another 360/408 over heating

-
I don't run a shroud either. As long as the fan is within an inch or so of the radiator, you don't need a shroud.

I just need to make a shield for the top of the fan. I never used to worry about getting caught in the fan, but I'm getting older. At 31 years old, I'm getting old enough to be more cautious.





There is a fib in there somewhere. See if you can find it.
Dam u learn quick ! Took me a lot longer that that ! LOL
 
Well off for a test ride tonight.
A great night for a drive, temp around 75*. Off I go, first stop was to put some fuel in since I dont have the gauge hooked up yet. Its only about 1/4 mile to fuel stop. Leave there and head into town. Drive a quick loop around and out on the road I go. Temps at 185* by now. I head down the road at 45 - 50 MPH and temps stays at 185* go about 6 miles and turn back. All still good. come to a stop sign, look both ways and pull out heading to my dads. As soon as I turned right I get this loud sound and I shut it off and drift to the side of the road. By now I can smell coolant. Open the hood and coolant is everywhere. I look down at radiator and i can see where the fan hit the core. I look at the flex fan and one of the blades is bent and hitting the radiator. Its not repairable at this point so I grab a pair of pliars and bent it back. I was able to drive it to dads which was only about mile away.
I pulled it into the garage at dads and closed the door. Not sure when Ill go back and look at it again!
SO now im going to need a radiator, and a steel fan. Just another reason why you shouldnt run a flex fan. IM so pissed right now. I was just pulling out from a stop sign. I didnt hear anything hit the fan. I didnt hit anything that I saw. I have no Idea what caused that blade to bend. I wasnt pushing the car hard as a matter of fact I was driving like an old man!

And up until that time everything was going great! Car was cool and I was happy.
SO I had a champion radiator 3 core. So many have said I would get better cooling with a 2 core with larger tubes. I was going to stay with what I had since it seemed to be working but now that I have no choice what is going to give me the best cooling without breaking the bank!
Also my car originally had a 4 blade fan that I still have. Should I use that one or go to a 6 or 7 blade fan.
Again Im looking for some thoughts.
Thanks Rod
 
When the fan blades pull air back, the blades move forward, especially flex fans.
The higher the rpm, - the closer the blades move toward the rad.
Even stock fans move, to a lesser degree.
Rev it up and watch, just don't stand beside it
 
Well off for a test ride tonight.
A great night for a drive, temp around 75*. Off I go, first stop was to put some fuel in since I dont have the gauge hooked up yet. Its only about 1/4 mile to fuel stop. Leave there and head into town. Drive a quick loop around and out on the road I go. Temps at 185* by now. I head down the road at 45 - 50 MPH and temps stays at 185* go about 6 miles and turn back. All still good. come to a stop sign, look both ways and pull out heading to my dads. As soon as I turned right I get this loud sound and I shut it off and drift to the side of the road. By now I can smell coolant. Open the hood and coolant is everywhere. I look down at radiator and i can see where the fan hit the core. I look at the flex fan and one of the blades is bent and hitting the radiator. Its not repairable at this point so I grab a pair of pliars and bent it back. I was able to drive it to dads which was only about mile away.
I pulled it into the garage at dads and closed the door. Not sure when Ill go back and look at it again!
SO now im going to need a radiator, and a steel fan. Just another reason why you shouldnt run a flex fan. IM so pissed right now. I was just pulling out from a stop sign. I didnt hear anything hit the fan. I didnt hit anything that I saw. I have no Idea what caused that blade to bend. I wasnt pushing the car hard as a matter of fact I was driving like an old man!

And up until that time everything was going great! Car was cool and I was happy.
SO I had a champion radiator 3 core. So many have said I would get better cooling with a 2 core with larger tubes. I was going to stay with what I had since it seemed to be working but now that I have no choice what is going to give me the best cooling without breaking the bank!
Also my car originally had a 4 blade fan that I still have. Should I use that one or go to a 6 or 7 blade fan.
Again Im looking for some thoughts.
Thanks Rod


Damn. What fan did that? That sucks. The only good news is it sounds like you are getting close to fixing things, if not for this disaster.
 
......As soon as I turned right I get this loud sound and I shut it off and drift to the side of the road. By now I can smell coolant. Open the hood and coolant is everywhere. I look down at radiator and i can see where the fan hit the core. I look at the flex fan and one of the blades is bent and hitting the radiator. Its not repairable at this point so I grab a pair of pliars and bent it back. I was able to drive it to dads which was only about mile away.
I pulled it into the garage at dads and closed the door. Not sure when Ill go back and look at it again!
SO now im going to need a radiator, and a steel fan. Just another reason why you shouldnt run a flex fan. IM so pissed right now. I was just pulling out from a stop sign. I didnt hear anything hit the fan. I didnt hit anything that I saw. I have no Idea what caused that blade to bend.
Not good news, hate to say I told you so but flex fans are always trouble just waiting to happen. Hope you get back on the road soon, good luck!
 
