[Mg-t] Overheating

[John Deikis]

Stu:
You got some good suggestions already but re-reading your original post, a
couple of comments occurred to me about the Nevada desert. The fan becomes
irrelevant once you are up to speed, but a plastic MGB fan will really help
when you stop at a light after a longer high-speed run. Also, there are at
least two versions of water pumps being sold currently. The one I currently
run has brass (rather than cast iron) impellers and has maybe 6 of them rather
than the 4 on the original pump and on the ones sold by Moss. Finally, my plan
for crossing the worst part of the desert in Nevada is to do that stretch
through the night when it's cold. I remember this is how Hank and Tom Rippert
did it during the Ocean to Ocean.

I've just had my rad boiled out (stock core), have run an oil cooler for years
(has not proven to be very necessary on a street car in Michigan), and am
considering doing the Reno run without the bonnet side panels.

Glad you decided to do the R2R. I plan to join up in Ohio. bring a sleeping
bag...but don't come armed. ;-)

Cheers!

John Deikis
----------------
www.kidsCURE.blogspot.com



On Mar 9, 2011, at 10:54 AM, Stuart Keen <simbafish at comcast.net> wrote:

> In the summer heat here in Venice, FL my TD9s water temp usually runs in
the
> 90 - 95 deg C range. I am concerned that the Rallye to Reno might be a
> problem when crossing the Nevada desert. When I drove through the Mojave
> Desert  in October 7 years ago, the air temp in the shade was 110 deg F. It
> caused my water to BOIL. This resulted in putting a hole in #2 piston.
Don9t
> want to do that again; though, I do not think the desert of Nevada will be
> quite so hot mid June. So I am wondering what can I do to get the
> temperature down. I have already removed the many car badges in front of
the
> radiator (they were there when I went through the Mojave). Also, I am
> already using a MGB 7 blade plastic fan.
>
> What should I do and not do. Here are my thoughts:
>
> 1) Have local Leyland trained Brit garage  professionally set the timing. I
> may have been running high all this time. Should I have them set the
> carburetors? The plugs are brown, not black or ash white.
>
> 2) Should I remove the radiator and have it boiled out or is just flushing
> and refilling with antifreeze and Water Wetter sufficient? Somewhere I read
> about a caustic solution you could run through the radiator, but I do not
> know what the product was called and I wonder how safe it would be on the
> engine components and fittings. Comments?
>
> 3) Should I install an oil cooler? Are they really that beneficial? I
> question doing too many mods on the old gal before a long trip. It has been
> running fine except for possibility of overheating.
>
> 4)  I think there is no room for an electric fan in a TD.  Are they really
> that beneficial, anyway?
>
> 5) Any other considerations?
>
> Cancelling out of the Rallye is not an option. Glutton for punishment, I
> plan to drive from Venice to Ocean City, MD so I can start on the East
> Coast. That will mean an additional 1000 miles for the total trip.
>
> Thanks
>
> Stu Keen
> 1951 MGTD Mk II
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