At 02:24 PM 3/17/2002 -0800, Max Heim wrote:
>That's exactly what one would expect. A 195 degree thermostat would help if
>you aren't running one, of course. But the real solution for winter driving
>is to block off part of the radiator so that it doesn't super-cool the
>coolant at highway speeds. It's nothing to do with the heater itself, really
>(though the valve design could certainly be improved) -- it's the engine
>temperature running cool. I used to keep in the trunk a small piece of
>cardboard cut to fit neatly in front of the radiator, kind of snapped
>between the lip on the top and bottom tanks, with about 50% coverage. But it
>so very seldom gets that cold around here that I haven't bothered lately.
>
>But maybe some Snow Belt dwellers have better solutions...
From my days using my 71BGT as a daily driver on a fifty mile commute (one
way) in subzero temperatures, I can confirm what Max is saying. Use the
higher temp thermostat only helps to a certain extent. It gets so cold out
that it can't keep the water temp up.
I had to test with certain sizes of cardboard, designed to snap between the
two lips as Max described. But the sheet I used, never covered half of the
radiator - it was closer to a third as I recalled. Half was too much.
It may also be necessary to clean the heater core. I had to remove and boil
mine out because it had lost too much of its heat transfer efficiency. But
even under optimum conditions, I always had a small sliver of frost on the
inside of the windshield between the two defroster vents.
David
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