well there were times when I thought I would never get to post this thread... most recentl about 2 hours ago!

she ran like a dog but got me to Norwich VOSA in plenty of time so we went round to the ESSO station to fill up..... then it began!

as i pulled on to the forecourt the radiator decided to dump all over the floor

pulled over and had a look - seems it just overheated!

so got the nose back on and topped up the water... back round to VOSA....

very nice man called Dennis put up with not being able to run the car for more than 60 seconds at a time because it kept boiling over

despite the engine running incredibly rich it passed the emmissions and despite the brakes feeling truly awful it passed that too! (but I will have to look at them because they are pretty bad... it's immpossible to lock the wheels up @ 20mph!)

thne he found a fail point

the hand brake was completely useless on one side, closer inspection showed that the ford adjuster mechanism was being forced back up the conduit... nipped round to wilco and bought some 8-10mm fuel pipe clips and locked off behind the fwerulle with those... now passed

so with MAC in hand we set off home.....

had to stop several times for over heating but once we were out of town anbd could keep above 40 we were fine....

then just as i got back to Ipswich the engine died on the dual carriageway pulled over and tried restarting - after a few attempts it did and we are now home safe and sound

BIG grins all round - it nay have been a terrible journey but it was still a great day!

Now got to work out why it is overheating so much.. (Polo Rad with fan sucking through - checked that. I even have a mocal oil cooler fitted..) perhaps I need a better fan? - it was a cheapie from CBS, perhaps the kenlowe would have been worth the huge price?

Anyway - I'm off for a beer!

superb well done and just in time for the nice weather

A day to remember, Well done.
Steve.

Congratulations!!

Well done, I'm pleased i did a track day to sort all of them problems out! Can't wait to join you for that celebratory beer

Steve

well done
Another one on the road

Well done on the pass.

Fan should only come on after idling in hot weather for a while, not while moving so that shouldn't be the problem unless the fan is physically blocking the rad from the airflow.

Thermostat or water pump working properly?

Excellent news - hope to see you on the Suffolk roads soon!

well done fantastic news im sure the problems will be easyily fixed

Piccies!

this was the car 20 mins before the test at the ESSO station just round the corner!



Description

I think I will need to try moving that oil cooler away from the front of the rad

and here are couple of pics taked half an hour later at the beginning of the test



Description

[img][/img]

quote:

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Originally posted by DaveFJ
Now got to work out why it is overheating so much.. (Polo Rad with fan sucking through - checked that. I even have a mocal oil cooler fitted..) perhaps I need a better fan? - it was a cheapie from CBS, perhaps the kenlowe would have been worth the huge price?

---

well done!! sounds like it was quite traumatic experience.

there has to be something wrong with your cooling system - is that hose elbow from 'stat to radiatro the highest point? where is the filler/expansion tank?

Great result with SVA, I know how pleased you must be.

On the over heating question, I just wondered whether you have an airlock in the system.

atb

John

Good result with the SVA

Have you got room to mount the oil cooler behind the rad ? Probably not a great idea to blow warm air through the rad............

Nice One Dave - great feeling eh?

The car looks fantastic BTW

Just in time for some good weather too

If your expansion tank/radiator caps aren't allowing the system to pressurise properly the water boils at 100 degrees and not the 110 of a pressurised system. I have had EXACTLY the same problem you describe on a Rover 45 (less said about theat the better) and a TVR S2. Both times it was a rad/exp tank fault.

Cheapest fix is always the best!

quote:

---

Originally posted by 02GF74
well done!! sounds like it was quite traumatic experience.

there has to be something wrong with your cooling system - is that hose elbow from 'stat to radiatro the highest point? where is the filler/expansion tank?

---

Well done. Enjoy the sunshine!!

Well done Dave!

I look forward to seeing it in the flesh. Looks great in the pics.


ATB
Paul G

Well done. I'll look out for you blasting around the country lanes.

Car looks excellent

How did you find the examiners at Norwich? were they helpful?

[Edited on 8/5/08 by stuart_g]

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would try the nose without that fine mesh grill in it as I reckon it would stop loads of air.

Steve

Congratulations on the Pass

But could it be the ignition timing thats causing it to run too hot as apposed to a physical fault in the cooling system.

If it isisn't pinking (obv over advanced) then it might be too retarded? I think thats making ours run a little hot at the moment on higher speeds (40+) as we've not mapped properly for them yet.

Well done.
- Very jellous. Enjoy it!

Well done, the car looks good.

Cheers

Ian

Well done Dave. Good luck sorting the overheating.

Very tidy car that man - well done on all fronts

EDIT: P.S. Yes - All sports cars should be coloured in-ya-face red!

[Edited on 8/5/2008 by NeilP]

thanks for your kind comments, and for all the help that i have recieved over the years from the people on this site...

the top hose has a take off at it's highest point that goes back to the header tank vis a smallish pipe - think it is restricted to about 8mm?

both header tank and rad have pressure caps.. the first time it was the rad that dumoped - every time after that it was the header.

looking at the system I can't see any possible air locks because of the take off so highup.. and you can see a constant flow of coolant abck into the header via the return when it is running.

when I have at least 30-40 mph it sits nicely at about 90 degrees on my gauge (think that is reading a little high) but as soon as i hit traffic it skyrockets..

fan is deffinitely sucking through the rad and there is very little room around it in the nose cone so not a lot can get past it..

possibly my biggest problem is the oil cooler... will have to look at relocating that. and maybe a good quality fan

One thought i have just had..... there is a fair bit of damage to the rad itself - the very thin cooling vanes bent over.. that would restrict the airflow through... could this be the cause?

on the tuning side of things.. what causes 'popping' back through the TBs ? I am sure it is running rich becuase i have to faether the throttle to keep it running. so far i have been running logs through the mega log viewer and accepting the results of the analysis...

cheers to everyone anyway...

off to fill in the DVLA form

Well done on your pass. It might be worth getting a timing light on the engine to check your timing. If the engine isn't "pinking as someone has already suggested it could very well be retarded which could cause overheating and possibly the popping back ? Might also be worth getting a head gasket test done as well just in case . WaterWetter will drop the coolant temperature by as much as 20 degrees, not a cure but may help until you get the engine tuned properl. Just the DVLA to sort then?

Well done Dave. the car looks great, its come a long way since I last saw it.

Steve

dave

excellent news on the pass
Tim

Excellent news, well done. Car looks great too.


Probs everyman and his dog who has used Pinto has had cooling challenges before. mine were mainly caused by silt in the block impeding coolant flow. i just removed a water gallery plug and flushed it through with hose pipe for couple of hours. Took a while to get any water to come out of the plug at first (needed assistance with small screwdriver and stiff wire etc).
Ive also fitted a fan switch on the dash so i can switch fan on in traffic on hot days if needed.

I was shocked on first trackday at what temp it got up to (115 iirc). It always had a tendancy to dump water from rad cap overflow, ive since fitted a bottle to this so it can find own level, vent when hot and pull back in when cooling down.


Ive also fitted some vent holes in bonnet and nosecone to help air flow through engine bay - no idea if these help running temp but i like the look of them and they cant be a bad thing.