Re: Running Hot
Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 8:09 am
[quote="dgear1984"]I had a few issues with a "hot" engine after I built up my 1275s.
I was a little worried to start that it might have been an engine build issue as it had been built up from unknown history parts and was not a complete engine before I started, (block from oz, crank from ebay, rods from miniformum etc....)
I tested the standard electric temp gauge out of the car and it seemed to be reading about right so that lead me down the garden path for a while.
In the end as I didn't have a IR gauge to hand I use some temp stickers, they change colour as a temperature is reached, that showed it didn't seem to be running that hot.
In the end I bought a second hand genuine smiths mechanical capillary temp gauge and used that. That was much easier to test, simply by putting it in a cup of boiling water with mums cooking thermometer and watching the two scales as it cooled to check the calibration. It was close within a degree or two.
After fitting the mechanical temp sensor the engine temp was running where I would have expected it to, and I had confidence in what it was telling me. So the way I had tested the electrical sensor was inaccurate and let me down the garden path.
Shortly after that the water pump started to knock. Brand new repro item less than 100 miles old. Luckily next door had a nos cast water pump he gave me so fitted that and at the same time I fitted the old plastic fan rather than the 16 blade metal one. Once again that dropped the temperature a little more. Not sure if it was the pump change or the fan that made the difference..
I would recommend to you getting a mechanical temp sensor, if only to use until your happy you don't have an issue. I think my good condition second hand one was around the £50 mark so not too expensive, and it can be checked for calibration easily and also will tell you a temp in degrees rather than C N H. With a IR gauge you'll have to keep stopping to check the temp, at least with this gauge you can watch the temp as you drive along and know if you need to turn it off when sat in traffic.
Once your happy with your engine temp issues, and if you do find its the gauge reading wrong you can always go back to a electrical gauge once you have fixed the gauge for originality sake if your concerned about that and sell the mechanical one on, i doubt you'll loose much money.
Hope that helps?
I find my car runs very cool now, very very cool, in fact it never gets even warm, mainly due to the face I have not been able to use it for close to a year now that i'ved moved to Australia and the car is still in the UK. Shame the shipping and import costs are so large.[/quote
That's good advice. Is the capillary device a replacement for the temp gauge or does it require a rewire? I am also going to as the question what is the best fan to fit to cool the rad.
Sully
I was a little worried to start that it might have been an engine build issue as it had been built up from unknown history parts and was not a complete engine before I started, (block from oz, crank from ebay, rods from miniformum etc....)
I tested the standard electric temp gauge out of the car and it seemed to be reading about right so that lead me down the garden path for a while.
In the end as I didn't have a IR gauge to hand I use some temp stickers, they change colour as a temperature is reached, that showed it didn't seem to be running that hot.
In the end I bought a second hand genuine smiths mechanical capillary temp gauge and used that. That was much easier to test, simply by putting it in a cup of boiling water with mums cooking thermometer and watching the two scales as it cooled to check the calibration. It was close within a degree or two.
After fitting the mechanical temp sensor the engine temp was running where I would have expected it to, and I had confidence in what it was telling me. So the way I had tested the electrical sensor was inaccurate and let me down the garden path.
Shortly after that the water pump started to knock. Brand new repro item less than 100 miles old. Luckily next door had a nos cast water pump he gave me so fitted that and at the same time I fitted the old plastic fan rather than the 16 blade metal one. Once again that dropped the temperature a little more. Not sure if it was the pump change or the fan that made the difference..
I would recommend to you getting a mechanical temp sensor, if only to use until your happy you don't have an issue. I think my good condition second hand one was around the £50 mark so not too expensive, and it can be checked for calibration easily and also will tell you a temp in degrees rather than C N H. With a IR gauge you'll have to keep stopping to check the temp, at least with this gauge you can watch the temp as you drive along and know if you need to turn it off when sat in traffic.
Once your happy with your engine temp issues, and if you do find its the gauge reading wrong you can always go back to a electrical gauge once you have fixed the gauge for originality sake if your concerned about that and sell the mechanical one on, i doubt you'll loose much money.
Hope that helps?
I find my car runs very cool now, very very cool, in fact it never gets even warm, mainly due to the face I have not been able to use it for close to a year now that i'ved moved to Australia and the car is still in the UK. Shame the shipping and import costs are so large.[/quote
That's good advice. Is the capillary device a replacement for the temp gauge or does it require a rewire? I am also going to as the question what is the best fan to fit to cool the rad.
Sully
