In the digest for 16 December, Paul Vander Woude described how his TR3A was
running too cold, despite the fact that the thermostat and just about
everything else seemed to be OK.
I have an article written by the engine guru of the TR Register Australia.
He reports that many thermostats are inadequately sealed by their gaskets.
When the thermostat is closed there should be negligible flow to the
radiator. That means that if the engine is running cool and the radiator
header is at all warm, there is a thermostat problem. Another check is to
hold the top radiator hose, it should remain cold until the thermostat
starts to open at around 160 degrees F.
The guru reports that the most common problem he has encountered with cold
running cars is that of leaking circumferential sealing.
Paul, as you have what appears to be a serviceable thermostat, your problem
could be nothing more expensive than a faulty gasket. Try making a
replacement one out of something like Klingerite, preferably about 1.6 mm
thick. That should compress and seal nicely.
John Pike
1960 TR3A
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