At 11:34 PM 2/16/02 -0500, Brian Cochran wrote:
>.... I had 2264 running for about 30 minutes (first time running since I've
>owned it). It started right up, and it sounds awesome. However, after
about
>10 minutes the temp gauge reached about 220, and I noticed a river of
>antifreeze pouring down the driveway. When I shut it off, it was boiling and
>pouring steam. My dad's mechanic friend suggested we remove the thermostat
>and try it without. So after it cooled down, we refilled the radiator, and
>started it again without thermostat. This time it didn't start pouring
>antifreeze and it wasn't boiling, but after about 20 minutes the temp
reached
>about 260 and it started dripping. The fluid wasn't hot at all (actually
>almost cold), and it seems to be coming out of the overflow or the line
>going into the overflow, I can't tell. Are these problems related, or could
>these be two separate problems? How hot does a Bricklin usually get when
>just idling? I really don't think it is supposed to get that hot. Could
>there be a problem with my radiator, or something more serious? It has
>been at least 7 years since the car was last run. If anyone has any
>suggestions on this or anything else I may want to check while I'm working
> on this problem, your help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Brian,
I definately think you have a problem! How hot they get depends on a lot
if things, but the real question is how hot is safe. Terry Tanner wrote
a good article about this a while back in the club magazine. Water boils at
212 Deg. F. By putting antifreeze in the water, we raise the boiling point
some more. Finally putting a pressure cab on the radiator to increase
the pressure of the coolant, the boiling point is again elivated.
Theoretically the car should run at 180, especially on a cool day. In
heavy traffic and on a hot day, 212 to 220 is max. If it get to 220 I'd
be looking to pull over.
As to possible causes:
1. A clogged radiator - have you run any radiator flush through the eng. and
radiator. If not, I'd start there - it's pretty cheap.
2. It's possible that your radiator cap is bad. Replace it.
3. If the car has been setting for 7 yrs, I'd look at pulling the radiator
and having it "rodded out".
4. The timing could be way off. But I think this usually occurs at higher
speeds (rpm) than idle.
5. A blown head gasket will cause an engine to over heat quickly. Look for
a foamy mix in the radiator or in the oil (do an oil changes). Run a
compression check on all cylinders.
6. There could be some deposits built up in the block. Hopefully running
some eng/radiator flush will break them up and clean them out. If not
you may have to pull the engine and have it hot tanked.
Keep us posted on what you find.
Hope this helps
John
John T. Blair WA4OHZ email: jblair@exis.net
Va. Beach, Va Phone: (757) 495-8229
48 TR1800 48 #4 Midget 65 Morgan 4/4 Series V
75 Bricklin SV1 77 Spitfire 71 Saab Sonett III
65 Rambler Classic
Morgan: www.team.net/www/morgan
Bricklin: www.bricklin.org
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