Radiator Gunk

[drhunter]

This afternoon I saw a blue patch of sky a few miles away so I decided to have a drive under it - managed to stay dry!

When I got back I did my usual of opening the bonnet to check for loose things and to clean up the oil that gets thrown out of the dipstick everytime I go somewhere.
I noticed that there was no water in the radiator expansion bottle so I opened it to have a better look. This is what I found:






Maybe it's time to flush the system!

Any hints?

[Cerberus]

You can get some rad flushy stuff from your local motorfactors or halfords, but i have trained my dogs to go in the garden

[drhunter]

Hehe that's what I thought when I opened the cap.
Think I'll flush and refill the radiator.
The engine stays cool when driving but the temp rises almost alarmingly when stationary.
Had thought about "borrowing" the radiator off our old fiesta as it's wider but not as tall - would sit further forward in the nose - but decided that since it runs cool enough when moving that a better fan would be more sensible.

[Cerberus]

Whats normal running temp?, how much does it rise when stationary and how quickly? and does the fan keep the temp under control when stood?




Phil

[drhunter]

I don't have an actual temperature display. Only a scale from low to high with a red area at the top end.
I went out for a run this afternoon, while at speed 60-70 the temp hardly rises.
When moving slowly or when stationary the fan comes on in under 5 minutes. The fan manages to keep it under control but I think if we had any very hot weather it would struggle!

Another option is to wire the fan up to a switch so I can turn it on myself. Is it acceptable to just use a switch to short the two wires that lead to the fan control thermostat?

[se7ensport]

I'd add an override switch that you can activate when you know you are coming in to traffic etc, make sure you connect it via the ignition switch (there's nothing like coming back to your car to hear a fan going round really slowly and realising that the battery has zero hope of turning your engine over )

[drhunter]

Haha, thanks for the tip!

Sounds like you're speaking from experience

[se7ensport]

most of my posts are (un)fortunatly based on experience!

The best way to learn is from someone elses expenses

[drhunter]

True, and it's all very much appreciated.

I think I'm getting a better idea now of the little (and some bigger) things I need to do with the car.

Stiffer suspension
The squeaking from the suspension
New tyres, I think the remoulds will cause a problem once the suspension is sorted.
Cooling
That wierd grating noise the engine makes at a certain number of revs when it is slowing down
The oil that comes back out of the dipstick which may or may not be related to the above
I'm not a fan of the current dash or seats
Might plumb the blower into the cooling system when I do the dash.
Recon the weber 40 that is lying around and swap it for the 32/36 that I currently have on.

Not much but one step at a time eh

[stylussprinter]

Squeaking is caused normally by the following.
1)poly bushes incorrectly fitted ----- wider than the inner metal tube & no grease between metal inner and poly bush.
2)bolts not tight enough to grip the inner metal(should be proud of the poly bush) & therefore the bolt becomes the pivot , squeaks and wears the mounting point holes

This subject's been thrown around many times on here.
Rob.

[drhunter]

Yeah, I read about that. It took me a little while to understand just what the poly bushes are but after reading previous posts I'm getting a better idea of what to do!

[drhunter]

Today I drained, flushed and refilled the cooling system.
Think I may have missed flushing some parts of the engine block as it has clouded up again pretty quickly but it it far better than it was.
There's not a massive difference while moving (as expected) but the temp rises far more slowly than before whilst stationary.
I replaced roughly 4 litres of fluid (25% antifreeze)
Recommended is up to 46% but I can easily drain a little out of the header tank to top it up with more concentrate.

[stylussprinter]

Today I drained, flushed and refilled the cooling system.
Think I may have missed flushing some parts of the engine block as it has clouded up again pretty quickly but it it far better than it was.
There's not a massive difference while moving (as expected) but the temp rises far more slowly than before whilst stationary.
I replaced roughly 4 litres of fluid (25% antifreeze)
Recommended is up to 46% but I can easily drain a little out of the header tank to top it up with more concentrate.

If it still gives you concern , put a bottle of ' WATER WETTER ' in the system after thorough clearing/flushing the system. It transfers heat to the water faster from the metal so you get faster up to normal temp' plus better cooling under stress . Best results are had with only water and water wetter. So don't forget to use antifreeze in the winter Temperatures can be lowered by 10 to 20 degrees.

[Cerberus]

Today I drained, flushed and refilled the cooling system.
Think I may have missed flushing some parts of the engine block as it has clouded up again pretty quickly but it it far better than it was.

If you are not happy then flush it again, just don't top it up with anti-freeze until you are happy.


Phil