351W Explorer HD Radiator?

BronKitis · Oct 27, 2014

Hey guys! I put an Ex Rad in front of my 351 at the factory mounting points in the BII and installed a 16" 2000CFM fan in front as a pusher. Finally got to take it out on the first trip and kept getting temps creeping up to the 210 mark on the trail.

-I tried a few different things such as emptying the cooling system of 50/50 antifreeze and water and running just water wetter and water which seemed to help.

-I ran around in "D" rather than first so that that motor wasn't revving high giving the fan ample time to cool the water in the Rad

-Ran all weekend with heater on full blast

Even with all these tricks, I was still nervous that the temp was getting above 200 as I'd really like to keep it around 180. Do you think if I were to install the same radiator under the core support, move big fan to puller and install a small pusher (or something to that effect) I'll get efficient cooling or should I start thinking about a different radiator setup?

I haven't checked the timing since the run so that could have something to do with it and I don't know if the t-stat is working properly so I still have a couple things to go over first but I just wanted opinions.

BTW it did GREAT! That 351 really just lugs around and has gobs of torque! Love it!

BronKitis · Nov 1, 2014

Bump! Come on boys. Gotta be someone with something to say!

BronKitis · Nov 1, 2014

Also, just pulled t stat, dropping in boiling water and nothing.... So, bought a new one. I know this isn't good but there is a factory bypass which is what was letting water through the entire trip I assume. Think this will do the trick?

alwaysFlOoReD · Nov 2, 2014

That should fix the problem as long as your not bouncing the rev limits.
Good luck,

Richard

BronKitis · Nov 5, 2014

I appreciate the input and did the repairs needed including a stock radiator replacement and a new thermostat. After repairs, fired it up and let it idle for a good 20-30 minutes and it never hit 170* with the fan running. The core support and top of the rad were nice and cool which was astounding as before I kept burning my arm on the top! I was impressed to say the least! But, I made a small miscalculation-the hood was open during the whole time...

Closed the hood and slowly watched the temp rise higher and higher. Over about 10 minutes it had increased from 165* to 203* before I shut it down. Pop the hood and everything is scorching. Solution? Hood vents. Picked up some hood scoops from auto drone and installed reverse with outlet facing windshield so hot air moved by fan will have somewhere to escape.

Has anyone else had an issue like this? I know I don't have a lot of flow room under the hood with a 351 and a C6 with only a 2" body lift and I would have never guessed temps would be oven-like but it does seem to make sense. Granted my testing was done while vehicle sat idle but it won't be moving much faster when back on the trail.

I haven't had a chance to test the hood vent theory yet as I had a first gen truck avenger that was continuously stumbling off idle. Long story short, made a call to Holley and spoke with a gentleman by the name of Lee who asked a few small details and asked that I ship him the old carb and a new one would be sent my way free of charge! Awesome customer assistance and I highly recommend them. I will post back soon as carb should be back before the weekend!

BronKitis · Nov 5, 2014

alwaysFlOoReD · Nov 5, 2014

That looks cool. At high way speeds in front of the windshield is a high pressure area but you say that you are basically idling when 4x4ing. Should work good.
Another thing I saw in a thread on TRS was the the 2.8 rad is a 3-core and quite a bit thicker than the 2.9 or 4.0. Apparently the 2.8 has a cooling problem and that was part of the solution. I don't have first hand experience but thought it was worth a mention.

Richard

BronKitis · Nov 5, 2014

Definitely worth a mention and I will have to look into that! I assume a 2.8 is a direct replacement? I found an all aluminum 4.0 rad on Amazon for $150 so that is my next plan if needed.

Truck won't ever see Highway speeds again unless it's on Chevy (my trailer). Max I hit last weekend was approx. 25MPH and revs were around 1800 in 3rd so 60 would be like 5 grand!

alwaysFlOoReD · Nov 6, 2014

I haven't been able to confirm the 2.8 b-2 rad size. And can't find the thread I saw. Take the info with a grain of salt.
I did find that before '85 the thermostat was in the lower rad hose and in the upper hose after '85.

Richard

merch · Nov 12, 2014

ive heard that a miss matched pusher and puller fan together will actualy have a negative affect non cooling. not sure what you have on yours,but i used a summit four core universal radiator and a 16" puller fan on my 351w and so far havent had any cooling issues with the hood down and the trans cooler and condenser infront of the radiator. i have heard many success stories useing duel fans fron a ford escort.maybe worth a shot,the 2.8 rad. was bigger if i remember corectly but im not sure if itll cool a 351. hope this helps. im glad the truck avenger did you well i have a 650 holley im about to convert to truckavenger now!

bobbywalter · Nov 13, 2014

180?

with a carb i can see that being the goal. an efi engine that would be expected temp. 200 degrees is pretty good for operating efficiency. was it spark knocking real bad? did you have to pull timing etc and that is why you are concerned?

tough to watch people make the same mistakes time after time as in this case you may not even have a cooling issue.

there is a reason i prefer to modify and radically open up the core support and relocate the radiator as far forward as possible.

a typical 25x19 aluminum radiator from summit with a taurus style cooling fan will easily cool a 500 hp 351 in trail conditions.

i made the mistake for years going by the numbers and superior efficiency of brass over alum...but the real world proved different then the physics provided by the textbook. i was running hot even with the hood off at times.

once i went to a good simple high flow aluminum unit the cooling issues were gone.

the hood vents are a great idea. i ditch the fenderwells as well most of the time. but i can be sealed right up with the taurus fan and decent aluminum radiator with no issues.

RangerSVT · Nov 13, 2014

What Bobby said. Your problem isn't radiator size, its airflow, in your case, lack of. You can try to squeeze in a taurus fan, or multiple small ones. A taurus will flow 3,000 cfm, 6,000 on high. You can also run out of the lower rad hose from the rad into an 1.5" pipe that runs down the framerail towards the back then back up to the motor. This will help in cooling two ways, giving you more surface area for cooling as well as increasing your fluid capacity...

SVT

85_Ranger4x4 · Nov 13, 2014

The 2.8 radiator in my Ranger was a little less than half as thick as the HD 4.0 Explorer one... single row vs dual row.

Never had any cooling problems with it.

BronKitis · Nov 13, 2014

You guys are smart!

Bobby- no spark knocks. I haven't had a chance to check the timing since I still haven't received my carburetor back from Holley. The twin fan setup off a Taurus is a mighty fine idea and I'll be at a junkyard this weekend so I'll keep my eyes open. I did find an all aluminum 4.0 Rad on Amazon and that will probably be my next purchase. I'm nervous to remove the fender wells for obvious reasons on a trail rig but I suppose if it works, it works.

Can anyone give detailed photos of their core support mods?

The added cooling capacity of additional pipe/hose isn't a shabby idea either SVT. I hadn't thought of that.

Has anyone ran the Taurus fans with any luck as a pusher? 6,000CFM is more than TWICE what my 16" shoves! That's a whole lot of air moving and would DEFINITELY be a helping hand!

RangerSVT · Nov 13, 2014

I haven't tried using the taurus fan as a pusher, but if you'd like, i can find out for you. I have a taurus fan in my shop that I'm going to use on HWW...

SVT

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