BeCool radiators: are they a good for my setup and fair $?

[DuckRyder]

Honestly,

I think I would just put a stock style 4 row in with a stock fan shroud.

Mine has a pretty warm 390 in it, it has higher compression and a more radical cam than yours. It has a stock 3 row radiator and a stock fan shroud with a stock fan (6 blade IIRC).

It never gets hot.

[fitzwell]

Their real benefits are constant cooling flow at low engine / truck speeds and less engine resistance at high RPM's.

The negatives are that quite honestly most don't flow as much air as a clutch fan setup and the ones that do use a lot of power to drive the fan / fans, power that isn't being generated at low speeds. They are hard on wiring. Every fan setup I've dealt with has fitted poorly to the radiator and even the $300 flexalite shroud kit for the fox mustang setup sucked far worse than the stock clutch fan setup.

Jamie

you can get a flex-a-lite setup that will pull 2300 cfm for about 125.00 Or you can use the MkVII setup, almost 4000 cfm on high speed. might pull 1-2 hp for the extra load on the alt. Not a bad tradeoff, IMHO.

As far as fittment to the radiator & hard on wiring. Certainly NOT the fan's fault, but the hack owner that cobbled it together. My 46 has a 3G alt and a Mk VII fan setup. No problems & it has a bunch of miles on it.

I keep seeing the negativity of Electric fans yet I never experienced this.

I use the through radiator plastic ties and drew 12 amps total with my 12 and 10 inch Hayden fans. 12 amps is 20% of 1 horsepower drawn off the engine by the alternator. This could use 12 AWG wire for over kill or 14 AWG for less over protection. 12 AWG handles 30 amps and 14 AWG is rated for 20 amps max. If someone is burning up wire they are using too small a wire gauge. If they are having wiring problems they need to pick up a basic Hot Rod wiring book. Relays are a great way to switch 12 amp circuits. They save the switches by drawing less power to do the switching.


A locked clutch fan on a Ford sounds like a jet engine coming down the road and draws 30 to 45 hp according to an old service bulletin.

BINGO!!

Only thing i would disagree with is fan mounting. Those plastic ties will eventually fail, or at least, cause some damage to the radiator. Whit all the effort the OP is going thru on this truck, i don't think making a couple of mounting straps is out of the question.

On a 10-12 in fan, 12ga is fine. For the MKVII unit, i have 8ga to the relay, 10 ga from the relay to the fan. And a BIG ground from the fan to the core suport.


just my

[robroy]

Honestly,

I think I would just put a stock style 4 row in with a stock fan shroud.

Mine has a pretty warm 390 in it, it has higher compression and a more radical cam than yours. It has a stock 3 row radiator and a stock fan shroud with a stock fan (6 blade IIRC).

It never gets hot.

Hey Robert! Thanks for your advice.

It's possible that I've been paying too much attention to the advertising of these high end radiator places.

Have you ever tested your setup while idling in traffic in a very hot climate?

Thank you Robert!
-Robroy

[Dragon]

I have with a 3 core and a 4 core, idling did not matter both electrics would turn on. Highway the 4 core really cooled the motor better.

[papabug71]

Been turning wrenches a long time & one thing I have found about be cool & all other aluminum radiators is that unless your turning some major horses, you dont need em. As far as im concerened they are more for the bling-bling factor than anything. A good factory 3 or 4 core radiator & a good fan(s) will do you just fine. $1700+ bucks is waaay too much to spend on a radiator. Its not only too much, its insane that be cool thinks they are worth that much.

I dont have a problem with electric fans as long as they are done right. Never skimp on wiring up a fan, or you'll regret it. Keep in mind most high volume electric fans pull 12+ amps. The electric chair, only 8 amps.

[DuckRyder]

Have you ever tested your setup while idling in traffic in a very hot climate?

I drive it mostly around town, and it does hover around a hundred here for several weeks in August usually. I don't recall exact situations, but I'm sure I've run it in traffic in 90 degree plus weather...

[bobbyinpd]

I got this for under 200 and although I have not yet driven my truck with this radiator installed it looks great and im pretty sure it will cool much better than a stock replacement...

390f100

That Should do the trick, then get an MK8 or one of the fox body black magic flex a lite fans. I didn't pay 300 for mine though. Wire it with a simple relay so it comes on every time the truck is on. you do not need a thermostatically controlled switch, thats why theres a thermostat in the radiator, For around 250 you can get a nice aluminum circle track radiator from speedway motors, not a direct fit, but with some nice measuring and some simple fabrication, you can have a cooling system thats way better than any of the overpriced be-cool crap. I had a be cool once in a camaro, cost me $600, went over to look at my friend's Asphalt Late Model, his C&R had a bigger and better radiator (core) for less than $250. Most of that Be Cool hot rod expensive stuff is way too pricey, its for the old farts with the 80,000 T buckets and coupes that are all show and no go!

