The results of my efforts to reduce the operating temperature of my AH MkII
3000
BN7 has proved positive that attacking the problem and not the
symptomsb was a
fruitful effort.
B
I'm not sure which of my efforts had
the most effect on reducing the operating
temperature from 212 degrees to 189
degrees at highway speeds exceeding 60 MPH
but I would assume that the
reverse flushing of the block may have had the
greatest effect.
B
The
following is a recap of what I did.
B
1. I removed the recently re-cored
radiator and had it professionally flushed at
the local radiator repair
shop.B His question to me was what grade of mud I was
using for Antifreeze.
B
2.B I removed the Water Pump and had it rebuilt.B The bearing was on its
last
few revs.
B
3.B I removed and inspected the Distributor for wear and
lubrication.B All parts
were found to be in excellent condition.B
Mechanical advance weights were good
and pivots didn't show any evidence of
wear.
B
4.B With the Water pump and radiator out of the car and the petcock
on the side
of the block below the carbs open I inserted a water hose into
the top of the
head where the thermostat usually resides.B An estimated 20
minutesB was required
toB obtain a flow of clear water.B I added 2
1/2B gallons of a 50/50 mixture of
Distilled Water and Antifreeze.B Over the
last few years I have tried various
types of flushing agents, vinegar, CLR,
Iron Out and Prestone Radiator Flush.B
Each time I added the agents to the
radiator and ran the engine for 15 to 20
minutes and drained the fluid from
the lower Radiator petcock.B There wasn't any
improvement using that
method.B However there were enough residues of the
caustics left in the
engine block that continued to work over the years.B This
may have
contributed to clearing theB lower block of impacted contaminants.B B The
amount of fluids that I was able to add to the radiator was alwaysB about 1
1/2
gallons.B B B
B
5. The three carbs were tuned to the best of my
ability and then I retimed the
engine to the book spec of 6 degrees BTDC.
B
On the tripB from Michigan to Encounter in Blue Bell, PAB the temperature
remained
below 190 degree for the entire trip for the first time since I
bought the car
15 years ago.
B
The return trip on a AAA Flat bed is a story
for another day.
B
Ron Mitchell
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