Robin Hood Series 3 Overheating

[Guest Joner31]

Thanks Jim and everyone else all your info is really helpful and I will try to put as much of it into practice as I can but will be sure to keep you informed all the way

[Guest snowy2]

 

 

Hi

 

I have just purchased my first kit car but there are a few issues, the main one is the engine overheating.

 

The engine is a 2.0 pinto with a twin choke webber carb.

 

At present there is a fan mounted to the back of the radiator, this seems to be set so it draws air through the radiator (e.g sucking). I believe that fans should blow so is this incorrect at present.

 

I am looking to replace the radiator and fan with the biggest one possible and am wondering if anyone knows what Would be the best cooling set up to go for.

There is no header tank on the system and no heater matrix on the system either so thinking the bigger the radiator the better.

 

I am going to be replacing the stat aswell with a 89 degree stat and also getting the engine set up correctley, as at present it is not running quite right which i understand may contribute to the engine running hotter than usual.

 

all help appreciated

 

Thank you.

 

**********************************************************************************************************************************************************

 

there is no practical difference between suck or blow fans....... it depends on room.....the "shadow" cause by the fan is the same front or back.....

 

DUCTING! that is the single most important thing if the air coming through the grille can find a way to not go through the radiator core it wont go through.......duct the air so it has no choice....it will give a massive improvement.....you could make your rad 10X bigger if the air goes round it.....it still will over heat.

i know of rover V8 kit cars cooled by a tiny VW polo radiator.

 

TEMP GAUGES LIE!......are you sure yours is reading correctly? my mates car was "over heating" i swapped the temp sensor......cured!

 

 

Edited July 20, 2016 by snowy2

[Guest lotusPaul]

Double acting rad cap..

 

Normaly known as a PVRV, pressure vacuum relief valve.

[Guest Joner31]

Thanks again guys for all the input and yeah it is definitely overheating due to the amount of water is pushing out of the cooling system is much more than just needing a header tank.

 

I will relocate the radiator put a header tank on and do the other bits suggested and see where I go from here but I also think that the old style radiator may not be the best at dissipating the heat that is why I mention getting a new one that will do this more effectively but I will do the other work first and see if that's needed

[Guest 2b cruising]

Before you go spending time and money on anything else, because of you above reference to overheating, I would get a testing kit to see if ant combustion gases in the coolant.

That's just to make sure you have no cylinder head fault including its gasket.

If the test is ok, carry on with big Kim's processes.

If it's not, start taking the head off.

Edited July 21, 2016 by 2b cruising

[Guest Gargoil]

I like to swap the cheap things first.

If your thermostat isn't opening fully, you won't get enough water circulating. Same too with the water pump, a relatively easy and cheap part to replace and they can go wrong over time. Try putting a hose pipe in the radiator and seeing if the water escapes quickly. If it's blocked by crud, it might show up. Maybe use a rad flush (again cheap) sometimes they do work.

Then if they dont work, you can start looking at the more expensive stuff, at least you will know the small stuff is working OK.

[Guest Joner31]

Thanks for all the help so far I'm just looking at it now and it has no stat in it and the water pump looks new like it was replaced when the Cam belt was done last year, I'm just going to flush the system now using a hose then put the stat in

Edited July 24, 2016 by Joner31

[Guest Joner31]

So the plot thickens I have flushed the system and all is flowing well however there are small leaks all over it from clips not tightened properly and the rad is leaking along the top when I did a pressure test, clips now tight just now need to sort a rad and go from there

[Guest 2b cruising]

When you have your rad fitted and the engine is still cold, make sure you get all the air out of the system.

Leave your cap off and start the engine.

If you get bubbles, you could be pressurising the system through a head gasket leak or even a head fault.

Going by previous edit threads I would say the last owner was aware of the problem and tried to fix.

If you have a pressure test gauge that fits on the cap you can test it.

You can also get coolant tester that tells if any combustion gasses have got into the coolant through such a leak.

If this is the case, your next move would be head off and tested at an engine reconditioners.

[Big Jim]

From what you now say, you could have a head gasket problem.

Sort out all the leaks, then put the overflow pipe into some sort of catch tank, take it for a run, then see how much water it's put out after being hot for some time, normally they move about ½ pint'ish, much more than that and you could be looking at a head gasket job.

So then you need to check with a tester as has been said..

[Guest Joner31]

I'm pretty sure there isn't a head gasket issue due to the way it runs and I couldn't get very much pressure into the cooling system before it started to leak from all over the place (clips not very tight) and the leaks across the top of the rad but will have a better idea when I get a replacement rad. Only decision to make now is do I keep it how it currently is or move the rad right to the front so it doesn't have all the suspension in front of it and better air flow over it?

[Guest 2b cruising]

Worth checking if still o/heating.

Pressure for long periods would give you leaks as you have.

Just because it is running well doesn't mean it is not leaking.

Most times the leak from the cylinder bore to the cooling system channels is only just minute but pressure still build up in the system.

It is even possible for it to be water tight , but not gas tight.

Test kit from the bay or motor factors are only cheap and can save you hours, or even another new rad if you put another on and this fault is still there.

Cooling system gas tester is what you need. It either comes in a packet to put in rad and changes colour of coolant, or take some coolant out and mix with powder or liquid.

 

Ps. I honestly hope your head or its gasket are ok.

I just mention above as it is the way I would go, if leaks still persist.

I curtain lay would not take the head off without testing first.

Pinto heads are a piece of cake to do anyway.

Edited July 24, 2016 by 2b cruising

[Guest mower man]

In 50 + years I have only known 2 water pumps fail ,one had the impeler fall off and one the the impeler rotted away both happened on old [ 1920's ] vehicles, main probs with modern stuff is leaks . As others say you have probably got a h/gasket prob pull it down ,check for straight and level decent head gasket and job done mick

[Guest Joner31]

When I was pressure testing the cooling system I couldn't even put 5psi in without it leaking so need a new rad first of all anyway and if the head does have to come off I'm not to worried as it's it easy like you say

[Guest Neil]

Apologies for jumping in but having same issues. I've traced my instrument cluster down to being exactly the same as one being advertised on ebay as an Escort Mk5 RS2000 Cluster IC (1991). Jim mentioned having the correct temperature transmitter to match the gauge. Anyone know what colour I need?