runs hot even when it's cool out, going down the road. I know the first step should be a shroud, next would be a 3 or 4 core radiator, but thats $250-$300, and my wife is pretty close to a mutiny now. Does anyone have an extra shroud out there that will fit?? If so, email me and let me know how much dough. Thanks for the help.
Too Hot!
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Most of the Cougar fanatics I have spoken to have not had good luck with flex fans. You may try putting your stock fixed blade fan back on. Also, have you changed your thermostat recently? Maybe it is stuck? What temperature thermostat do you have installed?
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ill take a look for a new shroud but why not get a 3 core from mustang country?? believe it or not i got mine there and they actually beat the prices for anyone else around here. i think 250 can get you a 4 core there. the 3 core i dropped in fit perfect and looks just like factory. the car doesnt heat up like it used to and its just great. i paid 220 for mine and the next best price would have been 310 from the local Autozone. i know i never said buy Cougar parts from the Cougar ( or mustang ) guys, but in this case it saved me some cash. i think their website is www.mustangcountryintl.com granted shipping will cost you some depending on where you live, but i guess i got lucky there too.... im about 5 miles from them 
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I replaced the shroud in my other '68 with one from John's in Holland. It was over 10 years ago but i don't think it was much. It really helps the fan draw air thru especially at idle and low speeds. I ran a stock fan blade and never had any problems unless I was stuck in traffic in 95 + temps. It worked great for normal driving.
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First off get rid of the flex fan!! Second get a shroud on it. A 2 core should be alright if it is a 24" radiator but I bet your 68 has only a 20" in it so I suggest you go ahead and bite the bullet and replace it.
When I replaced mine last summer I shopped around and found that Mustangs Unlimited seemed to have the best prices around. I went with a 24" 3 core and its $189. By the time it was shipped to the house I think it was $210. They list the 20" 3 core for $169.
If you replace the radiator by all means go with the wider radiator if you can. Maybe some of the 67-68 guys will know for sure if it will fit, but I would think it would. And make sure you get a shroud for it.
I'm sure some will argue with me, but my personal experiances with radiators is that most the time with my race cars is that the 3 cores actually cooled better than the 4 cores. Why is that? My theory is that the air moves through them better. Especially around town. Just my opinion that a 3 core will do you fine, even moreso if you can go with the wider rad.mm
O and by the way my brother went with the 20" 4 core and his car is always running hotter than mine.
When I replaced mine last summer I shopped around and found that Mustangs Unlimited seemed to have the best prices around. I went with a 24" 3 core and its $189. By the time it was shipped to the house I think it was $210. They list the 20" 3 core for $169.
If you replace the radiator by all means go with the wider radiator if you can. Maybe some of the 67-68 guys will know for sure if it will fit, but I would think it would. And make sure you get a shroud for it.
I'm sure some will argue with me, but my personal experiances with radiators is that most the time with my race cars is that the 3 cores actually cooled better than the 4 cores. Why is that? My theory is that the air moves through them better. Especially around town. Just my opinion that a 3 core will do you fine, even moreso if you can go with the wider rad.mm
O and by the way my brother went with the 20" 4 core and his car is always running hotter than mine.
Thanks guys for all of the helpful advice. You do have a rare problem there, Logan, especially in Texas!! I just had exhaust put on, too, 3" pipe w/ H crossover, back to SpinTech mufflers, then 2 1/2" on out the back under the valence. The spin tech mufflers would be similar to the flowmasters, but supposedly flow a little better. The little bit of back pressure probably builds a little more heat too.
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Logans problem is not that rare, I have to but a hotter thermostat in mine because it runs too cool also. mm
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really?? damn, i have never seen my temp guage hit half way. once it almost didn, but that was on a 100+ day and i put the AC on. it scared me half to death. the guage will go all the way up, i tested it, but ive never seen it that high under normal use. hell 1/4 the way up is where it starts to make me really really nervous. normally the guage is just after the cold mark. just outside of that lil box.... here, you might be able to see it in this pic, but thats pretty much where it stays. no real fluctuations.
