Hi I have a 1990 aerostar 3.0 5sp i'm reviving. Was overheating when I got it I replaced the water pump, swapped the radiator from the larger 4.0 aerostar, didn't quite fit had to remove the fan shroud to make it fit in my 3.0. Anyway my NORMAL gauge points to O/R on highway and R/M on local. I think it's too hot cuz I have a 4.0 aerostar auto and it's running at below N. What do you think? And how do I make it run cooler? Thanks
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How hot do you run on the NORMAL gauge
- Thread starter whitebroncoii87
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Every Ranger gauge I've paid any attention to was dead center after warming up.
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That has been my experience as well and I susspect the Aerostar would be the same but I have no experience with that platform that is worth anything.
Fan shrouds are important. A bigger rad + a shroud delete is not necessarily a significant improvement in cooling. If you have A/C, the shroud is mandatory.
I wouldn't care if my temp gauge points at 12:30/1-o'clock. Honestly I wouldn't freak out about anything it did without temp-gunning the head and seeing actual numbers that make me uncomfortable.
I wouldn't care if my temp gauge points at 12:30/1-o'clock. Honestly I wouldn't freak out about anything it did without temp-gunning the head and seeing actual numbers that make me uncomfortable.
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Mine usually hover in the O-R range and when I was testing that with an infrared thermometer it seemed to be right around 190-200 degrees. M was about 210.. A was around 220-230ish. They are all different though - having sat in front of dozens of early 90's Ranger temp gauges, I can tell you that operating temp of 195 or so is not in the exact same spot on any gauge. Some fluctuations are totally OK and normal too...if you have the engine under a heavy load and aren't moving very fast, it'll naturally run hotter for example.
Also I don't think I would run any V6 powered rig without a fan shroud. You're just blowing air around in the engine bay and not pulling it through the radiator. Maybe it's not a big problem with a manual transmission and no AC... add an automatic and AC and you really need that airflow moving properly.
Also I don't think I would run any V6 powered rig without a fan shroud. You're just blowing air around in the engine bay and not pulling it through the radiator. Maybe it's not a big problem with a manual transmission and no AC... add an automatic and AC and you really need that airflow moving properly.
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