That sux!
Those flex fans are for show cars and trailer queens in my opinion.....they have a bad history of coming a part at high RPM as well. Just lucky, not lucky that you were at low RPM. I have seen them come apart and go through an inner fender.
 
Dang. That sucks. O did a quick search on champion radiators and it appears that the 22" 2 row have .75" tubes.

The 3 row are exactly the same except the core of 26" wide. How big is your radiator support opening?

I'm not sure a 7 blade fan will be very effective without a clutch, but I don't think you can fit one. How much space do you have between radiator and Water pump?
 
Well off for a test ride tonight.
A great night for a drive, temp around 75*. Off I go, first stop was to put some fuel in since I dont have the gauge hooked up yet. Its only about 1/4 mile to fuel stop. Leave there and head into town. Drive a quick loop around and out on the road I go. Temps at 185* by now. I head down the road at 45 - 50 MPH and temps stays at 185* go about 6 miles and turn back. All still good. come to a stop sign, look both ways and pull out heading to my dads. As soon as I turned right I get this loud sound and I shut it off and drift to the side of the road. By now I can smell coolant. Open the hood and coolant is everywhere. I look down at radiator and i can see where the fan hit the core. I look at the flex fan and one of the blades is bent and hitting the radiator. Its not repairable at this point so I grab a pair of pliars and bent it back. I was able to drive it to dads which was only about mile away.
I pulled it into the garage at dads and closed the door. Not sure when Ill go back and look at it again!
SO now im going to need a radiator, and a steel fan. Just another reason why you shouldnt run a flex fan. IM so pissed right now. I was just pulling out from a stop sign. I didnt hear anything hit the fan. I didnt hit anything that I saw. I have no Idea what caused that blade to bend. I wasnt pushing the car hard as a matter of fact I was driving like an old man!

And up until that time everything was going great! Car was cool and I was happy.
SO I had a champion radiator 3 core. So many have said I would get better cooling with a 2 core with larger tubes. I was going to stay with what I had since it seemed to be working but now that I have no choice what is going to give me the best cooling without breaking the bank!
Also my car originally had a 4 blade fan that I still have. Should I use that one or go to a 6 or 7 blade fan.
Again Im looking for some thoughts.
Thanks Rod
I have had several 2 row Griffin radiators with no issues, they cool great, but are expensive and made in the USA.
I have sourced 7 blade mopar fans off of ebay, again not cheap but they work.
 
I have had several 2 row Griffin radiators with no issues, they cool great, but are expensive and made in the USA.
I have sourced 7 blade mopar fans off of ebay, again not cheap but they work.


As I said earlier Griffins have the 1.25" tubes as I understand it Mopar's like the bigger tubes, slows the flow down a bit I think allowing more heat transfer.
 
Plumkrazee70, I only have 2.5 inches to radiator from the water pump about. I had about .75 clearance with that flex fan and I was only using it as a trial. Was going to go with a steel fan but didnt get that chance. I dont understand why that blade bent like it did. I went back to the intersection this morning and there was no coolant coming up to the sign. The coolant stain on road looks as tho it started just as I pulled out making the turn. The engine is strapped done with a turn buckle so it couldn't have moved and I can tell you all I did was a normal turn. Just dont understand what or how this happened. I will look closer at it this evening when I go back down.
I have the factory 4 blade fan and maybe I will try that one. Will keep my eyes open for a 6 or 7 blade one on ebay.
Thanks Rod
 
Check the clearance at the top/bottom rad tank.

It likely hit there, bent the blade, causing the core damage .

jmo
 
Plumkrazee70, I only have 2.5 inches to radiator from the water pump about. Thanks Rod

You say "about" 2.5 inches clearance .
Did you actually measure, or just guess ?
Do you have, infact, 2.7 inches that will allow the clutch fan mentioned again and again ?

You can see how the fan is mounted behind the clutch, and perhaps the clutch could be trimmed.

If you end up getting a new rad, - perhaps consider just a little more clearance for the fan clutch . . -. $53 .
HAYDEN 2947 Radiator Fan Clutch | RockAuto

But I said that last year, and yr. before. .....
 

