OK here's a curious one:
After having my radiator rodded out I reinstalled it in the car
and went for a test drive. After about 12-15 minutes at sustained speeds
of 50-60+ mph the car gradually begins to overheat. But, when I stopped
to cool it off with a water hose, the engine was really not that
hot. I could put my hand on the radiator cap and on the hoses and the
top of the radiator tank. This suggested to me that the coolant
wasn't getting to the engine. So, I took out the thermostat and
did the same test. Same result. This time, I wasn't near a hose
when it happened, so I turned on the heater and blower to help
alleviate the heat. It stopped rising almost instantaneously.
On the way home I left the heater on but turned off the vents into
the cockpit. No overheating.
So, I now have two theories. The first is that I am loosing fluid out of the
overflow tank at a steady rate after the car heats up. The thermostat
type cap on the overflow tank opens and the fluid drips out of there
fairly steadily. Eventually it loses enough fluid to make a difference.
So why is the overflow tank letting fluid out?
The second theory is that the system is just fine, but that the coolant
does not flow past the temp sensor unless the heater is on (since the
temp sensor sits near the heater inlet). The car isn't really overheating,
it is just that the temperature gauge is sitting in air or an air/water
combination that makes it register high. Any ideas?
There is no DOT 5 brake fluid in Bloomington, IN. Civilization has yet
to arrive. Plenty of Dot 3 though.
Is anyone going to the Summer party in Grand Rapids, MI this coming weekend?
Thanks,
Will
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c _ _ ___ ___ Ceeasaurus! c
c | \ / | / \ / \ Will | wsadler@copper.ucs.indiana.edu c
c | \/ || __ | Sadler | or will@cica.indiana.edu c
c | | \___/ \___/ Bloomington, Indiana c
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