Cooling problems while open tracking 03 Mach 1

To make a long story short, I am having cooling issues with a 2003 Mach 1 when open tracking it. It has a Vortech V3 supercharger with an air-to-air intercooler making about 450 whp. I don't have any cooling problems on the street or at the drag strip. I only have problems when I'm pushing it hard for extended periods of time on curvy canyon roads or HPDE/track days. The coolant temperature, as read via the ODBII port and Torque app, slowly but surely rises. Once it gets past 230 F, I start to get worried and upshift and/or drive slower to get the temperature back under control. The more technical (and thus slower) the course, the faster it overheats. I guess this makes sense because there is less airflow through the radiator at slower speeds. It is especially bad on courses where I'm spending a good amount of the time in 2nd gear at high RPMs.

Over the past several years, I have more or less replaced the entire cooling system and made numerous modifications to attempt to address this issue. While these changes have helped somewhat by making it take longer for the car to overheat, the underlying problem still persists. Here is a list of what I have done so far:

- Replaced radiator with a new Mishimoto unit.
- Replaced the OEM fan with a new one from Ford after the bearings went bad.
- Got rid of the overly-complicated factory coolant crossover setup and replaced it with an On3 coolant crossover delete and GT-style lower radiator hose.
- Replaced water pump with an aftermarket high-flow unit (has a few more blades on it).
- Put a spring in the lower radiator hose after noticing that it was collapsing.
- Replaced the coolant mixture several times in the process of replacing parts.
- Tried using coolant additives and a higher percentage of water.
- Removed the AC system completely.
- Removed the hood liner and rubber shaker grommet.
- Added louvers/vents to the hood.
- Removed the stock bumper and bumper foam and replaced it with a tubular bumper because the stock piece was right up against the air-to-air intercooler and blocking airflow.
- Attached a sheet of aluminum under the front of the car to direct air to the intercooler and radiator (an attempt to box in the radiator, but only on the underside).
- Cut out a portion of the lower bumper cover.

After doing all that, I'm about at my wits end. I can only think of a few remaining options:

- Replace the Mishimoto (2-core) with the thicker Fluidyne unit (3-core). I'm hesitant to do this because I will either need to tuck the radiator or install a slimmer fan so I don't get clearance issues with the supercharger.
- Install a higher CFM puller fan or add a pusher fan in addition to the OEM Ford fan. I know this probably won't help at higher speeds, but it may help at lower speeds where I'm not getting enough air flow.
- Ask my tuner for less timing and more fuel at higher RPMs.
- Remove the factory oil cooler and/or add an aftermarket oil cooler.

I’m leaning toward doing something with the radiator fan, as I think the underlying issue is that I’m simply not getting enough airflow, especially at lower speeds. Unfortunately, though, it looks like a lot of the direct-fit aftermarket fans aren’t that great (lower CFM than the Ford one or bad reliability).

Does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks.

chronomitch - I do not see in your list that you have fully boxed your cooling system. We run an 03 Cobra with 2 drivers in HOD and keep it cool all day. We did not start out that way. It is very important to box the radiator. You cannot let the air leak around it. If you have not done this it should be the next thing you do before changing anything else. You can use ABS, Aluminum sheet, etc. etc. You can use adhesive backed foam at the radiator or door edging to seal your panels against the radiator. If you are running a heat ex-changer for your inter-cooler box that also. You will need to pull the bumper cover and build your panels. Ours is also sealed against the bumper cover. It is time consuming but works wonders. Ours is fully sealed top and bottom also. Our shift light is set at 6100 rpm and we run to the light on every shift.

chr

Also not sure what thermostat you are running, but you should consider this if you are not running one. They have your Mach 1 listed.

https://www.lethalperformance.com/reische-performance-ford-4d-170-performance-thermostat.html

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https://www.svtperformance.com/forums/threads/thermostat-cooling-system-reische-performance.572407/

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these cars definitely have air flow issues, Ive been dicussing this at length with my tuner (procharged Mach).

