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Truck keeps overheating. Trying to bleed out the system but I ran out of coolant & dist. water. I need to fab up an extension to the shroud so it covers the entire radiator. But I worry the e-fan I picked up won't have the ***** to keep the engine cool.

Issue #2: oil pressure drops to zero at idle. Rev it just a tad and it jumps back up. Not sure why it keeps dropping tho.

Concerned all this starting/stopping of the engine due to the over heating will affect the cam break in period.

Beyond the few kinks, it sounds great. Idling pretty smooth after we got the timing under control. Could use some more fine tuning tho. Can't wait to get her broken in and feel how it pulls.

 

no problem. You said you dont have the stock AC condensor fan or it's pigtail? That's the easiest way to drive the fan, but you can do the switch thing. I did both- I tied a dash switch to the high side of the coil so I can turn it on manually or let the PCM control it. Since it's on the backside of the PDC relay, the PCM doesn't know any better. don't run the fan directly off the PCM relay, it'll burn it up in a heartbeat with the 100 amp inrush. The relay i used and linked to before is rated 70 amp continuous.

My ultragage says it sits at 185F until I come to a stop, it'll go to 193 and park itself there. But I have 2 less holes to cool.

 

Keep burping. Just leave the radiator cap off and let it idle. And hope the t-stat isn't hanging closed. As long as you have the fan running and a 180 stat, shouldn't be any issues.

The fan isn't a problem. See my post above (We posted at same time).

What oil pump did you use? Blow the oil gallies out with air when you machined it?

don't worry about the cam break-in. As long as it's done it's 20 minutes of idling or whatever, it'll be fine. Doesn't have to be all at once.

I have my shroud sitting on the core support, and it covers all of the radiator except the top 1" or so.

 

Right now it's just wired straight to the switch in my cab. It's tapped into the battery and just has a 30A fuse. No issues. Dims the lights just a bit - I got the higher Amp alternator, just for good measure.

It's controlling temp a bit better but still running hot. Held at about 210 holding 2000-2500 rpm. I had to run and go grab more coolant & distilled water. I'll finish burping it tomorrow. I do my best to not **** off my neighbors too much.

I was doing some more reading and all the info about breaking in the cam is more geared towards flat tappets with mechanical lifters that need to work in their lobe profile. With the roller cam I should be good to go. Just need to follow normal engine break in procedures.

I just used a factory replacement oil pump. Researching online I found several sources saying the stock oil pump should be good and the high-flow would be too much. That it would pump oil faster than the oil would drain back down. Oil pressure held a lot better before I left to go pick up more coolant. Didn't drop down at idle. I see that as a good thing. But I'll definitely keep an eye on it.

My shroud sits just inside the core support similar to yours. But I've got about 1" or so exposed on the bottom and probably 4-6" or so on top. Imho that's too much, but mostly I want it done just for good measure. I'll definitely be keeping my eye on the temperatures as well, especially with FL summer coming on.

All said and done, I'm pretty pleased with the outcome as this was my first full on build. I've done plenty of bolt-ons, etc. But this was the first actual engine I've built. I learned a ton. And with that knowledge I've got plenty more engines to build.

 

post a picture of your fan setup if you can. IMO it should be popping that 30A fuse, mine draws 50A running and 100 to start. With the trans fan wired to it, I'm pulling about 125 to start and 60A to run. I bet the wire going to the switch is hot to the touch.

The whole cooling system should be 2.5 gallons from dry to full as I recall.

The oil pressure may go up as bearings seat in. Sounds to me like you have just a shave too much clearance on the bearings. What did you go with?

Reference: http://drr.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/t...2/m/1347027426

 

Here's my fan setup again. Notice the amount of exposed around edges.

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Hmm, I had a buddy help me with all the bearings and building the bottom end. I'll have to ask him what we went with as I can't remember. I'll get some pics of the fan set up in the next day or two. Everywhere I found was saying these fans draw much more amperage than what this one seems to be. I expected the fuse to pop and go up from there, but the fan hasn't popped that fuse once yet - while running or at the first draw. That's why I'm not sure about the fan having enough guts - like it's motor is way undersized from what I expected.

I got the fan off RockAuto that was suggested by the guy who makes the expensive relay systems (email was from info@thoroco.com - tho I can't find the website at the moment). It's a 94-97 tbird stock replacement. He said it's the same footprint as the M8 shroud and puts out "more than enough cfm." I'll wait until all the air is purged from the system to hold judgement tho.

 

Ah, the T-bird fan is slightly different, they did use a slightly smaller 2 speed motor. I pulled mine off a 96 M8 at a local junkyard for $40.

 

I'll have to keep looking around for an actual M8 then. Last few times I went to my local yard I didn't see one in their lot. I need to check the lot down the street from my fiancee's. But I never remember they're there to plan for it.

I believe Ive got all the air purged out of the lines now. It was holding 180/190 pretty consistently for a while during my lunch break. But timing seems a bit off now - it won't hold idle now. I may not have tightened the dizzy down enough. I'll play with timing this evening. If I can get the set up right, I'll do a few victory laps around my block, change the oil/filter and start getting the truck broken in.

My driveway needs a serious pressure washing after all this!