OK, first off I have to let you know that the coolant temp gauge does not work on the cluster. Therefore one has no idea when the car is nearing the point where it starts to boil over. With no rhyme or reason, this car seems to decide to overheat periodically. Coolant level doesn't get low until it boils over, but there appears to be no leaks. Are we talking clogged water passage somewhere, sticking thermostat, or what? I don't know when last time the system was flushed and filled, but the next time will be soon for sure. Any tips or precautions to help me get this done right?

 

electric fan not working properly. please replace.

 

Sorry no electric fan on a stock '88.

 

then I'm all out of guesses. sticky thermostat?

 

Thanx for the guesses... I guess

Anybody else???

 

spend some cash and get a gauge.

 

you need to get a gauge... you dont want your engine to overheat and seize because you wouldnt spend the 100$ max to get a new gauge...

as for the coolent system, have it flushed there is probably crap in there since its stock.

 

Thanks for the tips. Yeah, I know the car needs a gauge, but I don't know if the driver would even pay attention to it anyway

I'm going to try replacing the coolant temp. sending unit 1st, that may be all that is needed. I know it is important to keep tabs on such engine vitals, but just changing the gauge won't fix the real problem. So with a coolant flush, refill, new thermo & hoses I'm hoping the problem will cease.

In the interest of trying to keep the car stock the gf doesn't want any aftermarket gauges, but since nothing on the cluster other than tach, speedo, and odo works I put my foot down and installed a little tiny oil pressure gauge just under the kick panel. She still doesn't look at it either, but I can see it from the passenger seat and keep my eye out for any potential failures there.

 

I could only really recommend a flush for it. If its not leaking and your fan isnt malfunctioning then it shouldnt be overheating.

Maybe there is a kink in one of the hoses? is the heater core bypassed?

 

UPDATE:

Did a coolant drain and flush this weekend with halfazz results. Still running hot. I replaced hoses that didn't look too bad and a thermostat that was not sticking. The fan clutch seems to operate properly, and since it takes at least 15-20 minutes of driving before it steams the water pump must at least be trying to circulate. Therein I believe is our culprit, the water is not flowing very much at all through the ugly cruddy radiator core. Didn't appear damaged, but it's insides and the water that came out of it looked to be may 20 year old OEM original.

So tomorrow radiator goes to a shop to be tested to see how correct I am. Will deep you informed...

 

Nah, this thing is as stock as it was when it left the dealer. It was even missing a stock part that is kinda important, the spout connector(that's slang, I forget the proper name for it). Without it, the motor runs off base timing always - no advance. There are a few other vacuum hoses that have been capped off and I haven't traced all them down yet to their correct terminations

Sorry for straying off topic, but I gotta tell you this quick bit. When we first bought the car, huge oil leak occured only during hard right turns. Then during the first oil change I poured about half of the 5qt. jug on the floor. I didn't miss, it was coming out the right valvecover. Pulled said valvecover and found the gasket on the rear 1/3rd of the valvecover laying down inside the top of the head. That left about a 8" U shaped hole for oil to say bye-bye. Wonder what the person was thinking that installed this valvecover and gasket. One thing is for sure, it wasn't about the car

 

UPDATE #2:
Shop said radiator was trash. He said flow was minimal at best and he would rod it(clean & straighten passages) if I wanted but didn't suggest as much because the headers(ends of the radiator core) were heavily deteriated and would fail sooner rather than later. So now the shop is on for a new radiator. Any suggestions? Remember, stock 5.0, so no overkill cooling needed...

 

UPDATE #3
The 'stang is back in business. 180* thermostat, fresh hoses, and brand new 3 core radiator. It isn't a name brand, I bought it from a local radiator shop, but for $180 you can't hardly beat it. Copper tanks, tranny cooler, and fits in stock location. I had to modify the upper isolators a small bit and adjust the lower fan shroud clips, but all is all it was a straight forward swap. Other than the lower thermo housing bolt(tight fit behind water pump) it was a breeze to make it all come together. Dude at the radiator shop said it was more than the stock motor needed, but if any future power were to be added to the car the cooling could keep up. Now I just got talk the gf into doing some head/cam/intake mods to let the motor catch up to the upgraded cooling.

 

heck yea, sounds like ya got it done up right. yea just tell ur girl that the motor won't perform to it's max potential with the new radiator unless ya get those mods! lol