1) the only real fan upgrade Ive found so far is to buy a used Mark 8 fan. There are no new replacements Ive found (even aftermarket). Im 8 rib and it would NOT fit with the stock radiator (it was hitting the discharge pipe from the procharger. I had to trim down the fan shroud which hurts CFM a little but should still be better than stock.

2) I dont think a thicker radiator is going to help, this is an air flow issue. A thicker core might buy you a little more time before the rise but itll happen

3)I noticed very little difference using thinner coolant mixes and additives, it did help a few degrees but nothing major.

Mine has issues in traffic with the AC on full blast (ive noticed turning the demp dial so its not full cold makes a big difference) when its hot out (high 80s and up), once the car is rolling ~40mph or so it cools right down. At highway speeds the thing runs ice cold. Im using the big procharger 3 core unit.

I think boxing everything in is important, I put the stock plastic pieces back around the radiator best I could around the intercooler, dont think it really did anything but its not a good seal at all. I have also seen people using the plastic molding from the garden section at lowes/HD to make a larger airdamn (hangs down a little further and wider) where it attaches to the bottom of the radiator support to create a bigger negative pressure area behind the radiator to draw in more air through it.

My tuner has said a few times he thinks the best solution may be to move to an air to water setup utilizing something along the lines of the heat exchanger you would find in a Roush blower kit for a coyote. Supposedly pretty damned efficient and doesnt screw up air flow like our big A2A units do. If you wanted to you can add some pretty big reservoirs that would accommodate a lot of ice water. Im half assedly looking into this, just trying to find a unit thats good for ~20psi and figuring out where the hell I can mount it.



@iismet - any pictures you could post for us? I feel like Id end up with some cobbled together jigsaw puzzle mess.

Thanks for the suggestions. I actually did experiment with boxing in the radiator at one point. When I originally put in the aluminum panel on the underside of radiator, I also put panels on the side of the radiator going forward to the A2A intercooler. I then attached some angled panels to the front of the A2A intercooler to try to direct air through it and, in turn, the radiator. That's also when I cut out some of the lower bumper cover for more air flow. It wasn't fully boxed in, as I wasn't sure what to do about the upper part of the radiator and how to connect it to the headlight support bracket.

Unfortunately, this didn't seem to help much. When I went to remove the stock bumper and replace it with a tubular bar, I accidentally broke off one of the angled panels attached to the A2A intercooler. So, I decided to remove the other angled panel as well and just leave the lower aluminum panel.

As far as the thermostat is concerned, I just don't see the point, so I don't run one in my modified coolant loop. The only time the thermostat would be closed is when it's < 170 or 180 (depending on the thermostat), which only happens during initial warm up and when cruising on the highway for 20+ minutes. Anytime else, the temperature is above that, so the thermostat is open. Obviously, when I'm pushing it hard, the temperature is always above that threshold and the thermostat is always open, so I just ended up removing it. I have often heard the argument about using a thermostat to slow coolant flow and keep it in the radiator longer, but this is a moot point when the thermostat would always be open when it matters.

The direction I'm leaning at this point is installing a proper oil cooler. If I had to guess (I don't have an oil temp sensor), the oil temp when running hard is probably 20-30 F hotter than the coolant temp and is probably contributing to the high coolant temp due to the crappy OEM oil -> water cooler. I think down-shifting and running at a higher RPM like I like to do leads to... more friction in the heads -> higher oil temps -> higher coolant temps.

It seems like I posted the boxed cooling but I cann0t seem to locate it. Below are some pictures. You cannot let air leak around the heat ex-changers it must be a sealed system. The air will follow the path of least resistance. The idea is to slow the air down and stack it in front of the radiator under pressure. You can read about this in Tune to Win by Carroll Smith. Below are some pictures of our setup. We used ABS for the blocking panels. It is a considerable amount of work, but has been well worth it -we monitor oil, water, and IC temps and we do not struggle in this area.