Attachments

  • Hayden_Low Profile Fan Clutch Flyer.pdf
    1.3 MB · Views: 233
Last edited:
Inertia, I would agree with you 100%. The problem with that is that I was just pulling out from a stop sign and probably never went over 3K. I had already pulled out at least 8 -10 times on my drive without issue and each time I pulled out I would go thru the gears and would probably run to 3.5-4 K before shifting since its manual shift. There is no doubt that I should have gone with a 1/2" spacer instead of the 1" spacer for clearance. And I should have used the original fan instead of the flex fan. I wont make that mistake again.
I didnt order a radiator today but will probably do it on Monday since I cant work on it again until next week some time. Looks like Im going to go with the larger 2 row radiator. So many here have said they will better cool then the 3 row will.
Lastly yes I measured and I have just 2.5" at best. That means the clutch will not fit. Ive said that at least 3 times during this tread. Even with 2.75" clearance that would be way to tight! But yes its not a guess.
Thanks Rod
 
Just FYI and I don't know if this applies to your Dart or not, but I had to do a lot of chopping and creative metal work to get my cross flow Griffin in my 64 Barracuda.
 
Well off for a test ride tonight.
A great night for a drive, temp around 75*. Off I go, first stop was to put some fuel in since I dont have the gauge hooked up yet. Its only about 1/4 mile to fuel stop. Leave there and head into town. Drive a quick loop around and out on the road I go. Temps at 185* by now. I head down the road at 45 - 50 MPH and temps stays at 185* go about 6 miles and turn back. All still good. come to a stop sign, look both ways and pull out heading to my dads. As soon as I turned right I get this loud sound and I shut it off and drift to the side of the road. By now I can smell coolant. Open the hood and coolant is everywhere. I look down at radiator and i can see where the fan hit the core. I look at the flex fan and one of the blades is bent and hitting the radiator. Its not repairable at this point so I grab a pair of pliars and bent it back. I was able to drive it to dads which was only about mile away.
I pulled it into the garage at dads and closed the door. Not sure when Ill go back and look at it again!
SO now im going to need a radiator, and a steel fan. Just another reason why you shouldnt run a flex fan. IM so pissed right now. I was just pulling out from a stop sign. I didnt hear anything hit the fan. I didnt hit anything that I saw. I have no Idea what caused that blade to bend. I wasnt pushing the car hard as a matter of fact I was driving like an old man!

And up until that time everything was going great! Car was cool and I was happy.
SO I had a champion radiator 3 core. So many have said I would get better cooling with a 2 core with larger tubes. I was going to stay with what I had since it seemed to be working but now that I have no choice what is going to give me the best cooling without breaking the bank!
Also my car originally had a 4 blade fan that I still have. Should I use that one or go to a 6 or 7 blade fan.
Again Im looking for some thoughts.
Thanks Rod

I would only use a 10,000 rpm flexfan , jegs and summit have them . I still wont stand beside them and set total timing either !
 
Inertia, I would agree with you 100%. The problem with that is that I was just pulling out from a stop sign and probably never went over 3K. I had already pulled out at least 8 -10 times on my drive without issue and each time I pulled out I would go thru the gears and would probably run to 3.5-4 K before shifting since its manual shift. There is no doubt that I should have gone with a 1/2" spacer instead of the 1" spacer for clearance. And I should have used the original fan instead of the flex fan. I wont make that mistake again.
I didnt order a radiator today but will probably do it on Monday since I cant work on it again until next week some time. Looks like Im going to go with the larger 2 row radiator. So many here have said they will better cool then the 3 row will.
Lastly yes I measured and I have just 2.5" at best. That means the clutch will not fit. Ive said that at least 3 times during this tread. Even with 2.75" clearance that would be way to tight! But yes its not a guess.
Thanks Rod

There is a lot of diff. in these old cars, they weren`t computer designed like now adays. I have a griffin 28x19 crossflow/1 1/4' tubes in my 68 fastback, I had to do nothing to bolt it up, but redrill the holes, I haven't even cut the cradle out to expose the tanks to air. I have room for a fan clutch, I tried one, but need the better cooling of the mech. belt driven set up. I only run a 17" , 10,000 rpm flex fan , but do have an elec booster in front, if needed at stoplights in summer.
Your fan had an issue, or was a cheap one, or old.
My car seems to like 190 degrees before it runs clean and right , and that's where it runs at , the way I`ve got it set up.
I wouldn`t go any closer than 1" to the rad. , more likely its closer on the bottom than on the top too.
Al griffins are "not" 1 1/4" tube either !! You can get them w/ 1" tubes ,which are more common than 1 1/4" .
I didn`t catch what ur engine is, but I`d be willing to bet mine makes more engine heat than yours is: hang in there !
 
