Hi all, I have a completely stock early 203 that runs at about 95 to 100 deg. C. The radiator has been cleaned. I was thinking of using an electric water pump for more flow or a thermo fan on the front but I'd like to keep it stock. Any thoughts? Thanks Andrew
Early 203 running hot
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Place coreflute horizontally in the area in front of the radiator. The bodywork covers the radiator, grill is mainly below it. Corefloot will stop the radiator air disappearing under the car.
A 203 with standard thermostat runs around 80C and doesn't overheat even on hot days. There are many things that can make a car overheat from wrong ignition timing to water pump and radiator sealing faults. There is a welch plug in the head behind the water pump that corrodes through, upsetting water flow. The first thing to check is the accuracy of the measuring equipment used. And the thermostat performance.
- so without the void between the batteries more of what enters the grill will be going through the radiator?
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Yes, makes a huge difference. I had a very small two bladed fan on my 203 and it would run hot on the highway even on a cold night. Corflute brought it back to 403 standards. Every 203 I had had before that ran hot. Except for the first one for some unknown reason. Never had overheating in a 403, which has better airflow.
I reckon Russel is onto it, the welch plug behind the water pump if corroded will make the temp go up
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Quicker to fit the corflute but yes, check the welch plug for sure.
An unmodified 203 in good order was not prone to overheating so attempting modifications to address the problem will not rectify the fault. Engine airflow in a 203 is by no means restricted with half the radiator in the airstream and plenty of air around it.
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Agree in that my last 203 had the small fan which was a worthwhile improvement to noise and performance.
Yes, remove the waterpump first and check the welch plug. Also a big chance that the block is clogged with rust.
Corflute takes 5 minutes and may bring the temp down to usuable level if there other reasons which in the case of a rusty block are hard to fix. .
Yes, remove the waterpump first and check the welch plug. Also a big chance that the block is clogged with rust.
Corflute takes 5 minutes and may bring the temp down to usuable level if there other reasons which in the case of a rusty block are hard to fix. .
I had a similar problem with an early 203 and tried everything; flushed the engine and radiator - no change, re-cored the radiator - no change, checked the welsh plug behind the water-pump which was fine and one of the mechanics came past with a thermometer that you stuck a probe into the water with the cap off of the radiator and we found that the gauge we had been using was reading 25 degrees too hot. Problem solved.
So check everything but start with the obvious first.
FLASH
This applies to everything. Any anomalous measurement result, be it engine temperature or a laboratory water analysis result or a strange medical report leads logically to a repeat sampling and separate analysis. Like Mr Geckoeng I love my infrared gun now I have discovered them! It's so easy to be wise after the event though, isn't it!
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One of the things I see commonly in my other life is what I call "the black box effect" - any number which appears on the front of a black box is magically correct, doubly so if the black box goes "ping"or "beep", the psychology of which is interesting.
This effect has contributed to many aeroplane crashes and innumerable medical disasters or near misses
Never believe a reading which is out of context unless you have checked it by going back to basics. Ray is right on the money
A
This effect has contributed to many aeroplane crashes and innumerable medical disasters or near misses
Never believe a reading which is out of context unless you have checked it by going back to basics. Ray is right on the money
A
This should get a laugh from Gecko. John W et al.
About to throw out our dead electric kettle when I saw it had a temp gauge on the side. Having a good range I removed it and now use it to check coolant temp!
About to throw out our dead electric kettle when I saw it had a temp gauge on the side. Having a good range I removed it and now use it to check coolant temp!
Brilliant Mr Wildebeest! I've always told people you were clever.
Thanks for such a good idea.
Watch those infrared guns, too. People tend to place a lot of faith in a digital readout, just because the reading goes to two decimal places doesn't make it any more accurate than an old-fashioned glass tube thermometer.
They can be horribly erratic, the temp shown depends on the reflective/emissive properties of the thing being measured, a shiny silver object will show a different temperature to a black object of exactly the same temperature.
I got one recently, had a play with it measuring several items in my freezer that had been there for days undisturbed and would have all been exactly the same temperature - indicated temps varied from -14 to -39 degrees. The variable is called "emissivity." Mine is a Chinese cheapy admittedly, but a brand name with good reviews online...
They can be horribly erratic, the temp shown depends on the reflective/emissive properties of the thing being measured, a shiny silver object will show a different temperature to a black object of exactly the same temperature.
I got one recently, had a play with it measuring several items in my freezer that had been there for days undisturbed and would have all been exactly the same temperature - indicated temps varied from -14 to -39 degrees. The variable is called "emissivity." Mine is a Chinese cheapy admittedly, but a brand name with good reviews online...
Good point. I guess black body radiation is best. They are good on radiators and radiator hoses I've found when diagnosing cooling issues - I'd avoided chrome quite instinctively I realise! Too many decimal places are always a trap too!
Also to there is a little diagram on the side displaying the maximum distance that the infrared thermometer can be away from the object that you are measuring. Mine is 8 times the distance of what you are measuring, eg up to 800 mm for an object of 100 mm diameter.
If you want to measure shiny surfaces you can spray some black paint onto give a more accurate reading, keeping in mind the size of the painted area to distance away.
As far as accuracy for automotive applications +/- 1 deg would be more than adequate.
+/- 1 degree would be lovely. Mine showed 25 whole degrees variation on items that must have been exactly the same temperature.
Seems a lot! Do you know anyone with another you could use as a check?