V8-Ranger.com

I have a 1994 ranger with a v8 and its getting hotter than I would like it too. so I ordered a 3 core mustang radiator. has any one tried to make one work. I have already cut the front to get the motor In and out faster.

Are you replacing a single-core radiator? Or is the radiator old and 1/2 clogged? If it truly is an inferior cooling system issue, so-be-it. Do what you got to do to get a larger radiator in there. Although personally, I'm using a stock Ranger 2-core radiator (stock in 4wd Automatics). It was a bolt-in replacement for my stock 1-core. With only pusher fans, it has cooled my engine with no problem. With the fans blasting wide open and outside temps in the high 90s (we have 100+ days a few years ago), the engine never sustained ECTs above 216F. Occasionally, it would spike to 220, but never stay there. I have a computer datalogger that I can watch, in real time, what the various status values of the engine which includes the ECT.

Other causes of overheating are not having a shroud around mechanical fans (even flex fans), cold air intake systems, underdrive pulleys, and running too little advance.

No shroud around the fan causes churn of air around the blades instead of draw of air through the radiator. Shrouds are important. Underdrive pulleys worsen this by reducing water flow.

If the engine is pinging and you've backed the advance off to reduce the ping, but you went too far with it, this could cause idle conditions to run with too little spark advance and cause idle-condition over heating. This is assuming you have mechanical/vac adv dizzy. Computer controlled ignitions where the computer has been tuned don't have this problem since you can alter the high-load areas of the spark table(s) without affecting idle or light-load conditions. That's not so easy to do with mechanical/vac advance dizzys.

One I had never heard of until recently is CAI systems can cause overheating. If the original air intake was pulling engine bay air, it could've been creating a slight vacuum making it easier for the fan to draw air in past the radiator. With the CAI, air is pulled from the front of the vehicle so the fan doesn't have that slight bit of help. I never considered the air flow into the engine to be that significant, but it apparently is enough to cause some vehicles to see a noticeable increase in idle ECT temps if the cooling system was barely able to maintain before. I can't say I've seen this one for myself though. This one is 2nd hand info.

no I have the one from james duff its not that old and I have a electric water pump. I have changed the plates out on the water neck to slow down or speed up the water but when the truck goes down the track 2 times it takes a little time to cool off. I don't have a shroud but I have the fan on all the time and its about the biggest I can get on it.

I could not make it work it was about 1 1/2 to tall