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I think I still have a shroud that came off a J-code 302 68 XR7, if I do I'll sell it for twenty-five bucks so your wife will not make you get rid of it. I don't know if it's worth it once you put shipping in there but if interested let me know. I check this site at least every couple days.....or email at [email protected] Keith
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Generally, if the temp gauge near the cold side of the dial you have too cool a thermostat (probably 160 instead of 180). On a hot day 90+ it will probably swing to about 3/4 of the gauge and up to just below the red if you are stuck in traffic. Normally it should be around the centre of the gauge
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I always thought that OEM gauges were just a "ballpark" indication of what was going on, especially in older vehicles. And also that there would be differences between two identical gauges, or senders for that matter. So I think it would be difficult to compare gauge needle positions? I may be wrong but don't rely too much on where other gauges are. Just my 3 CND cents worth!!
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Bruter, I'm with you on this one. I have driven Fords all my life and will say that I never trust there electric gauges. I have had too many bad ones, thats why I now have a small set of mechanical gauges under my dash.
Evil, you got it backwards, a 180 will run hotter than a 160. Think about it. mm
Evil, you got it backwards, a 180 will run hotter than a 160. Think about it. mm
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Here are some recomendations from the old Mercury Cougar FAQ:
My car overheats. What could be the problem?
Check for leaks.
If you've removed the fan shroud, replace it. The shroud forces more air to be drawn through the radiator, which increases its ability to dissipate heat.
If you have a clutching fan, make sure it is working properly.
Check the car's coolant level and use a proper radiator cap. Caps have pressure relief valves. If the valve opens at too low a pressure, the car can lose coolant over time and overheat. Use a 12 to 13 psi cap.
Make sure the engine's thermostat is working properly. The thermostat provides a necessary flow impedance that allows time for heat transfer from the engine block to the coolant. The coolant can then transfer heat to the air via the radiator. Remember, the pointy end of the thermostat should go toward the radiator. A thermostat with too low a temperature rating can cause overheating as well, for reasons similar to those stated above.
Check that the radiator for blockages. The back-yard mechanic method is to run the car until it warms up and gingerly touch different areas on the front of the radiator (try to touch the back and friends soon will be calling you "stumpy"). If you find cool spots, your radiator has blocked passages. Professional radiator shops can flow test your radiator for you.
Check that coolant passages in the engine block are not blocked with rust and scale. Flush the cooling system.
Check that the lower radiator hose is not collapsing at high engine speed. Feel for "spring" in the hose.
Make sure your timing is set properly and your distributor advance is working correctly.
Consider replacing your two-row radiator with a three- or four-row unit.
Check for blown head gaskets. White exhaust smoke, low compression on one or two cylinders coupled with fouled plugs, magically disappearing coolant and bubbles appearing in the radiator when fast idling are common symptoms of a blown cylinder head gasket. It also is possible the block or cylinder head is cracked, in which case oil is likely to be found in the coolant and coolant will be found in the oil.
Incorrect head gaskets? If you've recently replaced the head gaskets and then began to notice overheating problems, it's possible the gaskets were incorrect and are blocking the rear water passages. Another unpleasant possibility: The head gaskets were installed backward.
My car overheats. What could be the problem?
Check for leaks.
If you've removed the fan shroud, replace it. The shroud forces more air to be drawn through the radiator, which increases its ability to dissipate heat.
If you have a clutching fan, make sure it is working properly.
Check the car's coolant level and use a proper radiator cap. Caps have pressure relief valves. If the valve opens at too low a pressure, the car can lose coolant over time and overheat. Use a 12 to 13 psi cap.
