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Best ways to keep my truck cool?

K5dreamer said:
190-210 is normal, and completely acceptable.

a lower operating temp is not always a good thing. In winter, all this cooling power is going to lengthen warm up time, effect emissions, and fuel economy. The engine is designed to perform optimally around the temp range listed above. running it hotter is obviously bad, running it cooler also is not a great thing. cold oil dosnt flow as well as hot etc. etc. And if it is computer controlled, it will pi$$ it off if you get it to too low of an operating temp. I would only upgrade the cooling system as needed to prevent overheating in those punishing texas summers.
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there's nothing stock about my motor except the cooling system. And texas winters like.. High 50's. Bahaha.
and gas mileage? I get 8 to the gallon. I'm not worried about mpg's.
and doesn't lower temps void better fuel economy and power anyways?
I dunno. I'm conflicted right now.
i've always known cooler temps to be better on the motor. That's why they ice down the radiator in between runs out at the track.
And when we used to run our nova on the strip we got antsy when it got above 180-190
 
I'm tellin ya, you will be beyond suprised at how well a 4 row radiator will keep things cool. use the 180 t-stat and it will run right around that level.

I tried the 160 in a streetcat once,personally i didn't like it, ran 180 in all my carb'd engines, and 195 in computer controlled ones, except for the TPI IROC i owned, ran a 180 in that after a lower fan temp switch and still had issues with getting hot. Yeah it ran "faster" but definately did use more fuel.
 
I'm not trying to claim to be a pro at cooling systems, but i can honestly say after living in Phoenix Arizona for the past 21 years, and having several vehicles, most of which had cooling issues, i do have alittle experiance dealing with them

i got tired of dealing with them, as mentioned with my Burb, i just went all out, installed the 4 row radiator, heavy duty (severe duty) fan clutch, and 195 t-stat and it has NEVER overheated on me since.
I have also heard about the Water Wetter stuff, although i have never used it yet, cause everything has been good with the current setup and a 50/50 mix of coolant.

curious, what electric fans are you running, can you get a pic of the setup?
 
CherryK5 said:
there's nothing stock about my motor except the cooling system. And texas winters like.. High 50's. Bahaha.
and gas mileage? I get 8 to the gallon. I'm not worried about mpg's.
and doesn't lower temps void better fuel economy and power anyways?
I dunno. I'm conflicted right now.
i've always known cooler temps to be better on the motor. That's why they ice down the radiator in between runs out at the track.
And when we used to run our nova on the strip we got antsy when it got above 180-190
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Comparing apples to oranges. what works at the track not necessarily the best option for the street. Icing down the intake is not to lower the operating temp of the engine, its to lower the air charge density going into the cylinders, denser air and more fuel = more power. Now, dont get me wrong, having a killer cooling system is key, but the super low thermostat would probably be where i get a little hinky. Big radiator for a big truck in a big state with hot temps... i support 100%. high flow waterpump, whatever floats your boat. oil coolers and trans fluid coolers, always a good idea. running a super low temp thermostat or even running without one (yes ive seen it done with the same mindset) or adding lots of "slick additives" to the cooling system... not my first suggestion. and pretty close to the last.

In short, upgrade the cooling system as much as you want to make sure you dont have any overheating issues, but stick with a stock, or only slightly lower thermostat temp to keep the engine within its designed performance range. but hey, thats just my two cents, aint my truck.
 
motor oil running too cool is a bad thing.... optimum performance temps are usually in the 180 to 220 range for oil.... carbed motor, i'd run the 180 with a good system.. that means good rad and fan setup... btw, ftr, a good 2 row AL rad will cool as good, or better than 4 core...

and yeah, water wetter ain't snake oil, it works......

ya wanna ice something down? get a cool can and cool the intake charge!
 
Alright so i get the idea. 180 t-stat and a 4 core. or a badass 2 core(ryoken)

But i just changed the t stat just because theyre cheap and it couldnt hurt to do it.
Buttttt. now im idling at 230.. what the heck?
Did i put it in the wrong way? Spring side down is how i put it. So the valve opens down, which i thought was a little weird but whatever.
 
does that ZZ4 have vortec style heads on it? If so, do you have a bypass from the water pump to the intake manifold.
Your thermo install sounds OK, but you could check it with an Infra Red gun to see whats really going on.
 
I think the general quality of thermostats has taken a serious decline in the past few years.
I keep hearing more and more about them going bad or new ones being bad out of the box.

