[zdkel]

Ive seen a few posts this past month, and I'm raising my hand too.

I have thought a lot about this. I think the radiant heat from the exhaust manifold (or headers) do alot for getting that temp needle past "M" and on to the "A" or even "L" in some cases.

Reason, why I have been checking my temp of the upper radiator hose, thermostat housing with an IR thermometer. What I notice, is with the fan on the temp stays well below the 185F opening temp of my thermostat - I jumped my high speed fan and withnessed this. On the alternative, the car once hot (running between "MA" for me) those same surface temps bounce between 195 and 205 with the fan coming on in low speed by ECM control.

Has anyone seen a drop in running temp by coating or insulating the exhaut manifold?

I'm thinking about doing this, with some wrap or something.

Thanks.

[cruizer]

you could just run a colder thermostat. I run a 160 and my engine runs nice and cold all the time

[97S281]

Originally Posted by cruizer you could just run a colder thermostat. I run a 160 and my engine runs nice and cold all the time

Ditto. I have shorties and an o/r pipe and I don't have any cooling problems even when the outside temps are in the 100's.

[tfofkyle]

from a 96 owner to another 96 owner - invest in a bigger radiator. its a problem on all 96 mustangs.

[BAD98GT]

header wrap is some pretty good stuff for lowering the temps in the engine bay, which will help you out in the cooling part a lil bit. BUT its a bandage. just replace the radiator and put a lower stat and ur done.
have you tried cleaning the radiator with a pressure washer? or go to the carwash and clean it on rinse. i bet it'll help a lil more than the header wrap. also your coolant to water mixture plays a good part in cooling it during the summer. most of the time ill run 50/50 mix. but if your having probs then try a 30/70 mix. more water will help keep it cooler on hotter days, but if you run 100 % water then youll run a chance of the water starting to boil, which isnt good.

[LoveStangs88]

+1 on the 96 running hot, mine gets on the MA on hot days i just got the coolant flushed about 2 months ago but my coolant light always pops on and off randomly everyday constantly before and after the flush and the cars always ran hot in the summer.

[5150Stang]

Originally Posted by tfofkyle from a 96 owner to another 96 owner - invest in a bigger radiator. its a problem on all 96 mustangs.

My 96 popped its top one time and ever since I have wanted to put a bigger radiator on. Time to start shopping,.

[sj408]

well im in vegas and i blew a radiator hose for some god awful reason so i replaced the tstat cause as we know they usually break under heavy temperatures, then i replaced my water pump... still over heating so i then replaced my radiator and i run pretty cool now but periodically it will jump up to the M and it scares the crap outta me but then it will drop back down...

anyone else experience the temp gauge jumping around like this??

[sharkbait]

SN95's run hot.

except mine, it runs cold

[zdkel]

Originally Posted by sj408 well im in vegas and i blew a radiator hose for some god awful reason so i replaced the tstat cause as we know they usually break under heavy temperatures, then i replaced my water pump... still over heating so i then replaced my radiator and i run pretty cool now but periodically it will jump up to the M and it scares the crap outta me but then it will drop back down... anyone else experience the temp gauge jumping around like this??

Could that be an air pocket?

[BAD98GT]

Originally Posted by sharkbait SN95's run hot. except mine, it runs cold

knock on wood, mine dont have probs getting hot either

[sharkbait]

Yea mine runs by the N in normal. On hot days it goes to the O.

I just redid my coolant system not to long ago though. It used to sit at O all the time

[tfofkyle]

Originally Posted by LoveStangs88 +1 on the 96 running hot, mine gets on the MA on hot days i just got the coolant flushed about 2 months ago but my coolant light always pops on and off randomly everyday constantly before and after the flush and the cars always ran hot in the summer.

consider yourself lucky - mines almost blown the gaskets off 2 or 3 times. twice having to be towed home due to losing a ton of coolant out of the overflow cap. and one of those was not even a month or so after finishing my fresh head swap.

Originally Posted by sharkbait Yea mine runs by the N in normal. On hot days it goes to the O. I just redid my coolant system not to long ago though. It used to sit at O all the time

id be willing to bet your needle is incorrect or your coolant sensor is not reading correctly. you would have horrible gas mileage and power if your car stayed that low in the temperature range all the time. stock temp gauge is inaccurate, but not that bad.

[tatertot99]

Yep, no problems here either, knock on wood. SCT Livewire reads temps back to me and stays between 200 and 202 degrees in the heat of the day.

[Blower Head]

I got tired of mine alway running warm and popped for a new water pump and radiator this summer and my car runs cooler now.

[zdkel]

So I ran my heater the other day on my way to work...[hey, I'm a Floridian, I get cold easy, but anyway]

My coolant is very orange in color since then. I'm thinking rusty heater core, by circulating the coolant through there flushed a bunch of rusty water into the engine block, radiator and catch bottle. I had done two partial flushes over the summer, but the coolant is far from green now.

Anyone else experience something similar? With the coolant the way it is, you think the car will run hotter/cooler?