[Dragon]

Years of using electric fans and I have one question. Why use the power when there is no reason too. Using electrical power burns gas not using it saves gas.

I have a 180 degree thermostat and a good radiator. My truck does not warm up enough in the morning here until about 12 noon. My needle never moves now that winter hit. As soon as the water hits the radiator it cools off so much the engine gets cool water. As long as my mechanical fan turns all the time I never warm up. So yesterday I unbolted the fan and when we went to lunch I put it back on. I actually had temp in the middle of the gauge. As soon as I pay a friend on this site for the parts he is holding for me I am putting electric fans in this truck with thermostats. By putting them on thermostats I don't have any excess wires coming into the cab so I can get ignition power back out to the fan. Not racing I want my fans Automatic. A tap off my add on insulated power tap from the battery will feed the fans thermostats just fine.

[bobbyinpd]

Years of using electric fans and I have one question. Why use the power when there is no reason too. Using electrical power burns gas not using it saves gas.

I have a 180 degree thermostat and a good radiator. My truck does not warm up enough in the morning here until about 12 noon. My needle never moves now that winter hit. As soon as the water hits the radiator it cools off so much the engine gets cool water. As long as my mechanical fan turns all the time I never warm up. So yesterday I unbolted the fan and when we went to lunch I put it back on. I actually had temp in the middle of the gauge. As soon as I pay a friend on this site for the parts he is holding for me I am putting electric fans in this truck with thermostats. By putting them on thermostats I don't have any excess wires coming into the cab so I can get ignition power back out to the fan. Not racing I want my fans Automatic. A tap off my add on insulated power tap from the battery will feed the fans thermostats just fine.

Here's the thing, I live in a completely different climate than you. 2 days ago, it was still in the 90s out, and today it should be in the mid-eighties. We want to keep that water as cool as possible for as long as possible. All I know is I get 4 mpg more as opposed to the stock fan and shroud that ran off the water pump, and I can finally turn the motor over 4000 rpm without the belt slipping, was able to kick up the timing 4 degrees static do to less load on the motor, and did I mention the ridiculous amount of extra HP the car makes now? No excess wires going into the car for it, as the stock ignition wire for this car has been turned into a key forward power tap, the ignition is on its own, brand new switched circuit. remember this is my wife's car, someone who is absolutely clueless to anything that is going right or wrong on the car when driving it, thats why all the stock idiot lights still work.......for the idiot! Just kidding, car runs at 165 all day in the 90 degree heat, curious to see what it does this coming summer when its 118 out!

[robroy]

Honestly,

I think I would just put a stock style 4 row in with a stock fan shroud.

Mine has a pretty warm 390 in it, it has higher compression and a more radical cam than yours. It has a stock 3 row radiator and a stock fan shroud with a stock fan (6 blade IIRC).

It never gets hot.

Hey Robert! Do you happen to know if there are any 4 row models available on the market for our trucks?

I called around today and heard plenty of 3 row models, but no 4 row models. I did hear about a 4 row model for the Super Cooling edition, but not for the regular trucks.

I got to thinking about this post from a while back and thought I'd ask.

Thanks Robert!
-Robroy

[DuckRyder]

I believe that modine makes one, try NAPA or NPD's raditor division...

[robroy]

Hey Robert! Thanks for your super quick reply!

Yes Sir I checked out Modine, and unfortunately they make a 3 row but no 4 row for our application. I got this info through the local Napa, and they called Modine for the information. Do you suspect this into to be erroneous?

Any other sources for a 4 row?

By the way, they said that the 3 row Modine was a little under $400. They also said that they're 100% Made in USA. Do you think $400 is a fair deal for that? Naturally other shops had Chinese made radiators for half the price.

Thank you very much Robert!
-Robroy

[fordman]

i have modines in both o fmy trucks. they are both 3 rows. one truck is a 390 the other is a 351w. i have not drove the 351w since i put the new rad in yet. i still need to hook up the correct top hose. 400.00 is probably a good retail price .

[DuckRyder]

I did think that I looked up one on Napa’s website that was a 4 row, but it might have been a super cooling. I've always thought that Modine was a very good product, but have not bought one in many years; I can only hope it remains a quality product.

My own experience seems to indicate that a 3 row (even an old leaky one) with a shroud is more than adequate.

[robroy]

Hey Fordman and Robert, thanks for the replies!

Yeah I think going with the three row Modine is probably a good idea, if Modine is still 100% made in USA like before. I'll check with another NAPA to confirm that.

If it winds up having heat issues my only options will be to swap in a super cooling radiator support (which I probably won't do since it would be hard to find one), or put in one of the fancy aluminum radiators that are a lot more expensive (a BeCool or Griffin). I'm not super fond of that last idea because I can imagine getting stuck somewhere on a road trip if a rock went through one of those, since no local radiator shop can patch them, as far as I know.

Thanks again for the words of wisdom!
-Robroy