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Another problem: overheating


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Hi

 

having, hopefully sorted out my overhearting problems, I now have the opposite problem: the car is not reaching the correxct temperature in winter (12º to 17º C)

 

What can I do to get it run warmer?

 

Thanks

 

camilo

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What temperature are you getting on your gauge?

 

Mine sits at about 160 Deg F when driving normally in 18-20 Deg C weather now that it has been rebuilt with new radiator/water pump/hoses etc and the block was emptied of rust. When you're on the motorway in the cold it can drop to another 10 degrees F over time.

I rarely get 185 Deg F unless I'm sitting in traffic.

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I have a suitably-sized piece of hardboard blocking half the radiator - does the job nicely

...... Andy

the plastic bottom of a large shopping bag works great too. In wintery wet conditions a cardboard plate gets soaking wet. Perhaps not a problem in Portugal.

 

Menno

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Perhaps not a problem in Portugal.

 

Menno

You're kidding! You've never seen rain before till you get here in some of the winter months!

 

You mean, you block the radiator closing off the small area between the shroud?

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Ha! So it rains in Portugal? That's a good kept secret! We (Dutch) tend to fly down south this time of the year to get a glimpse of the sun in Portugal. btw, Portugal and especially the cities are getting more and more popular for weekend trips from Amsterdam.

 

You can opt for a solution where you mount the plastic in front of the grill - that's easier installed and removed, but not so easy on the eye. You can also opt for a 'close to the rad' solution. It needs some careful trimming like rounding the corners to be sure you will to poke a corner through the core. Keeping it in place can be done by tie raps or tape. Off course you can't put a board between the radiator and the (aftermarket) fan...

 

(My Saab came with a -roughly translated- 'cosy bra'. A padded, grill shaped plastic sheet that fits needly on the grill. You can mount it with a plastic like Dzus screws. But my Saab is a so called 'Arctic version' of the 1970 Saab 96: different interior heater thermostat (choose between 'hot' and 'this must hot as hell' - I can not remember that I've lifted the heater knob more than the first notch..., double door insulation: on the door and on the body, engine heater - heater element like you find on the bottom of a tea kettle and rear windows that cannot be opened.

Preparing the Saab for the winter also needs an adjustment of the carb... little more fuel, less air for a little rich running. Starting is soon easy.)

 

I remember owning a cosy bra for a TR4! i've sold it to a fellow member in Denmark. I can't find pics though. Perhaps there are North American solutions with a padded piece for the grill.

 

Menno

Edited by Menno van Rij 2
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I remember owning a cosy bra for a TR4! i've sold it to a fellow member in Denmark. I can't find pics though.

 

 

What would be the right name for those "cozy bras" so that I can google online? Did Triumph do something of the kind?

 

Thanks

 

PS- Yes, it's been very nice and sunny since Sunday. It poured for the previous couple of weeks. Good for the agriculture, or we would have to import tulips for our salads...

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OMG Qim......, winter temps at + 12C................When I open up my shop door ,shut the heater off and push an old car outside to let it run for a bit...in - 33 C, it warms up perfectly...so if your car doesn't warm up at pos. temps there must be something wrong.

And blocking a radiator with something doesn,t seem like a good idea. These cars were built to deal with....+12c without any form of blocking the radiator.

Yves

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OK. So what could be wrong if driving at around 60 MPH and outside temp of 15ª The needle does not go to the centre of the dial?

 

I had shrouds introduced in the summer to solve the opposite problem:overheating.

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Qim,

Maybe you should check how accurate the temp gauge is. Use like a Fluke auto meter that can do temp readings and check how warm or cold that the car is really running. I had that problem with my old cooper s and discovered that the temp reading between C(old) and H(ot) was only 5 degrees.

So maybe it is running at the right temp without showing it on the gauge.

Yves

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Qim,

 

When these cars were new and sold they were always serviced before winter and a different engine thermostat was fitted, quite common. The higher opening winter stat kept the water in the block for maybe 10 deg more and so of course the whole engine warmed up more and the operating temperature equalised around the centre of the gauge at about the summer running area.

Also if you go on e bay you'll probably find a small roller blind within a cassette which screws to the front of the radiator (that's where I found mine). It was a period accessory and allowed the driver to pull the blind up from the drivers seat and block off more off the rad and reduce the airflow through the rad increasing the engine temp.

 

Mick Richards

 

OOoopp, see Don has just beaten me too the punch.

Edited by Motorsport Mickey
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Is the thermostat working ?

 

Bob.

 

It's a new one.

 

PS - Just read Bob's and Mick's posts. Thank you all. I start to get the idea of which way to go.

 

OK. I'll order a winter thermostat.

Edited by qim
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