overheating

[komninon]

never had overheating problems before, aluminum radiator, shroud, mechanical fan. always 195 in bad traffic and 180 on the highway.
just installed new ac system, gets up to 225 in traffic which I do not like, and 190 on the highway which I think is ok.
do I need a bigger radiator? or installing a pusher electric fan in front the condenser will help? 
thank you

[Back N Black]

What size rad do you have? 22 or 26 inch? If your running A/C I suggest 26 inch rad.

[WHITE AND RED 69]

Did you change the water pump when you went with a/c? A non a/c car will use an 8 blade pump and an a/c car will have a 6 blade. 

[1974dodgecharger]

Did you change the water pump when you went with a/c? A non a/c car will use an 8 blade pump and an a/c car will have a 6 blade. 

That's what I was thinking....

[Dino]

Also, see if you can borrow a good temp gauge to hook up, just for testing purposes.  The stock ones are about as reliable as me finishing my sente...

[bakerhillpins]

Did you change the water pump when you went with a/c? A non a/c car will use an 8 blade pump and an a/c car will have a 6 blade. 

It's not just the pump, it's the pulley that drives the pump and the idle setting.  AC cars spin the water pump faster at idle (1.4 vs .95 per crank revolution) and are typically 50-100rpm lower at idle. At least that's the OEM specs.

[el dub]

Try checking your thermostat. lw

[bull]

I'd go for the pusher fan right now since everything seemed to be working good before. Get a used one out of a Taurus or something. Cheap and easy thing to try before digging deep.

[Cooter]

Adding A/C will cause temp to rise. Simply because you stuffed a condenser right in front of the rad.
Ever wonder what a condenser does and how a/c systems work?
Yep, you guessed it. That condenser does exactly that, it takes super high pressure/temp freon gas and converts it back to a liquid.
Its like asking an already taxed stock cooling system to cool with a heater in front of it...

I suggest upgrading rad. Size along with an electric fan when running the A/C..

[komninon]

thanks guys,
I will try the electric fan first and go from there.

[lasvegas69charg]

I have wizard cooling 26" rad with matching shroud, 180 tstat, 440 source water pump, flex-lite plastic fan with 2" spacer and classic auto air retro fit a/c system and last weekend it was 103 and I sat idle with a/c on for 20 mins waiting for the wife to come out of the store and the temp didn't go past 195. I was really surprised. Driving the car stays around 170. Hope this helps.

[bull]

I have wizard cooling 26" rad with matching shroud, 180 tstat, 440 source water pump, flex-lite plastic fan with 2" spacer and classic auto air retro fit a/c system and last weekend it was 103 and I sat idle with a/c on for 20 mins waiting for the wife to come out of the store and the temp didn't go past 195. I was really surprised. Driving the car stays around 170. Hope this helps.

That's pretty good for a 440 Source water pump. According to this they haven't been the best: http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,60599.0.html

[myk]

What sort of an A/C system did you install, a factory type or an aftermarket?

[komninon]

do you think if I switch from flex-lite plastic 6 blade fan to 7 blade 216 fan will get more air flow at idle?
thanks

[myk]

What's a 216 fan?

[Speedfreak]

do you think if I switch from flex-lite plastic 6 blade fan to 7 blade 216 fan will get more air flow at idle?
thanks

Depends on the angle of the blades from your flex fan, some of the heavy duty ones move a lot of air! I used to have a 20" RV flex, did not bend at all, when I drove around the sound of it was like a turbo!  Kept the temp no higher than 170, no matter what.  They can be very effective.  Most of the newer ones, are not that great.  If you still have issues, look into one of the older fiberglass units, you can find them on ebay, they are awesome!