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Re: Engine running too cold

To: MG Mailing List <mgs@autox.team.net>
Subject: Re: Engine running too cold
From: Aaron Whiteman <awhitema@panix.com>
Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2005 11:31:32 -0800
On Dec 19, 2005, at 10:57 AM, saabnutty@aol.com wrote:

> I had good results with a small cooking thermometer tie-wrapped to  
> the upper radiator hose.  Drive around until you think it is hot  
> enough, and then see what it reads.  (The outside of the hose has  
> got to be close to the temp of the coolant.)  The temp sender was  
> bad in my car when i got it, and immediately read HOT when the key  
> was turned on.  I used the small thermometer to confirm i was not  
> overheating.  A new sender fixed the problem.  I believe Radio- 
> Shack sells several outdoor thermometers with remote sensors.  You  
> can jam one of those under the hood and have the readout on the dash.

As previously mentioned, a really great way to get temperatures is to  
head to your local NAPA or Radio Shack and get an infrared  
thermometer.  Drive around, until you are up to temp, them point the  
thermometer at various parts of your engine.  The temp at the  
thermostat housing should be at, but not significantly above your  
thermostat temp.  I point at the cast-iron head rather than the  
aluminum cover, but YMMV.  You can also point at various places in  
the radiator core to look for hot spots, the top should be at or near  
the same temp as the thermostat housing, the bottom cooler.

As a bonus, you can also point it at things like your carbs, the  
exhaust manifold, the head, the ground, your bbq, your brother's eyes 
[0]...

Since the range on these things typically goes up to around 500  
degrees, they are rather handy to have around.

[0]: just kidding, you should never point a laser at somebody's eyes :)

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