Wish I had a Scangauge years ago...

[MnFocus]

Originally Posted by Mentalic

I need to find an old Ford Tarus fan or a Mark VIII. Going to call some junk yards after the 4th.

Try FPS in Atlanta for Ford stuff . He may know right off where/who in your area has one if he doesn't have it himself .

[Mentalic]

Originally Posted by brucepick

Wow - 25.3 mpg- excellent for something rated 18!

Only 186 deg showing on ScanGauge?

Replace your thermostat. Try learn what's oem spec and get one rated that temp, or maybe hotter. T'stats can lose their calibration over time and not keep things at the intended temperature. Also an independent shop may well have replaced the original with one calibrated for another temperature.

Yes - grill block and other things can help but the t'stat is supposed to get the engine to proper temp and keep it there.

I have a lofty goal of 30mpg, but realistically I think maybe around 28mpg eventually.

Yep thats a ScanGauge temp reading. It never goes above 190F even towing my boat. Towing I get 14.5mpg at 55mph with overdrive off.

Its the original thermostat. I'm right at 50k miles so its about time to do the coolant and stat anyway I suppose.

[Mentalic]

Originally Posted by MnFocus

Try FPS in Atlanta for Ford stuff . He may know right off where/who in your area has one if he doesn't have it himself .

Thanks, but I'm gonna give the local junk yards a try first since I think the shipping would be nearly as much as the fan. That and I'd like to have an up close and personal look at the fan.

[Mentalic]

Replaced the engine coolant today and the thermostat for good measure. After having a few thermostats fail on me years ago I started replacing them every 50k miles so it was time. Anyway the new one works about like the old one.
Turns out the thermostat is stamped 82c and thats right at 180F so it explains why is runs a bit cool. The new thermostat will get up to 190F on the ScanGauge but no more...

One thing thats a seems a bit odd about the thermostats location on what I would normally think as the cool water inlet! What I'm saying is the cool water enters directly on top of the thermostat which just seems just completely wrong but thats the way its made.

I checked the radiator lines with an IR thermometer and the hottest line is the upper line on the radiator, 175F while the lower line going to the port where the thermostat is only 115F. Perhaps the system has an internal circulation thats keeping the whole block at about the same temp?

[Mentalic]

Blocked the lower intake with black clorplast from a local sign shop. It did not seem to have any real affect at getting the engine up to temp quicker. Theres still plenty of open grill though, but since I tow often I'm not comfortable with blocking any more off..
Anyway I did see at least a few tenths or maybe a good bit more difference on the few miles I drive at 65mph highway speeds. It was hard to tell today to be sure I was not seeing any draft affecting the numbers.
At 48mph I could not see any difference at all. 48mph is the magic number where the TC locks up in high gear and I run there a good bit. Still need to get some more miles at highway speeds to really know for sure.