North American Turbocoupe Organization



Overheating problems....Help
Lord Ator Offline
Junior Member
#1
I just bought a used 1988 Thunderbird turbo coupe. Its in relatively good shape and there are alot of new engine parts. The big problem I have with it is the fact that it overheats during stop and go traffic. If im on the highway its fine but as soon as I get into traffic its starts overheating. Neither fan kicks on until the temp gauge is in the red. Is the turbo coupe supposed to have an air dam underneath to provide airflow to the radiator or is that small hole in the front supposed to be enough when the fans are on? Why dont the fans work until its already overheated??
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PsycopathicBird Offline
Member
#2
check your timing with the spout plug in, if it reads around 10, your spout plug needs to be cleaned, also look at your exhaust manifold at night after driving, see if its red. also change your engine coolant temperature swith for good measure and hook up an auxilury switch to turn the fans on when you want. hehehe---i learned from experience, steve knows.


Josh

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silver 88 TC with a new stock turbo, holley 155 fuel pump, gauge pod with a/f and boost, K&N cone, and a holley ignition control module, homemade air intake, bosch bypass valve, Single 3" exhaust, Gillis Valve, external Autometer fuel pressure gauge on hood, new falken 502s and stock replacement springs.
Bring on the track Baby!!

[email protected]
silver 88 TC with a new stock turbo, holley 155 fuel pump, gauge pod with a/f and boost, K&N cone, and a holley ignition control module, homemade air intake, bosch bypass valve, Single 3" exhaust, Gillis Valve, external Autometer fuel pressure gauge on hood, new falken 502s and stock replacement springs, ngk iridium plugs.
Bring on the track Baby!!
14.95 @ 91.8 so far....

[email protected]
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Jeff K Offline
Administrator
#3
When you say neither fan kicks on, do you mean that they both turn on when the gauge gets near the red? Fan problems are near the top of the list on these cars. If the gauge is accurate, the main fan (pass side) should turn on if the temp gauge gets up about 1/2 way, and should turn on when the A/C compressor runs. If the motro continues to heat up, the aux. fan (driver side) should turn on when the temp gauge gets about 3/4 of the way up, or if the A/C high side pressure exceeds 310 psi. See the FAQ page for info on fan diagnostics.

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Jeff Korn

88 Turbo Coupe: Intake and exhaust mods, T3 turbo at 20 psi, forced air intercooler, water injection, bypass valve, Ranger roller cam, subframes, etc., etc.. // 86 Tbird 5.0 (original owner): intake, exhaust, valvetrain mods, 100 HP nitrous, ignition, gears, suspension, etc., etc.... // 91 Escort: Bone stock winter car // 00 Windstar (wifes vehicle)
Jeff Korn

88 Turbo Coupe: Intake and exhaust mods, T3 turbo at 24 psi, forced air IC, water injection, BPV, Ranger cam, subframes, etc., etc.
86 Tbird 5.0 (original owner): intake, exhaust, valvetrain mods, 100 HP N2O, ignition, gears, suspension, etc., etc.
11 Crown Vic Interceptor
14 Toyota Camry (wifes car)
95 Taurus GL Vulcan winter beater
67 Honda 450 Super Sport - completely customized
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Rodger Offline
Member
#4
Jeff makes a good point when he mentions the accuracy of the guage. If the fans are coming on in the proper sequence, check to be sure that you actually have a overheating problem. It could be simply that the IVR is working improperly and showing a high reading on the guage. If that is the problem, then the fuel and oil guage will also read high. There is a fix for a fualty IVR in the tech section.
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Lord Ator Offline
Junior Member
#5
Well...I've replaced the ECT sensor and found that the dumbass that worked on this car last got the wires crossed on the fan so it ran backwards. I switched them around and now it doesnt go into the red but it still runs around the n or o on the gauge. The main fan doesnt kick on until it hits the n and the aux doesnt come on at all. I've run the cooling fan test and both fans checked fine. Im going to check/remove the thermostat all togetether and see how it runs then.

[This message has been edited by Lord Ator (edited 08-25-2002).]
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MartyPA Offline
Senior Member
#6
one of my fan motors are done and the other is wired direct to the battery with clamps for now till I get around to it.GRRRR 1 thing after the next.I really need to hit the lottery to support this car!
1988 TurboCoupe Automatic Black-Maroon Cloth interior--
No mods yet but someday when everything else is right.
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segfaultxr7 Offline
Posting Freak
#7
Quote:Originally posted by Lord Ator:
The main fan doesnt kick on until it hits the n and the aux doesnt come on at all. I've run the cooling fan test and both fans checked fine. Im going to check/remove the thermostat all togetether and see how it runs then.

That doesn't mean much with the crappy temperature gauge. The fan should come on at approx. 220 degrees and turn off at around 190. You'll need a mechanical gauge to see if the fan temp. sensor is working properly. The aux. fan only comes on if it gets to something like 230-240 deg. Way too hot IMO!

With my car, the fan never needs to run for more than a minute or two before the engine cools off. A while ago it started running warmer and the fan was on almost constantly, a new thermostat fixed it. Good luck!
88 TC 5-speed
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littlejoe Offline
Junior Member
#8
Had a similar problem when I bought my tc a couple of months ago. The temp would get way high, and then you could tell when it would pop open, because then the temp would drop way down. So, changed it out, and it regulated temp much better. Also I thought the passenger side fan only ran when the a/c compressor was on. Mine would cycle like crazy when it was calling to be on, and then didn't run at all. Re-charged the a/c with one of those R-134a conversion kits from Walmart, and it now runs all the time. Didn't have enough pressure in the a/c system, and it kept tripping the fan. I thought that aux fan came on at something like 212 deg F. Anyway, hope this helps. If I'm AFU, please someone let me know.

littlejoe

88 tc/5sp
1988 TC/5sp 56,000
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Lord Ator Offline
Junior Member
#9
Well.. I've done everything I can think of and the damn thing still runs hot. All the cooling system components are new except the radiator. Ive flushed the engine and the heater blower. Ive checked the spout and its installed. It does run like crap with the spout removed. I've even cleaned out the intake manifold and egr valve. I ran the slef diagnostic using the check engine light and no codes popped up. Any other suggestions?? I'm Lost.
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Pete D Offline
Administrator
#10
"Any other suggestions?? "

yes, stick a thermometer in the radiator and see what the actual temperature is. You are relying on the factory gauge to determine it is too hot and they are notoriously erratic and inaccurate. Use the thermometer to check the temp when you think it's hot and to determine what temp the fans are coming on.
The pass side fan comes on at 210 and off at 190, The drivers side fan on at 220.

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NATO Member. it's not a vice, it's an obsession
"The nice thing about each new day is nobody ever used it before" Barnaby Jones
88 TC X 2, 86 SVO, mods list at
http://www.turbotbird.com/showroom/pd_88tc.htm
Pete Dunham


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