Windsor,
Undoubtedly, doing the List's "full Monty" will cure your problem. However,
it sounds to me from the symptoms you describe that the radiator per se is
OK. If you run 100-110 F below ambient, I'd say this is pretty good. Also,
I think your system should be able to tolerate at least 230 F before it
boils over, maybe 240 briefly if you have 40-50% glycol coolant. This means
you need a 15-16 psig cap, and the rest of the system able to take this
kind of pressure. If you have a heater core, it will undoubtedly bulge the
sides at this pressure. I have reinforced the sides of mine to take more
pressure.
But I digress, so back to your main question. There are two things that
change in stop & go traffic; air flow and water flow through the radiator.
So, plug up the holes where the horns are on either side of the radiator
and, if you're ambitious, add some sheet metal around the bottom of the
radiator; between the lower valance and radiator and anything else you
think will help keep hot air from recirculating back into the front of the
radiator. Use a six blade fan and even add an electric fan or two in front
of the radiator. I probably wouldn't do both, but that's your choice. Doing
all of this will provide plenty of air flow through the radiator. It is
also possible that the water flow through the radiator is too little at
idle. The best way to diagnose this, I believe, is to check the temperature
of the water exiting the radiator. For example, if the water entering the
radiator is 200 F and exiting the radiator is at least 180 F, then the
water pump is working fine. If it is between 160-180 F, then it's marginal.
If it is below 160 F, then I would consider a new water pump; one with a
HiPo type cast iron impeller, which reduces cavitation at high rpm, but
also still pumps well at idle.
It sounds like you don't have anything against using a big mechanical fan
like the six blade Maverick fan (which are kind of hard to find these days
I hear). There has also been some talk of a Volvo fan. Some people don't
want to lose the 2 or 3 horsepower they will rob, but this is definitely
the easiest, most reliable way to go. BTW, the Maverick fan needs to be
notched to clear the rack, so it isn't THAT easy. If you still want to go
with an electric fan in addition to, or in lieu of the mechanical fan, we
can point you in several directions on this item too.
Hope I have been of some help Windsor. I even resisted my usual comment
about most Tiger owners being happy with only 200F in traffic. ;-)
TTFN,
Bob
At 05:17 PM 8/24/99 -0700, Windsor Owens wrote:
> I have a 66 Mk IA tiger with a 289. If I keep moving and the
>temp. outside is below 80 degrees F, the engine runs about 170 -180,
>which I guess is OK. But If it gets above 80 F out, and I hit stop &
>go traffic, I'm screwed. Within about 10-15 minutes it'll be up to
>200+F. So, I'm considering ways to fix this:
>
>
> 1. Pull radiator and give to a good shop to have it cleaned.
>Should I get it re-cored? If I do get it re-cored, should I increase
>the number of cores? Will a triple core fit?
> 2. Flush the engine jackets.
> 3. Intall the 6 blade maverick fan. Anybody have one
>available?
> 4. Install an auxilary fan in front of the radiator. What is
>the best aux. fan to use? Does someone make a bracket/entire fan &
>bracket kit that will bolt on?
> 5 ????
>
> If anyone out there has any ideas about how best to proceed,
>I'd love to hear them!
>
>TIA,
>
>Windsor
Robert L. Palmer
UCSD, Dept. of AMES
619-822-1037 (o)
760-599-9927 (h)
rpalmer@ucsd.edu
rpalmer@cts.com
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