Questions on 95 5.0

[modulistic]

just purchased a 95 5.0 and there is an electric fan wired to a switch in the dash to turn the fan on and off. Were these cars originally electric fan, and would it be possible to make this turn on and off with a relay? The car has a mechanical coolant gauge and stays right around 185, but it is in Anchorage AK so its not hard for it to stay cool.

the car smells badly of coolant when hot, no water in the oil, and as far as I can tell the coolant looks clean and isnt pressurizing. Im thinking of getting some aftermarket heads and throwing them on it, just to rule out bad heads and gaskets, and also get a power bump.

The car also has the white gauges that turn blue, I would like to take those out, is there any process to remove them without damaging the needle or needle settings?

Thanks

 

[WhiteCobra95]

It came with an electric fan from the factory. The ECU normally controls the fan relays. I see three potential things here: previous owner put in a bypass switch for rapid cool downs - common drag racing trick, something in the original fan contril wiring went bad requiring a bypass switch, or it's necessary due to a Fox ECU being used without a fan controller. You might have to do some digging to figure this one out.

The coolant smell is probably not a good sign. If it's from under hood, then the car either has a leak in the engine compartment or it has probably over-boiled or over-heated in the past. If it's in the interior, then the heater core may be bad. The fact that the coolant system is not pressurizing is a bad thing. It should build pressure as the engine warms up to prevent boiling. Does the heat work? How long does it take to warm up? Does it ever overheat on a long drive? Those can be signs of something messed up with the cooling system. I would reccomened borrowing a coolant pressure tester from a local parts store and making sure that it holds around 14 psi (I'm not sure if our cars do 14 or 16 psi). If it doesn't hold pressure, pump it up to a couple of PSI and see if you can hear or find a leak somewhere in the system.

Good luck, I hope it's something simple.

 

[Bullitt95]

The simplest things to do would be to get a new 16psi radiator cap and check all the hose connections for leaks. Could be something as simple as a hose clamp that needs tightening up.

 

[earleys94gt]

Do what Bullitt95 said, and replace the radiator cap. It's a cheap part that may be a cheap fix.

Another possibility, if the smell is coming from the engine compartment, might be the radiator end caps. Which, on a car that is 15+ years old, could be worn out.

Hopefully, the problem isn't too serious and keep us posted.

 

[modulistic]

thanks for the tips, I will try the cap and check the radiator. I got the white face gauges off the cluster and removed a ton of goofy wiring. would someone please tell me where the stock electric fan plugs in? this one has an aftermarket fan and I can't match up the connector. there is one connector hanging free over by the p/s pump

 

[revhead347]

If you could snap a picture of the fan setup, we could tell you if it's been modified from the factory setup. The stock fan is controlled by a relay box beside it on the passenger side of the car. In the factory setup, there is a metal bracket that goes from the core support, over the radiator and down the back of the radiator to a support plate underneath. It has a yellowish plastic radiator overflow tank attached to it. It is a sealed relay box with one large wiring harness that is held on from the passenger side of the car with a small hex bolt in the middle of the connector. On the other side of the box it has a pigtail with a good size 3 pin connector that plugs into the hub of the fan motor.

Kurt

 

[modulistic]

Heres a couple pics of two plugs I found under the top radiator cover, and the fan itself. the two red wires went directly to a switch in the cabin. it was wired to be 100 percent driver operated.

View attachment 134942
View attachment 134944

 

[revhead347]

Yeah, that's a completely aftermarket fan setup. Probably not as good as the stock one either, which kind of sucks. Other than the fan itself, I really can't tell what's going on there. Someone has rigged something in there.

Kurt

 

[modulistic]

thats what i guessed, thanks. are those the fan connectors? i will google what the correct setup should be. shipping the stock setup to alaska is going to suck.

as for the heads, how good are the edelbrock ones i can get from the parts store? id like 50 more hp. id like to put in one of their off the shelf cams too, since i will probably already have the radiator out.

im about to pull all the plugs to see if any of them look "steam cleaned" indicating a bad head gasket.

 

[modulistic]

also, i dont know if there is anywhere to get tuned up here. what are my options in that respect. does anyone do "canned tuners" like i can get for my diesel trucks?

 

[revhead347]

If I were you, I would just go ahead and assume that you have a blown head gasket so that you have an excuse to put the heads on there you want. I don't know much about the new Edelbrock lineup. Just don't get the E-streets. They have serious problems; long story. Most people go with Trick Flow or AFR heads now. I'm a Trick Flow fan myself. You can't go wrong with AFR quality though, and their 165cc heads perform about the same as Edelbrock Performer RPMs. Don't be afraid of a mail order chip. Their are quality tuners out there that can give you a good mail order chip. I'm running a mail order chip myself.

Kurt

 

[earleys94gt]

A company, like Sct or Hypertech, will be able to get you a solid mail-tune chip. You just need to call or e-mail them the make, model car and the set-up you are running or plan on running.

The fan set-up might get ugly, as we can not assume the previous owner/installer knew what the hell they were doing...And as the fan set-up is not stock it's almost anyone's guess. Basic diagnostic/test to get a "baseline" of the system would probably be the best starting point.

 

[modulistic]

I'm probably going to rig an always on relay for now. where's a good place to get switched 12v?

thanks for the tip on e-street heads. I am wondering, do I have to notch the pistons for afr heads? what would be a good cam for afr heads? won't notching the pistons throw off the balance?

I might just go for edel. performer heads.

 

[revhead347]

You can run AFR 165cc or TF170cc heads without notching the pistons with the right cam. It's no more an issue with those heads than with the Edelbrocks. It's actually even less of an issue with the Trick Flows than the other two because the valves are angled in a way that increases clearance.

Kurt

 

[modulistic]

what do you think of this kit from trick flow? TFS-K514-350370B

 

[revhead347]

What do I think of it? I think it's the best package deal you can get period. I love that kit. You won't have to notch you pistons for it either.

Kurt

 

[modulistic]

should I get injectors? what's the deal with a calibrated Maf? there is someone in town who does dyno tuning, but I don't know about how good they are. would I be able to get away with a mail order chip, or should I take my chances on the dyno outfit? thanks a lot for the q and a.

 

[revhead347]

I would just go with a mail order chip. I think you have better odds with that. Definately going to have to do injectors. You can order the MAF with whatever calibration you want, so long as the tuner knows how it was calibrated.

KUrt