I remember a while back a debate on the TC nose pieces parts being put on a 5.0 and the engine temp or air flow issues that can become an issue.
Mason and i were discussing doing lower air dam diflectors to push / direct air up a tiny bit to hit the bottom of the radiator.
It has been a verrrrrrrrryyy long time since i saw this topic come up.
can we discuss that or anyone share what they experienced?
MCassity is a member on the board and i mentioned to him that we need to confirm this issue before we move forward to the nose swap and paint.
We are trip by trip getting a single 88 blue TC torn down from a bone yard,, basically has never been touched except for the electric fan thats missing up front.
this past monday i went and got the hood, nose, bumper cover, all dash switches, cluster trim pieces , all the lights for the front,, total came to 250.oo
The TC nose on a 5.0 will cool fine as long as you run the factory black plastic air under the bumper. Even a stock TC runs the risk over overheating without it. On regular Thunderbirds almost all of the air intake for the radiator comes from under the bumper. Only a small amount of air comes through the grill.
mine was fine without any air dam. it would occasional get about 3/4 on the gauge, but I also have no overflow bottle.
Mine is great with the TC header panel. Never reaches the halfway mark on the temp gauge. I do have a three row aluminum radiator and Taurus fan as well. I also have a chin spoiler on the car. Still, no issues at all.
A TC will most certainly over heat at highway speeds if the lower air dam is missing and that was with both fans hard wired and running continually... I even swapped the radiator with no improvement, that little piece of plastic made all the difference in the world...
ok,,
what part are you all talking about,,
i have the bumper cover, i clearly understand the air flow from the openings in the bumper cover
is there a part i need to fabricate to dulicate the oem part,
jsut need a pic or i can dig through my shop manuals and see if i can narrow down what your talking about.
there is an odd thing going on with my son's car though,, his normal temp reading is like its running cold all the time. It never gets near the half mark, it stays wayyyyyy down low but
on the highway it will get just below the middle, i find this odd. His temp sensor is new and i think there may be a resistance problem somewhere because this isnt normal. back on topic though i dont want to have misleading readings going into this.
the nose parts go on in the next month or so then paint. i have time to plan this out correctly. I mentioned earlier about a diflector for air agregation down at the openings of the bumper cover,, hope thats the area you are speaking about tom??????
if i need to make something, i can do it.
The Air Dam isn't necessary to keep the car from overheating. My 88 TC never had the Air Dam from the time that I got it, and was always fine at highway speeds, cruise, or in stop and go traffic. Temp was always good other than during stop and go, had to turn on the cooling fan then. Plenty of air comes in through the holes in the in bottom of the bumper cover, but an air dam could direct a little more air upward and through the rad. TC50 probably had a slightly cracked head, which was pushing air bubbles into the water jackets. Makes it very hard to cool the motor like that, and nothing will help short of changing out the head. I had the same problem before. After changing out the head, mine stays cool now with only a 1 row rad installed. Only need cooling fans during S&G.
ill have a pic of the tc bumper I just pulled of and swapped to the base bumper cover because the air dam and vents were damaged.
mines not in good shape either, i have to plasic weld or epoxy all the little dividers back together.
you guys arent talking about the very bottom piece thats black on the exterior thats basically a striaght part pointing down,, its usually a black long strip along the bottom,, is that the part Tom's talking about?
if so, i have that part
yeah, that's the air dam. the lowers are nearly identical sans foglight holes.
That's the part I was talking about, it looks the same on pretty much every vehicle of the time period. I'll be installing one since I'll have a Radiator, Condenser, Trans Cooler, and Intercooler, all sandwiched together inside the nose of my Bird. I think it will be necessary at that point, it's just not necessary for a stock 2.3T or 5.0 TC nosed Bird to keep it from overheating.
The TC I was referring to did not have a cracked head, once the air dam was in place the overheating issue ceased...
Note when I say overheating I don't mean boiling, just that the stock gauge was almost at max at highway speeds, once the air dam was in place it settled back to approx 2/3-3/4 scale which is where my others all tended to run...
I picked up a TC header for mine. I'm planning on upgrading the radiator and installing a new fan clutch before changing the header. My air dam is in place.
(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d82/bosenKevin_02/2013-05-12223543.jpg)
here's a picture of both of mine. tc bottom. I see no appreciable difference unless you want head lights.
haystack, wanna part with that bumper, should would save on blending paint.
i have a py red one i have to fix before preping.
ok, the bumper cover we have has the air dam,, i thought you all were talking about something additional on the inside of the bumper.
if I can keep the front plate mount, you can have it for the price of shipping. the whole thing is broken between the vent holes. the guy I bought the car from never tightened down the bolts under there and it flopped until they all broke.
let me know how much on shipping to
hc83 box 70A
gap mills wv
24941
See that straight black thing on the bottom of your white bumper?
That is the Air Dam.
Notice how your TC bumper does not have that?..., yea.
Those holes next to the LP holder on the TC bumper are for Fog Lights in stock config.
As a FYI the plate mount for TC is unique, mounts higher than the std beak Birds... As std mount will cover the center air opening...
Of course with Scott being in WV he doesn't need a front plate...
After looking at that shot of the 2 tbird noses...I'm glad I live in a state with only rear plates!
Travis
P.S. when my 88TC was missing it air dam...it overheated...replaced with a new ford one.
Its for a V8...but at the time one of the last ones available in 2007.
(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d82/bosenKevin_02/2013-04-11165816.jpg)
mine never over heated without the air dam. been to Canada and back about 6 time s that way.
I am only replacing it because my buddy I bought the car from never tightened down the bolts when he swapped it on and they fell out. the battery hold down was also broken and the battery broke off the overflow for the radiator. put over 10k on it this way.
Someone must have removed mine in the past, because my bumper still had the metal clips, where the Air Dam mounts onto it. Never needed it anyway, car has always been fine. The 2.3T is a very hot running little engine as well, due to being boosted. The 5.0 puts out much less heat, so you will be fine without it.
A TC will definitely run HOT without the AIR DAM. Without the AIR DAM no air is directed across the radiator .
kinda makes me wonder why the air dam points direclty down.
seems reasonable it should angle a hair forward at the lower edge to "scoope" the air up
thanks guys,, i do have an air dam on mine.
haystack,
your pm box is full