good idea, I was thinking the same thing too John double R! Also, I was wondering if my 3600 stall ptc converter might need a separate cooler to relieve the temp on the radiator.

Mikey

No clutch fan, the fan is close to the radiator, well within the shroud, I believe it is stock pulleys

For maximum effect the fan should be about 1/2 way in the shroud opening.
How many blades on the 17" fan and what style????
How much distance between the tips of the blades and the shroud ID????

Another thing to try is to put a towel on the front of the radiator with the engine idling to try and establish how much air is being drawn across the core.
I agree with the others that it the symptoms indicate inadequate air flow through the radiator

With the hood open you shouldbe able to stand by the rear of the front fender and feel suffient amount of air flowing. If not, you may need a different fan setup. When I had my 440 Challenger I had an 18 inch, 7-blade clutch fan, with a heavy duty clutch and when clutch engaged that setup would blow like mad.
Ron

Adding one is not a bad idea, the added heat load of the trans is not helping, BUT it's not adding much of a heat load at idle.

Check the flow thru the rad first as suggest with a towel.

except change blow to pull

Wrong thermostat 195 degrees required to properly burn today's fuel. Below 195 fuel collects in the intake and burns off in the cruise mode...a-f goes lean. Gee whiz Mr Wizard how do you know that?...Inovate AF gage and experience.

OP where is your temp? See below. Are you at 240?

195 degrees is not hot
210 degrees is not hot
195-215 degrees is normal
220 degrees is warm
230 degrees is really warm
240 degrees is hot

Wrong Fan
use the jaguar [short] fan clutch and the stock fan

Coolant 60% h2o and 40% coolant and the additive like water wetter.

Step one, determine if you have an overheating problem.

You have said nothing for me to believe that you have an over heating problem. It gets up to the middle of the factory gauge has no meaning. Buy a good mechanical gauge and collect real temperature data.

Confirm it, then solve it

A very valid comment

But we do not rely on gauges PERIOD!!! Thermocouples with a good digital temp meter will DEFINTIELY separate the facts and numbers. I have seen gauges regardless or quality or type be off by as much as 60 degrees, typically at the higher end of the scale. In all honesty the ching chong dime a dozen gauges are sometimes more accurate. Kudo's to BSB67 for reading through the lines of this thread

Was the cruise around town and stop and go? or rolling 40 MPH plus most of the time? My favorite cooling test is 1) run it on the highway fast as possible without gathering attention of a trooper for at least 10 miles and watch it. Does it stabilize at a reasonable temp? 2) Pull off at the next exit and park with engine running. The engine will be good and warm at that point and watch it. Does it stabilize at a reasonable temp? I would consider 210 F OK in that situation, 220 F marginal.

"Middle of the gauge" does not sound bad but you thought it was still climbing? If there is any question about the gauge, an inexpensive mechanical version from the AP store makes a good diagnostic... even if you tape it to your windshield for test.

Yup, going to get a nice mechanical gauge and tape it to the windshield and see what i get!

Good idea on the gauge.

Myself, when it comes to cooling, I have been through this all also. If it were my car, I would:

Confirm temp with a gauge,

Confirm tune

Call Glen Ray and get a factory style radiator built. They will do one without all the date codes etc. so you can save a few bucks there but they are not cheap. Get the right shroud, fan and pulley's . As mentioned, all the places that were sealed from the factory are good to have in place and are designed to make the air flow through the radiator.

If that doesn't do it I would go after the WP housing and run a flow cooler WP.

I run a 496 with the Glenn Ray radiator, factory stuff for the rest other than the flow cooler WP and I ran on the thermostat idling in the staging lanes a couple weeks ago at the track. 90 degree day. I am so sold on this set up that I am using the same thing on the 543 going in my coronet.

Good luck ! Nothing worse than sitting at a light watching the temp creep up, wishing the light would change, the slow driver would speed up, the 18 wheeler could make his left turn faster when you are stuck behind him etc etc.

Ummm, so puller fan helps a lot! :P

Mikey