Hey guys, Heres the situation. My car has always run a little hotter than I wanted it to (never really overheated, just ran a little warm, especially in florida summers), and i always attributed it to the fact that my fan and shroud didnt really fit all that great, and I assumed one or mroe of them was not the correct version for my setup. Yesterday though, i realized how wrong it was. Something happened, and my shroud popped loose and got all tore up and mangled by the spinning fan, luckily no other damage was done. When i was trying to put things back together though, I noticed something very very odd. On the back of my fan, was stamped the F*rd symbol, ya know, the cursive script in the oval. So apprenly i have a ford fan in my buick. This makes me start to wonder if my radiator was even for a GM. It's a cross flow unit (tanks on both sides) and i think a 4 core (theres four little rows of tubes when i look inside the filler cap). Also, it says "Harrison" stamped on the side and inch or 2 below the filler cap, so im assuming its an aftermarket replacememnt. It seems to fit okay in the stock mounting areas, but does anyone know if this radiator is sufficient to cool my 455 in the florida summer? And more importantly, anyone know where a good source for the proper fan and shroud for me? I'm a starving college kid here, so the cheaper the option the better. I'll try and get some pictures posted of the radiator and my fan in case that would help. All i know is I'm totally confused (a ford fan on my BUICK???) and need to try and sort this out before the really warm temps show up (righ now we're still stayin real cold down in the 60's and 70's , sorry to all you yankees out there :bglasses: ). I admittiedly dont know jack about buick cooling systems, so i ahve no idea what to do here. thanks so much for any and all help.
How warm does it get? Do you have a temp guage in your car? A 4 core radiator is sufficient - with the proper clutch fan, shroud, and thermostat. There are lots of 67 guys on this board, and I doubt you'll have any problems finding a good one. Post a thread in the Parts Wanted forum for a 67 big block shroud. Are you sure the writing said Ford? I have seen logos that are similar to that one...o No:
You should also check your engine mounts. If the engine lifts because of a broken mount, the fan gets lifted into the rad shroud. Then you have exactly the problem you describe. Don't know about there, but around here the salvage yards are littered with GM clutch fans that could be used on your vehicle. TIP: measure the opening in your fan shroud, and the clearance around your current fan, then buy the largest 7-blade clutch fan that fits the opening. Ideally, you want no more than 1/2" gap between the fan blades and the shroud, and even with good engine mounts, this may mean restraining the engine with some kind of torque strap. Often, though, the fan is not perfectly centered in the shroud opening. that's why it's helpful to check the clearance with the existing fan. You also want the fan to be recessed into the shroud about half-way. That's pretty tough to adjust, though!
Does this heat issue occur while driving at speed or while sitting at idle? At speed you don't even need a fan, hence my question. Overheating at speed indicates things other than the fan contributing to the problem. I have a rarely used single electric fan behind my aluminum radiator; as long as the car is moving it stays cold and I don't engage the fan.
I'm sure its not the mounts (theyre less than a yr old), and i already have a poor man's torque strap (hunk o' chain) to keep it from movin around too much. I found out that what happened was that one of the shroud mounting bolts had worked its way loos a few turns, gotten snagged by the spinning fan blades and ripped out (takeing the shroud with it). I'm sure the fan is a Ford product, its plain as day stamped on there... still makes me wonder about the car-sense of the previous owner everytime i think about it. After seeing the wonderful state of his "complete re-wiring job" he said he performed a few months before i bought it, I'm not too surpised by the fan thing (he had more wire nuts and electrical tape than ive ever seen before, and not one quality crimp splice or solder, plus more dead-end wires and dead-shorts than i could believe). As for the temps im seeing, at a decent speed, it settles in at about 190-200which was fine by me (considering a big block in florida summer), but at stop lights or in slow traffic, its climbs up to about 215-225, which is higher than i'd like. As far as getting a new fan goes, I assume i should get a thermo-clutch type? the one on there now is just a straigh-up fan, no clutch, no flex blades no nothin. thanks again for the help/suggestions, hopefully i can track down a proper shroud without too much difficulty.
A ford fan isn't going to hurt anything. Just make sure it is centered in the shroud, that's more importand than closeness to the radiator. Your radiator may not be conducting heat from the cores to the cooling fins, reducing the cooling capacity of the radiator. If you can push on the fins and they push away from the tubes, the radiator needs to be re cored. They need to be physically connected to the cross tubes in order to conduct heat. I tossed my 4 row for a new 3 row and it actually cools better, because my 4 row was simply worn out and could not conduct heat like it did when it was new.:Smarty:
Dont sweat the Ford fan stuff. I used a fan clutch for a Dodge 1 ton Turbo Diesel on my 75 Electra 455 that I towed with, It worked great:grin: Mark