A few other things - I run an air to oil oil cooler buried in the drivers side fender. IIRC I purchased my setup from MM. I run a Canton 11x8 oil cooler and it is duct-ed from the front bumper cover and sealed with a plenum to the cooler. We use a thermostat between the engine and cooler which keeps the oil at 230 going into the cooler. On a cold day water will only reach 197, but oil always runs at 230.

I upgraded the factory IC HE to a dual fan AFCO. I wired a manual over ride switch in the car so I could run the fans in the pits. I also upgraded the IC pump to higher volume. On a really hot day we open the hood and switch the pump and fans on during lunch. You can read about this in the Terminator forum.

You seriously need a heat extraction hood. Either find one or chop yours up, but you need to get air out from under the hood. This will also help draw the stacked up air in front of the radiator thru it. We used the stock Cobra hood with the vents punched out and some small gurneys riveted in front of the ports . We ran this way for a couple of seasons before stepping into a True Fiber heat extraction hood.

Here are some pics of our boxing

Tape is your friend - racer, gorilla we have had the best luck. I particularly like racer. This is done with Gorilla. Notice the 2 ABS panels they extend all the way into the radiator and all the way into the bumper cover.


ABS, Foam, and tape. Seal your corners. Guy's have done much nicer work, but this has been successful for us.


A blocking panel at back - seal your penetrations as needed.


Seal the bottom. Your blocking panels need to extend down and seal to the bottom.


We use aeroforce to monitor temps.


Blanking panel for top. We refitted the hood with areocatch and then permanently sealed the top. Look at your OEM situation and tape as needed to seal the top. Or consider re-fabbing a panel if you are using OEM latch, but seal the top.


There are some very knowledgeable guy's who tracked Terminators in the Terminator forum. I just studied and copied and it has worked out very well.



Notice the hood - you have to get hot air out. Buy it or build it, but you have to get control of the air.

We do not over spin the blower. It is running as delivered by Ford. We have achieved higher track speed with Lessons, Aero, and Suspension only. We run a CAI, Cat-less X pipe, and flash tune. It is track only, we do not run it on the street, that may affect your choices.

Some good stuff in the Terminator forum on running with a blower. There are some guys that ran incredibly hot setups (HP) and kept them cool. There is a thread in Open Track called "Tracking an 03". Scan thru there for some discussion.

So things we added after boxing .

HE Hood- We had success with a Terminator hood slightly modified.
Upgraded IC HE
Upgraded IC Pump
Air to Oil Oil Cooler.
Upgraded Thermostat - I understand the no thermostat argument
Dumped AC
No anti-freeze

Lastly - we run in the Pacific Northwest not the Mojave - that said we run it on 95 degree days with 2 drivers running back to back. It gets a 20 min rest every hour. It still kick's it at the end of the day.



chr

Thank you so much for the pictures and detailed explanation. This info gives me some ideas about what I need to do. This will make for a good winter project.

Fans are for idling in traffic jams when there isn’t any airflow through the radiator. If you don’t have to worry about being stuck in traffic then remove the fan. It only adds restriction and turbulence to the flow through the radiator.

As has been said box the radiator, vent the hood. The removal of the hood seal at the back is a high pressure area. Put it back on. Cowl induction hoods aren’t just for looks. Key word “induction”, that seal being removed is allowing high pressure air a path to get under your hood which creates lift.

chronomitch said:

and/or add an aftermarket oil cooler.

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I think this would be the way to go in SoCal. Get the biggest unit you can fit to get 'first air' and maybe use a fan on the street for hot days but might not need that. OEM oil to water coolers put a heavy load on the coolant side. I wouldn't recommend removing it, since you'd need a massive oil to air cooler to make it work and be a net increase in cooling capacity.

I'd recommend a Setrab.