If I have to replace one, I think I will do the stove trick on the new one before I install it.
I have got a good accurate thermometer, and I will put it and the thermostat in a pot of water on the stove and see what temp it opens.

As for the six row radiator, I doubt it unless its a custom build.
Three cores are stock for the 350 engine, the 4 core is special, a 6 core would have to be some kind of double secret special radiator.

As for what they do in racing, be careful about that.
When I was going to school in Orlando, I had a friend that was just enamored with racing.
Every so often, he would call me and want me to help him modify his 350 because he read something in a magazine

I finally started carrying a small stick whenever he came over or I went to his apartment.
When he would come up with some stupid idea, I would whack him with the stick until he came to his senses.

The one that made me go over the edge, was when he called me and said he was thinking about going with a dry sump.
In other words, no oil in the pan, just enough to circulate.
He claimed that by avoiding wind-age he would gain 5 horsepower.

I finally got across to him that most of those cars only ran a few seconds, and the others only ran 500 miles before a complete rebuild.
 
I probably install a hundred or so thermostats a year, some of that is preventative marine maintenance tho.... and yup, definitely a higher failure % in the last decade or so.... I'd say it's 5% in recent years... and every single "bad" therm gets tested when pulled to verify... we don't throw parts at things as many mechanics do, we diagnose, repair and verify the issue..
 
Put your 4 core in and see what it does. If it lowers, great.

If it still stays at 200 or so, and your fans are working properly, then I'd just leave it alone.

My 406sbc wants to run 190-220* no matter what. I have a BBC 4 core, huge dual electric fans, and a 160* stat and it can be 55* outside and it runs 195* or so.

Some engines just want to run warmer than others sometimes.
 
ryoken said:
I probably install a hundred or so thermostats a year, some of that is preventative marine maintenance tho.... and yup, definitely a higher failure % in the last decade or so.... I'd say it's 5% in recent years... and every single "bad" therm gets tested when pulled to verify... we don't throw parts at things as many mechanics do, we diagnose, repair and verify the issue..
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yea I did the stove thing. Just heat it up gradually until it opened.
it never did... Got up to 250. So I took it back and they gave me a "performance" one. Seems to work well. Opened at 178 or so. I'm fine with that.
 
I am with rjfguitar, some enginwes just like to run warm. I am running an alum 2 row Griffen with 1.25" rows. Dual 13.5" flex-a-lite fan. 180 t-stat. Flow cooler water pump, water wetter, 60/40 antifreeze mix.

My caddy still wants to run at 190, & up to 210 on the trail. I finally just decided to live with it.
 
CherryK5 said:
what if I run a 160° thermostat? I live in texas and it's hot as hell all the time. And when the cold hits I can put the 192 back in.

would running 160 do any harm?
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A 160* isnt always the answer.
With a 160* it will basically stay open all the time. Which will heat soak the radiator. Try a 195*, once the temp is below 195*, the t-stat will close, and the radiator will have a chance to cool off.
 
I replaced my radiator, hoses and put a 195 (factory spec for my TBI) thermostat in mine when I got it, and I noticed about a 20 degree drop in operating temp (also had it flushed after I did the install).

I didn't even go with a 4 row, so if you do, you won't need a lower tstat than what's spec'd for your motor because I think by just replacing and flushing you'll see a very significant drop in temp -- no need to do a lower tstat than recommended.
 
Pretty much what i have said in previous posts, i'm not claiming to be an expert in the cooling systems, but i have had to deal with them quite a bit while living in Phoenix Arizona,, with several different vehicles.

The best solution i have found for them to stay cool, was always a clean, preferrably new radiator, i always go with a bigger one, and if the vehicle runs a clutch fan setup, go with the heavy duty cooling unit.

NOW, that i am in cold contry of Indiana, both the trucks which were previously setup for heavy duty cooling, actually have a semi-difficult time heating up to normal operating temps, even with the 195 t-stats. My Burb really only runs about 180-ish, the other will run a bit warmer, but takes them alot longer to get to that temp.

I had to replace the radiator in a '95 Taurus, my brothers, i drove it for awhile using it for work for some time during summer months, the job required lots of driving, stop and go, the engine would ALWAYS get too hot to be ale to run the AC constantly. Finally one day, it started leaking, we replaced it with a larger cored radiator, they called it a "Maxi-cool" still had two rows, but they were wider. That thing never got past the t-stat level after that.
 
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