Surprize surprize, cooling issues

[Bill Bess]

Hey, just a thought....because I had all these problems with my FE Cobra. I changed everything as you have and guess what, it was the brand new temp. gauge that was bad.
Check your motor with an infered gun when the gauge is indicating very hot and then you'll know. You can buy one at Summit for $35.00 or find a shop with a gun.
Start with basics...is it really hot?

Best Regards, Bill

[67FEfastback]

Thanks for your suggestion, Bill.
All of you responses have helped me get this close to a conclusion.

I filled the balance of coolant up with distilled filtered water. That should get me to around 50/50.

I left the rad cap open and ran the engine up.
Slightly over 1/2 on th temp guage, no flow.
Ran it a bit more. Shut it off.

I figure the thermostat was not even opening.
When I restarted I did get coolant flow, until the temp went down a little, then it stopped again.

Even at 3/4 mark on the gauge there is not too much flow.

So it is not likely that hot.

The only thing I'll need to do is to be wary of the stop and go traffic scenario,
It was obviously heating up, more than it was able to cool down.

I think I'll still look at a larger rad and possible pusher fan, for the summer time heat. It's better that I have too much cooling capacity, than not enough and struggle in the summer.

What do you guys think about size and combinations of pusher fans?

[DAVID GAGNARD]

Me thinks your factory gauge is not all that accurate.... I would get a mechanical gauge and stick it somewhere in the car temporarely and see what the reading are on the street........

Your thermostat will not open till it reaches it's temp rating, sometimes it seems to take forever..........
BTW: I ALWAYS check a new thermostat in a pot of water on the stove to make sure it is working properly.........

Some years ago I added a 12" pusher fan (temporarely mounted) to the front of my radiator for parades, it worked fine........ I would think anything from 12" on up would help, just make sure it is shrouded, I've also found the curved blade fans work better than straight blade fans...........

Over the years, I have expriemented with 4 radiators, 1/2 dozen electric fans, different pulleys and 3 water pumps on my 65 Fastback to get it where I could do the Forth of July parade here, (usually about 100 degress outside) with no problems.... I can now do the parade which last about 45 to 60 minutes.....first 40 minutes or so, temp stays around 180 to 185, then afterwards starts creeping up, by the end of the parade (50 to 60 minutes later), I'm about 190 to 195 degress, 2 miles down the road and I'm back to 180..........

David