Make sure the engine's thermostat is working properly. The thermostat provides a necessary flow impedance that allows time for heat transfer from the engine block to the coolant. The coolant can then transfer heat to the air via the radiator. Remember, the pointy end of the thermostat should go toward the radiator. A thermostat with too low a temperature rating can cause overheating as well, for reasons similar to those stated above.
Check that the radiator for blockages. The back-yard mechanic method is to run the car until it warms up and gingerly touch different areas on the front of the radiator (try to touch the back and friends soon will be calling you "stumpy"). If you find cool spots, your radiator has blocked passages. Professional radiator shops can flow test your radiator for you.
Check that coolant passages in the engine block are not blocked with rust and scale. Flush the cooling system.
Check that the lower radiator hose is not collapsing at high engine speed. Feel for "spring" in the hose.
Make sure your timing is set properly and your distributor advance is working correctly.
Consider replacing your two-row radiator with a three- or four-row unit.
Check for blown head gaskets. White exhaust smoke, low compression on one or two cylinders coupled with fouled plugs, magically disappearing coolant and bubbles appearing in the radiator when fast idling are common symptoms of a blown cylinder head gasket. It also is possible the block or cylinder head is cracked, in which case oil is likely to be found in the coolant and coolant will be found in the oil.
Incorrect head gaskets? If you've recently replaced the head gaskets and then began to notice overheating problems, it's possible the gaskets were incorrect and are blocking the rear water passages. Another unpleasant possibility: The head gaskets were installed backward.
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Mark,
I've found that a lower temperature thermostat can make an engine run warmer. Since the thermostat opens sooner, the coolant may not stay in the radiator long enough to cool properly, so you end up always having hot coolant in the engine. Also, too hot of a thermostat will also cause overheating, as it waits too long to open the thermostat, keeping the hot coolant in the engine block / head passages too long.
180 - 195 has worked well in 351Ws and 351Cs for me.
I've found that a lower temperature thermostat can make an engine run warmer. Since the thermostat opens sooner, the coolant may not stay in the radiator long enough to cool properly, so you end up always having hot coolant in the engine. Also, too hot of a thermostat will also cause overheating, as it waits too long to open the thermostat, keeping the hot coolant in the engine block / head passages too long.
180 - 195 has worked well in 351Ws and 351Cs for me.
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1,832 Posts
Jimk, If thats what worked for you fine, I'm not saying your wrong but I do not belive much of that too much flow theory that some people push.
In my years of stock cars I have seen many many heat problems and none were the result of too cold of a themostat. In fact most everyone just cut the center out of one.
You buy a high performance water pump and what is one of the supposed benifits? Increased flow. There is another side of your theory and that is the water dosent stay in the block long enough to get very hot either, so it dosent need to cool off as much in the radiator.
The only time you get into trouble with too much flow is when the engine is run at high rpms for extended periods and the water pump is turning too fast and cavitates and actually quits pumping. That is why they make reduction pulleys.
If lowering the thermostat temp worked against you I suspect the there were other problems involved. But you could be right if it worked for you great. I'm just stating my experiances, and what worked for me. And if a motor will stay cool in a stock car running steady at 6-7000 rpm with a radiator full of mud then it will work very good on the street.mm
In my years of stock cars I have seen many many heat problems and none were the result of too cold of a themostat. In fact most everyone just cut the center out of one.
You buy a high performance water pump and what is one of the supposed benifits? Increased flow. There is another side of your theory and that is the water dosent stay in the block long enough to get very hot either, so it dosent need to cool off as much in the radiator.
The only time you get into trouble with too much flow is when the engine is run at high rpms for extended periods and the water pump is turning too fast and cavitates and actually quits pumping. That is why they make reduction pulleys.
If lowering the thermostat temp worked against you I suspect the there were other problems involved. But you could be right if it worked for you great. I'm just stating my experiances, and what worked for me. And if a motor will stay cool in a stock car running steady at 6-7000 rpm with a radiator full of mud then it will work very good on the street.mm
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