Installed a Blackmagic fan this weekend and am very pleased with it's cooling. Previous to installing it my 84 GS would steadily increase it's temperature when idling...the at speed cooling was no problem. After installation the temperature basically holds at what ever temperature I dial in. That's the good news.

Bad news is that the car has developed very loud and nasty belt noises. Any comments? The only think I removed was the old fan, shroud and the aluminum piece that holds the fan on the pulley.

 

Lube the belts with belt tensioning liquid. Re-Tighten the belts.

OR Replace them.

 

Hit them with a very small spray of WD40. It won't really hurt anything because the engine heat will evaporate it quickly, but if the belts quiet down, you'll know it was the belts themselves making that noise instead of, say, the water pump bearings or something.

 

Its most likly your belts.....

 

Did you install the new fan in front of the radiator so it
pushes air through,,?? or on the back side (engine side)
so it pulls air through..you may also want to keep the shroud on too...removing the old fan and clutch maybe
the system is in a sorta ' shock' from all that wieght
removed..You may also try that stuff 'water wetter'
it breaks the surface tension of the coolent for better cooling. I use it and it works great.

 

Don't spray wd40 on, that will make it slip more. I'd take the belt off and use some emry paper on the v area of each pulley and make sure there isn't any dibre on it and put it back on with normal tension. I don't know why anyone wants to stray from the stock fan, its just fine and don't draw more then a electric and is very relible. Again, this is just my opinion.

 

The fan is a puller...so I mounted it on the engine side.

As for the stock fan...in my application the electric fan is cooling the car much better than my stock fan when in an idle condition. Of that there is no doubt. I have nothing but praise for the way the Blackmagic cools...my idle cooling problem has vanished with absolutely stable temps even after 30 minutes of idle.

I suppose I'll just replace them. This car is a new purchase so I don't mind updating wear items like belts and hoses.


Oh...and thanks for the responses. This is a great forum with lots of willing sources of info.

 

And he also gained about 6 more HP, I'd speculate...

 

I thought it was 40hp

I wonder about this idle heating problem people keep discussing; in both of my ReXes I can drive or idle all day and the coolant gauge never goes past 55%.

Of course, I flush and fill every 10,000 kms and immediately upon taking possession of a "new" used car...

 

Jeeze, sounds pretty high to me.

My Black Magic keeps the temp gauge at 1/4, all the time. I seem to recall the stock fan doing exactly the same.

 

Don't recall claiming any hp gains but the idle temps were improved...drastically. Whereas with the stock fan, my stock fan on my car, the temps would rise monotonically until the car started to move....with the Blackmagic they stay put. I've dialed it in at about 1/3 to 1/4.

 

That was for the 400+ HP rustang....

I measured my '84 at idle...5 mm from the cool mark, about an eighth of the "normal" sweep...halfway sounds like apex seals are getting a cooking to me...

 

How old is your water pump? It could be that. I'd replace it anyway, as it's very important for the engine.

 

I was kidding about the 40hp.

Temp gauges usually have 1/2 way as the defacto 'optimum' temperature i.e. engine operating temperature. the highest mine has ever gone is a whisker past that under high-heat conditions, except for the time I popped a coolant hose and dumped breen car blood all over the freeway. THEN that gauge went to 100% HOT in seconds (my '83, now the parts bitch).

 

Yea I should probably replace the wp and I did notice that the fluid in the radiator seemed to have more than the usual percentage of anti-freeze. The highest I've seen is the thinner mark closer to the H than the C.

While we are at it, I need some advice about my a/c. It seems to cool pretty well and the temps, with the new fan, don't move appreciably with it on...however, it will not idle with the a/c on. I've adjusted the throttle position screw in the little black plastic housing both directions and it doesn't have an effect. I suppose the vacuum to/from the a/c switch/relay/solenoid thing is bad. Any quick pointers on checking, outside of the rather terse description in the Haynes manual?

 

I'd like to know the answer to that, too. I've adjusted the center screw, and the vaccum lines are hooked up.
Any ideas?

 

There IS a risk of running too cool sometimes. You don't want it so cold that the thermostat is hardly ever open, otherwise you won't get the proper circulation through the motor. This is especially important to those of us with the water/oil coolers... you need the circulation to carry the heat away from the oil. I've adjusted my electric fan so the temp needle is just under the halfway point. Someday I'll borrow a pyrometer to find out exacly what temp it's kicking in at.

 

I can't wait to get my blackmagic fan in. On a hot day in traffic my 83 will steadily rise in temperature. It got almote 90% of the way up the gauge once. I was like an hour from home on a highway on a friday afternoon in stopped traffic. I was pretty scared i wasn't gonna make it home. Oh well, i did. So its all good.