302 overheating when AC is on
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Junior User
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 80
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From: Abington, Willow Grove
302 overheating when AC is on
this 94 Bronco (302) is new to me. It has 83,000 miles on it and recently started running extremely hot when the AC is on, especially around town in the heat. I've replaced the thermostat, clutch fan and flushed the radiator. I have not noticed any coolant leaking and the AC blows ice cold. the water pump sounds good, no rattling or knocking etc. (i have never worked on AC in any kind of vehicle before so I am clueless what could be causing the problem.) anyone have any ideas?
Postmaster
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 2,838
Likes: 6
From: SD
When you turn off the a/c, does the temp drop? I would suspect the radiator is partially plugged. Rinse the fins out with a garden hose - spray back and forth both directions. Often times dirt, leaves and crud get trapped between the rad and condenser and resrict the air flow. So when the condenser adds more heat, there isn't enough air flow to cool the radiator too...
Marty
Marty
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Junior User
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 80
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From: Abington, Willow Grove
you are right on the money. i recently just replaced the whole radiator. the old one was either partially clogged internally or externally but I was tired of screwing around and just decided to replace it with a larger one and it works great now. the new one was on sale so i picked it up cheap. the only problem is it's twice the width of the old one and getting the clutch fan and shroud back on was tough b/c my hands are so fat! i had to have my girlfiend help me tighten the bolts on the fan b/c she could rach her skinny little hands in there and I couldn't. thanks for the help.
bryan
bryan
