Overheating Part 2

[Guest timswait]

I finished my 2B about a year ago and it has always run hot (it's not the sender either, it has bubbled over a couple of times). After fitting a lovely looking wire mesh grill it's brought problems to a head with even more over heating, so I've decided I really need to do something about it. I've noticed that RHE are now selling super duper triple cored radiators (my one's got the Cortina one that came in the older kit), whats the word one the street regarding these, has anyone got a finished car with one of these and does it stay cool?

[Big Jim]

Lots of Hoodies in past years have had problems with overheating, but it can be cured easily. Now I'm sorry if I mention anything that you've already done but these are the steps to sort it out once and for all!

 

1. Check that the thermostat is working correctly, and in the correct way round, this is a common mistake.

 

2. You really do need to have either a header tank, or an overflow bottle so that the water is not lost.

 

3. If using the engine viscous fan, make sure that it is really under power from the engine, rub a piece of wood or something against it as it runs on fast idle, if it stops it, then it's knackered. I had one that looked OK, but I could stop it spinning very easily with 3000rpm up.

 

4. If you are running an electric fan, is it turning the correct way? are you using a pusher fan as a puller? you will loose effectiveness. Is the thermo switch set correctly?

 

5. Equally as important, whichever fan you are using, it must be cowled to the radiator, so that it drags, or forces the are through the core of the radiator. If your fan is more than ½ inch away from the radiator core, then it's serriously loosing its effectiveness.

 

6. Block off the area over the top of the radiator between that and the nosecone. This makes it so that the air HAS to go through the radiator, not over it.

[Guest SteveL]

When I got round to assembling the fan/radiator, I tried it with the fan mounted in front of the radiator, and almost none of the air was going through the radiator, and the temperature gauge just kept on climbing, so I boxed everything in, and now almost all the air goes through the radiator, as it has no other choice!

 

Take a look at my web site, around September 10th 2002 for details of how I did it.

 

Steve

[Guest nickinguk]

I used to have the same problem with my 2b so bought the triple core rad from RH and it does make a difference but also do as jim suggests and fit an over-flow bottle/header tank so you dont loose the excess water

[Guest piddy]

Hi.

If you haven't already you could move your rad, as many hoodies have done. So it's inside your nose cone.

Piddy

[Bob Tucker]

One major area which often gets forgotten is the lower part of the nosecone.

Fit an ally plate under the rack mounting plates, back to the radiator,

and forward to the lower nose cone.

Bob.

[Guest Anthony B]

Hi all

I have got an S7 of 1997 vintage.

I have retained the existing single core radiator behind the cross member and fitted an electric fan from a Rover 416 hard up against the rear of the rad in it's cowl.

 

I have fitted an overflow tank from a Nissan Primera (is pretty compact and has the pipe entry at the bottom with an expansion type U bend at the top.

 

The fan is controlled by an override switch on the dash or by an in line adaptor in the top hose which I made up. This has a thermo switch in it which cuts in at about 95 degrees.

I tend to run with the electric fan on all the time and the temp tends to stay at about 85-90 deg all the time but does go a bit higher if I'm blasting it or in traffic and once boiled over before I fitted the expansion tank.

 

Prior to fitting the header tank it was losing water but the advantage is now that the rad stays full up to the bottom of the pressure cap all the time which makes the most of the radiator volume.

 

I see in one of the lastest kit car mags that premier wiring are now doing in line thermo switch adaptors with virtually any cut in temp to control the electric fan. They are about 1/2 price of any others I have seen.

 

Since getting rid of the viscous fan, the car is much more revvy and lively as well.

 

Hope this helps

Ant

[Guest Graham]

I have fitted the original radiator that came with the kit ( Sept 01), it is fitted to the rear box section for the wishbone suspension at the top and in the "u" section at the bottom. This allows the radiator to sit about 1" in front of the viscous fan. This presented a problem for the steering shaft, however I've removed 2 off vertical cores from the rad. and this allows the steering shaft to pass through the radiator. The car passed its sva like this an has now covered 7000 miles the no overheating problems, the car can sit idling all day without any problems.

 

 

 

All the best

 

Graham