55 chevy runs hot in slow traffic

I have AC on my 55 chevy with a stock radiator ... Big electric fan out front but still runs hot in slow traffic ... If you have a 55 with AC and not having a problem running hot show me youre radiator ...

 

Show us yours first.

 

does it have a thermostat?

 

you can try aluminum---or better yet a crossflow aluminum---

 

Where is you timing set at?

 

Sounds like you're still not moving enough air, fan is a pusher or puller? Rad might be clogged or as mentioned earlier are you running a thermostat?

And as you already know... If you're going to be one...be a Big Red One!

HooAh

 

Fan out front? As in in front of the radiator?

Just becasue the fan is big doesnt make it worth a ****. What brand is it?

 

I've always read where a fan behind the radiator pulling is the most desirable configeration. Other than that there can be several reasons why it runs hot all and then some have been mentioned here already. And pictures help a lot.

Pat

 

Stock radiator with A/C? Get a 4 row triple p*** from U.S. Radiator. I run a flex fan with a shroud. She can sit in traffic all day with the A/C on and run at 160. It a '52 Chevy.

 

Have you checked to make sure the lower radiator hose isnt collapsing?

 

Had all ready took the radiator out but stuck it back in for these pictures ... As you can see the big fan out front ... radiator behine the support ... Was running no thermostat ... I want to put the radiator out front of the support along with the AC cond and the fan in the back pulling air ... It did not run hot til I installed the AC ... Cant decide which fan to go back with electric or the one it came with on the water pump ... I moved the motor forward 1 inch to clear the firewall better when I built the car and that changed every thing up front ...

 

I always use a thermostat. One of it's functions is to slow down coolant flow, so the coolant spends enough time in the radiator to be cooled. Sounds weird I know, but it's true.

 

A lot of theories on why it runs hot in traffic,,radiator could need cleaning out or better yet replaced,,but what type of engine driven fan are you using?

The small flex fans can cause more problems than they cure,,a good stell non-flex fan would be a better choice.

Pulleys can also be the culprit,,,if the water pump pulley is the same size as the crank pulley you could be moving the water too slow.

Pusher fans are notorious for being inefficient,,and of course like others have said check the thermostat. HRP

 

it looks like you have room to run a fan on the engine that would help move more air so that is one option to try.

Even though it does look like you have a lot to move air through, how "hot" the hot it runs in traffic? If it consistently pukes coolant out when you get stuck in traffic it's running too hot but if that setup isn't boiling over it probably isn't too hot.

 

I do want to change to a better radiator just wasent sure which one to get ... I will look at the ones US Radiator has ... Iam going to run a thermostat now that every body has brought that up ... How hot ??? you would think I was running a steam enging ... Its a zz430 with vortex heads ...

 

There's your problem

First off the fan has no shroud and it's on the inefficient side of the radiator.

For what it's worth one of the best electric fans you can get can now be found at pic n pull.
Look for a 1st generation Ford Taurus with the closed up grille, the fan in those is very high efficiency as well as a nice size for our old girls. Make sure you get and use the shroud as well as it aids the fan in pulling air thru the rad rather than just swirling it around at the surface.

-First generation of Taurus:

 

I'm amazed that setup cools at all. First of all, the radiator is not in the best of shape from what I see in the pictures, then you have a pusher fan (the least efficient) trying to move air through a condenser and then the radiator. If a car runs hot at lights and in heavy traffic the reason is generally airflow, because when you are moving the air coming through takes care of the cooling.

Get yourself a decent radiator, my choice would be an aluminum one but that is just what I like, get a good puller fan mounted behind the radiator, like a SPAL fan, and put a shroud on it so the air is pulled clear across the fins not just in the circle of the fan.

You will probably need to do some surgery to get the radiator moved up a few inches so you have room for a decent sized puller fan, but that is not a big deal. As for a shroud, it simply needs to be an aluminum or steel flat plate that covers the entire finned area of the radiator with a big hole cut in the middle for the fan to **** the air through.



Don

 

I believe the best Tarus fan is one from a 3.8 engine. I used one on an old mud bogger truck with the radiator mounted in the bed.

 

Good tip Mark,

I have to go 'shopping' as soon as the weather warms up (minus 18 last night)

I never thought to look for the larger engine/fan ***embly.

.

 

If the car were mine I would mount an aluminum radiator in the 6 cylinder position(location because you moved the engine forward), mount a 6 cylinder fan shroud, mount a 6 blade 16-17" fan with a spacer so the blades are half way out of the shroud. Also, if your hood does not have the hood baffle cross brace that attaches to the underside of the hood above the radiator area I'd mount one. I would not mount an electric fan except as a last resort. Also, I'd run a 180 degree thermostat.

 

OK !!! you got me talked into a new aluminum radiator ... Mounted in the 6 cylinder position from US Radiator ... And I will mount a fan in the back pulling air instead of pushing ... Thanks guys !!!!

 

I ran hot until I changed over to a short FlowKooler water pump ... Use a flex fan ... have a conventional 4 core stock looking radiator - no shroud - sits in stock V8 location. Sit in NYC traffic off and on but never runs hot now ... Have a 195 thermostat on a ZZZ crate motor .... Joe