hello,
I have an EF Fairmont 4.0L and having a problem with it getting a little too hot. This is what I have done to it last week whilst off work.
head pressure tested, shaved and valves reseated
new thermostat
new water pump
new welch plugs the 8 that is accessable (except the one on back of block hidden behind bell housing)
pressure clean water jackets of block
flushed the s@#t out of the heater core
changed ALL hoses
flushed radiator
I have run engine 100km after changing head gasket with just fresh water and have changed oil and gave it another flush this afternoon and have replenished water system with good quality inhibitor.
I have run out of ideas, can anyone give me any ideas.
thanks

maybe try a lower temp thermostat?

didnt know there was such a thing but I have drilled a 2.5mm hole through the flange so some coolant can go through thermostat

put in a 82c thermostat that will help with the overheating problem

ill give that a go, thanks. My next thought might be a little extreme but it involves cutting a slot through the plastic liner and the metal plate that is behind the front of the bonnet to allow some cool air through radiator fins.

Back in the day std practice was to `gut ' the thermostat, ie remove the centre part but leave the outer `frame' so that you'd still have some restriction - on my 351 I've tried this, vs a drilled one like yours, I now have a lower opening temp one and it works best - as well as allowing the thing to get warm quicker in winter for the heater, as well as being better for the motor - you can run a car too cold as well, not good for the motor....

OK, things to check:
are you using decent coolant?
is the fan shroud still in place ?
are you running electric fans (I suppose on an EF you would standard - do they function correctly?)
Which leads to the next question - you've said its too hot - but WHEN is it too hot? at idle/ stuck in traffic? (which indicates a fan/shroud related issue) or on the move? (more like a rad / airflow issue..)

Anything cutting down airflow into the front? or air exiting the engine bay? I dunno, spotlights, roo bar, spoiler anything like that? Remember airs gotta be able to leave into a low pressure area or it'll just stagnate and not flow through the engine bay. A trick I used once ages ago was to copy the idea that VL Commodores use - a small airdam under the radiator to stop air from circling under rather than travelling through...

Finally, what is ` too hot' ? Where exactly is it sitting on the guage and how does that compare to other EF's? ( and how accurate is that factory guage anyway? Maybe install a decent quality aftermarket temp guage?)

on the EF temp gauge, it hovers between the letters 'R' and 'M' on the word normal. Temp climbs up quite rapidly in stop start traffic and will stay quite warm. The thermostat that was originally in the car when I bought it was actually gutted open so coolant had free reign and was constantly flowing which I assume is bad as the water in the radiator doesnt have the time to cool sufficiently in hot weather and would take a long time to reach operating temp during the winter months. When I first got the car the needle on the gauge sat between the letters 'A' and 'L'. I don't have anything mounted to the front of the car like spotlights or roo bar etc. My mate has the same car as mine but he runs his on gas and his temp gauge needle sits on the letter 'L' all the time and he thrashes the hell out of it. Thermo fans work fine and I can't see anything that prevents hot air from engine bay escaping.

Hi,

Getting hot in stop go traffic sounds like the fans are not running. Even if they run when you do the test, it doesnt mean the ECU is running them when it should. If you sit in the car parked, hold the revs at about 2 1/2 thousand and wait until the temp is 3/4. The get out and see if the fans have come on. They should be running. There is some good info about this at the resource Tab above.

Regards 96ELGli

Put your hand on the top and bottom of the radiator and see if one part is cooler than the other (when the engine is not running )? If there's a noticable heat difference, you have blockages in your radiator. Did you remove the radiator when your flushed it? Leaves, bugs, stones, etc can build up between the radiator and aircon condensor which results in a poor air flow.

thanks guys, I didnt pull the radiator out when I flushed it, Ill get into it and pull it out and give it a hardcore flush sometime on the weekend, thanks for all ya help again

its considered normal....
hence the word normal sectioned on the gauge..

when it gets up near the red section then yes its running hot, if it gets into the red then yes its definatly overheating..

poblem solved, I pulled out the radiator and flushed and shook the you know what out of it and I couldnt believe what came out. I also hosed the fins out and the aircon condensor and that was also blocked, temp gauge needle now sits between 'A' and 'L'.

if you've done the head, pressure flushed the block & all the rest... seriously why not replace the radiator?

all that gunk is eventually going to be fed back into the engine & heater core etc etc.

At least remove the radiator & take it to a radiator place so they can clean it out properly for you.

Also check the 4 relays just behind the l/h headlight & in front of the air box.

any one of these relays could be faulty & won't activate the fans when needed hence why the temp goes high.

also a good method to help these cars run cooler, Ive done it on my old ef and now el.
rewire the thermo setup to eliminate the "low" speed fan operation. My fans are now either off or HIGH. This works far more effectively, I can be sitting at the lights and the fans will actually cool to the point where they turn off on a 30 degree day. IE below the L on the gauge. In an EF you delete the far left relay I believe and join the 2 blue wires on the next 2 relays, if I remember correctly... I'd go check now but the EL is different.

Yep - I went thru the same situation years ago with my ED - replacing the radiator fixed it completely.