Difinitive cooling fix??

[WGUNGHO]

I've done the search and spent over an hour reading. I have a bone stock 97 Cobra, and it has run warm since I bought it with <10k miles. I have the stock guage, but my mechanic checked it against a comuter guage, and it's close. Mishy and Fluidyne are a nono, but the oem 03-04 don't really do much to reduce temp. Fans might help. Thermostat might help (I run a 180*). A different temp relay might help-but didn't help me.

My wife has basically taken over the car. I get the modded 89 Saleen and 06 F250 FX4. She bitches that the car runs "too close to hot"! Which means between R and M.

What do I do to cool it down-with dependability!

 

[CJK440]

Watching this one. My car has the updated 99+ pump and a 180 deger 03/04 cobra stat. Yesterday on the highway with the A/C on, temps got to 230 on my autometer gauge which is about in between the M and the A.

I'm sure the FMIC isn't helping things.

 

[Gallows]

Watching this one. My car has the updated 99+ pump and a 180 deger 03/04 cobra stat. Yesterday on the highway with the A/C on, temps got to 230 on my autometer gauge which is about in between the M and the A.

I'm sure the FMIC isn't helping things.

Mine usually runs 190 -195 with the FMIC but has been as high as 210 degrees. What stat is stock in our cars?

 

[harvboi05]

i have a 180 t-stat, 03-04 cobra radiator and a 3" FMIC in the way and with my stock fans adjusted to do so in the calibration, my coolant temps never get above 185. cruising on the highway they sit at 182.

 

[b dub]

So how hot does it get? 220 degrees is normal for it.

 

[dustsvt]

I believe the stock stat is 195 degree

 

[MouTine]

You can do Ford cooling upgrade, watervetters, raindance, what ever, but you can not run away the fact that original radiator is way too smal. Get a custom made 3-row or one of those mentioned in your first post along with 180F t-stat.

And quad-shocks are not useless.

 

[b dub]

And quad-shocks are not useless.

Huh?

 

[Chris98vobra]

Fans might help.

Fans do help. Keep in mind that stock settings have your low speed fan turning on at 200 degrees and high speed at 228 degrees. As you can see, on a hot day the car will definitely run at 230 degrees or more by design. In a tune you can turn low and high speed on at a lower temp, like 180 degrees. I had the same issue until I lowered the fan temps. I later added a Mark VIII fan and a 3 core radiator when I was running non-stock cams.

 

[harvboi05]

my low speed fans come on at 174 and the high speed comes on at 182. coolant temps stay at right around there at all times.

 

[Myzticsnake]

Watching this one. My car has the updated 99+ pump and a 180 deger 03/04 cobra stat. Yesterday on the highway with the A/C on, temps got to 230 on my autometer gauge which is about in between the M and the A.

I'm sure the FMIC isn't helping things.

Gotta be mindful of where you put the bung for the water temp gauge, if you put it in the side of the block it will be wrong because of the latent heat from the engine and exhaust manifolds. Putting it in the coolant crossover is about the only place to get an accurate reading.

 

[CJK440]

Gotta be mindful of where you put the bung for the water temp gauge, if you put it in the side of the block it will be wrong because of the latent heat from the engine and exhaust manifolds. Putting it in the coolant crossover is about the only place to get an accurate reading.

Mines in the tube.

As for the fan turn on speeds, I am sure lowering them helps at lower speeds & traffic but if I am running hot at 60mph I would imagine that I am already getting a good amount of airflow thru the rad. Right?

 

[PSUCOBRA96]

Watching this one. My car has the updated 99+ pump and a 180 deger 03/04 cobra stat. Yesterday on the highway with the A/C on, temps got to 230 on my autometer gauge which is about in between the M and the A.

I'm sure the FMIC isn't helping things.

damn 230 on the highway, that sounds high, you sure something isn't blocking the radiator, are you missing that little plastic deflector below the radiator support?


Highway speeds that car should be fine, hell in traffic with the AC on I only get like 215

 

[CJK440]

damn 230 on the highway, that sounds hig, you sure something is blocking the radiator, are you missing that little plastic deflector below the radiator support.


Highway speeds that car should be fine, hell in traffic with the AC on I only get like 215

Thats what I was thinking too. And yes, I do have the plastic air deflector in place. I'm going to check to see if there is anything stupid blocking airflow other than my FMIC.



How about thermostats? I saw somewhere that 2v stats are different. Any chance of the thermostat being instaled backwards or otherwise improperly installed?

 

[harvboi05]

2v thermostats are definitely different. dont use one.

both 180* tstats. 2v on the left, 4v on the right.

 

[Myzticsnake]

Cant put a thermostat in backwards, simply wont fit that way. You try burping the system? If you are speed at running hot then you have an issue with the water pump or radiator. Just upgrade to a 3 row rad and your car will run significantly cooler.

 

[na svt]

I have the stock guage, but my mechanic checked it against a computer guage, and it's close. Mishy and Fluidyne are a nono, but the oem 03-04 don't really do much to reduce temp. Fans might help. Thermostat might help (I run a 180*).

What do I do to cool it down-with dependability!

The stock gauge has no numbers so how do you know it's close? What's the temp of the engine when on the hwy?

A 180 thermostat will do little unless you also change the fan settings. An 03/04 radiator will help some and it's inexpensive. A 160-170 thermostat could also offer some help.

 

[na svt]

So how hot does it get? 220 degrees is normal for it.

Shit no.

 

[RedTwilight]

I'm wondering about this too. I just replaced the almost the entire cooling system in my car. Installed an 03-04 Cobra radiator and electric fan, new 180* 03-04 thermostat, new 99 water pump, new ECT and Temp sending units, and fresh coolant with water wetter. Burped it according to the instructions linked many times on this board and it still runs warm. I don't have a real temp gauge yet, but the factory one runs right on the L. I've checked the coolant level at the crossover tube and it's always full. Makes me wonder if the thermo isn't working properly or the water pump is running backwards (I don't think that is possible, is it?).

 

[CJK440]

2v thermostats are definitely different. dont use one.

both 180* tstats. 2v on the left, 4v on the right.

I asked for a Stant replacement for a 03 Cobra and put it in. Can't remember exactly what it looked like but it did have the little ball check valve in it.