Windsor Coolant Path`

[skidd]

I'll be danged if I can find any comprehensive info online about this.
so.. if someone can point me to it, or just tell me if I have it right, or close.
Am I correct in how I "think" the coolant flows through a ford 302?

Enters the pump at the bottom hose.
pushed out the pump impeller, pushes into both ports at each side of the block.
Flows through the block towards the back. Again, both sides.
Comes up at the back and starts back towards the front of the block in through the heads?
Also.. if you have a coolant bypass hose at the rear, or in your intake, the water can mix and cross there.
Flows forward through the heads (also some through the block?, or all heads?).
At the front ,exists the heads, re-combines at the front in the intake manifold?
Flows out the t-stat housing into the rad.

Have I got that close?

I'm really just trying to work out if there is a substantial difference in the water-temperature reading between the 2 ports in my intake manifold at the front.
Not in my t-stats, both in the front of the intake. My electric fan and water temp gauge have been acting "different" lately, so I want to see if it is somehow related to the water flow, or just that I need a new fan switch sensor.

Cheers

[FLPBFoot]

167731

This is all I could find and shows basic flow but lacks specifics about exact flow in the intake manifold and how this might affect your sensors. It would seem that the hottest point in the circuit would be the front of the block at the t-stat outlet to the top of the radiator. This is the farthest point from cooler flow out of the radiator in the bottom of the circuit. If both your sensors are in relatively the same location (front of the intake) you would think they would read basically the same?

[skidd]

Thanks for that diagram! Clearly not a SBF, but.. does confirm my thoughts on the coolant flow.
Back through the block, forward through the heads, combined at the front.
So.. if that's the case, I would have to conclude that my fan-switch sensor might be simply not working correctly. .. or my gauge is in correct.
Because my gauge is showing closer to 215-220 before the fan kicks on, but I have a 200F fan switch sensor.

[ggunter]

You are mostly correct. Coolant flows through the block and up into the heads but is controlled by specific size holes in the head gasket to control speed and to make sure coolant gets to the back of the block . It is then pushed toward the front of the heads and into the intake crossover and out to the thermostat. You should take your coolant temp at one of the front crossover ports in the intake. This is the hottest coolant before returning to the radiator.