Last edited:
Sorry to read Rod, I felt/feel the same as you do with my cuda and electrical bullshit. Probably leaving it parked this year.
My cooling issue was solved with a thermostat change(160*). Factory 7 blade and shroud 67 273.
Good luck!
 
4spdragtop,
would you happen to have any pics of your fan and then how it sits close wise to your radiator? I would like to find another fan but would like to see one first. Is your 7 blade an original to your 67. If so what else did they come on from the factory so I can start searching for one. Thanks a bunch for your info in advance!
Rod
 
Good morning Rod, glad to help. Everything is mopar factory, 7 blade fan, shroud and rad. Car is originally ac car(not used), so rad is heavy duty cooling. Lemme dig for pics, IIRC, the fan blade is 50/50 in and out.of shroud. I was having cooling issues, and in my case turned out swapping to a cooler t-stat solved it.
Before that my temp was 205* and climbed at highway speed.
Lemme dig.
4spdragtop,
would you happen to have any pics of your fan and then how it sits close wise to your radiator? I would like to find another fan but would like to see one first. Is your 7 blade an original to your 67. If so what else did they come on from the factory so I can start searching for one. Thanks a bunch for your info in advance!
Rod
 
Heres a pic, hope that helps, looks about 1/2 way?? I was always running the shroud and 7 blade. Only change was lower thermostat. It worked for me(for once lol).
I have a video as well which shows a couple angles?

20180702_201618.jpg
 
Thanks 4spdragtop, The shroud looks very shallow. I have not found one yet but i am looking. My new radiator arrived while I was away this weekend and the fan blades I ordered from summit. Im hoping to get the stuff on the car thursday night if all works out ok. I will let you know how this works out.
Rod
 
Thanks 4spdragtop, The shroud looks very shallow. I have not found one yet but i am looking. My new radiator arrived while I was away this weekend and the fan blades I ordered from summit. Im hoping to get the stuff on the car thursday night if all works out ok. I will let you know how this works out.
Rod
Hey, what's up with your radiator?
 
Thanks for reminding me to follow up with this thread, I replaced the radiator with a 2-1" core radiator. That made no difference in the temps and in the meantime my fan blades from summit arrived. I had ordered 2 different ones, an 18" 6 blade and a 17" 6 blade steel blades. The 18" was to big so I put the 17 inch on. It fit but I wasnt comfortable with it being that close to the hoses so I went back to summit only to find they dont sell a 16" fan which I thought would be a perfect size so I ended up ordering a 15" 6 blade steel fan. Ive put probably 40 miles in 3 drives since then and the fan cools fine while I am moving, however if I stop at a traffic light for only a minute my temps will go up to 210 and slightly higher while sitting. If I can get back in open road they will again come down to about 185-190 and thats on an 88* day. If im driving first thing in the morning or later in the evening the temps will run around 175-180*. I have changed the thermostat again to a 160* but i believe that once its open it flows continuously. Ive struggled with the fuel lines absurbing to much heat which has caused some driveability issues as well. I have wrapped them with a thermal type heat reflector wrap and that has helped some but I am going to have to make some shields where the lines go up into the engine compartment because they are only about 1.5" away from the header. I plan on searching to see if I can find a 16" fan and if not I am going to go back to the 17" fan. Im also going to put the electric fans I had on the original radiator on the front of the radiator and use them as pusher to help with air flow.
I plan on making a shroud for the steel fan but first I want to get a fan that will work better.
There is not enough room for a fan clutch.
I made that bold so people dont waste time telling me that I should try one. I do not have 2.5" from the pump to the radiator and i have not seen one shorter then 2.57" I think is the shortest!
So its still a work in progress. During this winter I plan on going to my aluminum Edelbrock heads with my 2x4 intake set up. That should also help with some cooling but you never know.
One thing i would like to have some information on, for those of you running a 408, if you could shoot your head temps on the front freeze out plug area of your engines once they have been driven and let me know what they are. I find that my drivers side head seems to always run 40-50* hotter then my passenger side head. Thats a concern i havent figured out yet! Maybe its a normal thing?
Im also going to start to try making some tuning adjustments to see if that will help at all.
As we all know each car is different and it becomes a trial and error process but thats what makes the journey fun!
Thanks Rod
 
As I said earlier Griffins have the 1.25" tubes as I understand it Mopar's like the bigger tubes, slows the flow down a bit I think allowing more heat transfer.

Insert shameless plug here:

Your sponsor has dual 1.25" tubes on all our Mopar radiators as well. If anyone wants a special forums price, shoot me a PM. I love being Santa Claus. :)
 
-
Back
Top