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Duratec cooling... FW duct needed?


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Posted

Hello,

I have a FW body, 200hp Duratec and standard radiator under the bonnet. As soon as the engine heats up the fan keeps on running all the time, even if I'm on a motorway cruising at 110 km/h or on an A-road at 90.

Gauge stays at about 85 °c (I think the fan starts at 86...).

Is it normal?

Solutions?

- fan switch starting at an higher temp. No good if Duratec optimal operating temp is 86 C.

- high efficiency radiator. It's for installation on ducted nose

- FW nose duct. I've written to Westfield about it but (can U tell?) no answer. The original FW back in the Nineties had a ducted nose!! I really think it can help since when standing with fan on no air cames off the nostrils (its goes down). There is any duct available for FW nose?

other suggestions?

Posted
Hi, I too have a Duratec 2ltr and it caused me similar problems, I even changed to a Radtec radiator but the fan still ran virtually all the time. I eventually changed the the fan switch in the radiator for a higher temp one and the problem is fixed.  The car runs about 88/90 degrees C. Wish I knew this before hand as I wouldn't have spent my money on the new radiator! Good piece of kit though. Good luck.
Posted
Sounds like your fan thermostat is too cool. My duratec runs between 88 and 92 degrees C. quite happily. The fan only kicks in towards the top of this range.
Posted
Sounds like your fan thermostat is too cool. My duratec runs between 88 and 92 degrees C. quite happily. The fan only kicks in towards the top of this range.

as per Stephens comments - standard bodywork on ours though

Posted

That seems to be a very useful advice, thank you!!

Did you buy the "97c° radiator fan switch" which is listed in the Westfield Parts Catalogue?

Posted

Not sure, mine was a factory built car. What I would say is I've had mine quite highly tuned (by road car standards) and we've made no change to the radiator or fan or indeed any part of the cooling system, and it copes fine with cooling. So if your radiator and your coolant passages etc are all clean and clear then your fan should only be coming on when the car is in heavy traffic, or stationary with the engine running. Athough I suppose it is more likely to kick in in hot weather.

Posted

My car is not factory built but professionally assembled by an engineer. I expect there are no faults on the cooling system (only 800 miles on the clock...) but if running temp of the engine has a range from 88 to 92 that means a switch set to 87°c leaves the fan always on...

A check I could do is to disconnect the fan so that I can check the temp range for my engine... then I can decide which is the right temp for turning on the fan.

Posted

hi there, you could check to see if the fan is rotating so that air is being pulled through the rad.

russ

Posted

Dont get too hung up on specific temperatures. I'm not sure whether the temp guage sensor and the fan sensor/switch are in the same place in the cooling system as I've never had any reason to look on my car. If they are not then dont expec t the guage to show the same temp as the rating of the fan sensor/switch when the fan first kicks in, it just wont unless thro' a fluke. However, it still sounds as if your fan switch is too low a temp rating for that engine and that cooling system. The proof of the pudding is in the eating; I dont suppose a new fan sensor/switch is going to cost a fortune, so get one and try it. If you want more re-assurance try ringing the factory first, and speak to Mark Walker or Simon Naughton. They should be able to tell you what switch you need. Just dont try ringing before 10.00am, particularly on a Monday, for obvious reasons. I find late morning or mid afternoon is good.

Posted

Thanks again,

Before calling Westfield I want to unplug power supply for the fan and drive the car, so I can understand which is the operating temp range.

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