----- Original Message -----
From: John Hobson <goalie_john@yahoo.co.uk>
To: <spitfire-enthusiast@yahoogroups.com>; <spitfires@autox.team.net>
> I also have an 'underheating' 'problem' in that the engine will run at
> about 1/4 on the temperature scale, ocassionally briefly rise to 1/2 (for
> about a minute), and then drop back down to 1/4 or lower. My intitial
> thought was thermostat, could this be the cause? As it is under, rather
> than over-heating I'm not overly concerned with it at the moment, except
> for my fuel bills. The other possibility is an electrical problem with
> the guage/sender, what do you think?
Hi John,
The engine temperature goes slightly high then drops back as the thermostat
opens - this behaviour is normal. I suspect your low reading is more of a
gauge/sender functionality issue rather than a truly low temperature. If the
car runs well otherwise, treat the 1/4 gauge reading as normal for your car and
be suspicious of anything abnormally higher.
> I was also having some problems with a very unstable idle until I went to
> fill up with petrol and put unleaded in for the first time because the
> garage had run out of LRP and I didn't have enough petrol to make it to
> the next station, since then the idle has been good so I reckon I had a
> dodgy batch of LRP.
We were running a Dolomite 1500 when 4* disappeared and the most noticeable
aspect of using LRP was the slower and unstable idle. I noted the same problem
on my Herald 1200 Coupe. Switching to unleaded with Castrol Valvemaster
additive restored the running to 4* conditions. Subsequently, we stopped using
additives altogether and the cars all run fine on unleaded. Once your head has
covered about 30-40,000 miles there should be enough lead memory on the valves
to protect them for many years to come without additives.
I should add that ALL of my Triumphs run like pigs on ALL BP fuel.....
> I think I will continue using unleaded for now as I
> also haven't noticed much of a decrease in performance except for when I
> get to about 4500rpm in 3rd or 4th the engine seems to run out of oomph,
> is this pinking?
Pinking is a sort of crackling noise from the engine under load. I suspect your
problem is a carb tuning issue - maybe the needles aren't matched to the
engine, or possibly the plug leads are past their best.
Cheers,
Bill.
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