Hello chaps. I have an aluminium expansion tank supplied by LD Parts, which is plumbed in on the NS front wing, it then has an overflow to the OE bottle. The VC fan died shortly after I bought the car in JUne 14 and this was dumped as was the Kenlowe fan and replaced by a BMW Blower fan on the front of the rad (the theory was that this would give better ram airflow through the rad). The Kenlowe controller and thermostat were kept and the new fan wired into them. There is no manual override.
My problem is that on Tuesday, I spent a total of about 3 hours in heavy London traffic in ambient temperatures of between 27 and 34c. The Fan was running pretty well continuously and the gauge was between 3/5ths and 4/5ths up. The car coped and there were no overheating symptoms such misfires or stalling in fact no problems at all apart from the radiated heat from the engine bay.
On Wednesday morning I fired her up with no problem and the header tank low level warning buzzer wouldn't shut up. On investigation the OE overflow bottle was nearly full. Restoring the entire contents of this to the header tank stopped the buzzer and I used the car all day yesterday without incident. This morning there's about 35mm depth in the previously emptied overflow. Obviously this does not siphon back to the header like it was supposed to on the TRs (but rarely did!).
Do I need to consider reducing the cut in temperature of the Kenlowe stat or alternatively to put in a higher pressure cap? The existing cap is 20psi, which I would have thought was enough. Presumably, increasing the system pressure will also increase the boiling point eventually leading to warped heads, while capping off the overflow bottle would simply lead to coolant loss as once pressure goes beyond the cap limit the coolant will simply force its way past the spring seal and all over the engine bay. The Kenlowe is currently set halfway between N and H (N being half way between C and H).
On the advice of a previous garage, I am running Evans Cool 180. While the car has not overheated since (which it did on its inaugural journey home from the PO) I am wondering if I need to reduce coolant temperature, perhaps using the Kenlowe controller, or maybe fitting a cooler cylinder head thermostat? (Or both?)
As always, suggestions, barracking and Mickey takes all gratefully received.
My problem is that on Tuesday, I spent a total of about 3 hours in heavy London traffic in ambient temperatures of between 27 and 34c. The Fan was running pretty well continuously and the gauge was between 3/5ths and 4/5ths up. The car coped and there were no overheating symptoms such misfires or stalling in fact no problems at all apart from the radiated heat from the engine bay.
On Wednesday morning I fired her up with no problem and the header tank low level warning buzzer wouldn't shut up. On investigation the OE overflow bottle was nearly full. Restoring the entire contents of this to the header tank stopped the buzzer and I used the car all day yesterday without incident. This morning there's about 35mm depth in the previously emptied overflow. Obviously this does not siphon back to the header like it was supposed to on the TRs (but rarely did!).
Do I need to consider reducing the cut in temperature of the Kenlowe stat or alternatively to put in a higher pressure cap? The existing cap is 20psi, which I would have thought was enough. Presumably, increasing the system pressure will also increase the boiling point eventually leading to warped heads, while capping off the overflow bottle would simply lead to coolant loss as once pressure goes beyond the cap limit the coolant will simply force its way past the spring seal and all over the engine bay. The Kenlowe is currently set halfway between N and H (N being half way between C and H).
On the advice of a previous garage, I am running Evans Cool 180. While the car has not overheated since (which it did on its inaugural journey home from the PO) I am wondering if I need to reduce coolant temperature, perhaps using the Kenlowe controller, or maybe fitting a cooler cylinder head thermostat? (Or both?)
As always, suggestions, barracking and Mickey takes all gratefully received.
Didn't know LD sold header tanks
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