http://www.minispares.com/Article.aspx?aid=90



I like the over temp ignition cutout idea...

Same for oil pressure cutout , a lot of construction equip has an oil pressure cutout that kills the ignition when oil pressure drops , bit of a pain when you're crossing a road and it does it though in a roller . You need to push a bypass button till the motor starts and oil pressure builds , could be a problem with a road car , as with the temp cutout , often you are needing that few seconds longer to get off the road safely before the ign shuts down . Some newer machines have a siren that goes off 15 seconds before the motor shuts down to let you know you need to stop somewhere safe and to idle down to save the turbo etc , doesn't really help if your motor's dumped all it's oil but it's more likely to be from a big leak where you have time before it grenades ....

_________________

I flushed the cooling system yesterday and it is all good now

Oh and Ryan the pics will be up by tonight

Thanks again for all your help

Matt

_________________

Where is the temp switch located and how do i know what temp it's running at?



How does one flush the radiator? Whats this about reverse flushing?

Many ways with varied results . You can go to an auto parts supply place and get a bottle of radiator flush , drain the radiator when it's cold and follow the bottles directions (clean water and the bottles contents , run for however long and drain when cool then fill with whatever you normally use , coolant , water and rust inhibiter etc ) . You can take it to a radiator place who often have stronger radiator cleaners to put through but may just charge more to put a normal bottle of radiator cleaner through . You can take the car to them and get them to remove the top and bottom hoses and do a full flush which entails the reverse flush you mentioned . Basically they fill the radiator with water or whatever and hook an air hose to the bottom radiator hose and blast the air and water out the top hose , this is the reverse of the way the water circulates so will clear more crud out of it thanpushing water through from the top . You can also get the radiator place to remove the radiator and take off the top and bottom tanks and rod clean the core , they push special rods through the tubes of the radiator core and clean the crud off that way . This is reasonably expensive though but if the radiator is getting choked up with sludge then it's cheaper than replacing the core .
You can do a reverse flush yourself fairly easily if you have a compressor . Take the bottom hose off the water pump and if the hose has the heater fitting halfway up just block the end of the hose with something . If it doesn't have the heater fitting then block the end with the airgun of the compressor inside . Take the top hose off and angle it towards something to take the water away from your engine as the water will come out with a bit of force and coat everything with rust stains . Fill the radiator with water and give short sharp blasts of compressed air (if you have the heater fitting on the hose remove the heater hose and put the airgun's end in the heater hose fitting) and stand clear of the rusty scaley water that will blast out . refill and do it again a few times .
You can do similar to the block but you MUST remove the thermostat first or it will severely slow any water being blasted out .

_________________

Thanx, Ian. Sounds like the radiator cleaner bottle stuff would be the best for a novice...

Reckon it'll make a noticeable difference in the heat? I'm thinking it might just be worthwhile to know that it's all clean...

It couldn't hurt anyway , I normally give my ute (Triton V6 4WD work ute) a flush with a bottle of stuff and new coolant each year , but previously it did high mileage and carried big loads regularly .

_________________

Just keeping on topic and been thinking about a small modification and wanted peoples opinion on the value of it.
I have seen a couple of nice light blue roundies at the Leyburn sprints this year with a straight plumb back system to the radiator from the heater outlet, think the guys were from Warwick
So I was thinking of something similar but include the plumbing in a small motorbike radiator from the heater connection outlet and front mounting this and running a return line to a new grommet/ inlet on the top tank of the radiator.
Thoughts/ opinions, has anyone else done this sort of set up before, just a couple of things.
Will the water pump push/ flow with enough pressure for this sort of set up?
I would assume so as it would be similar to pushing/ flwoing thorugh to the heater

The existing temps aren't bad but it is getting hotter up here and I would rather be safe then sorry and have the confidence to drive the mini around in the summer and not have her as a winter car.

Thanks

_________________
Owner: 77 Clubbie
Motor: 1415cc Madmatt Stroker motor
Bodywork: Work in progress
Interior: OK no mods not even a radio, yet!
Pictures will follow, eventually!

What a year - seems just like a few days ago people were having problems with carbies icing up and now its heating concerns.

I would suggest that the coolant system is a closed and pressurised system. Adding another radiator and running the engine until the thermostat opens and flushes the air out. Then if you top it up you again have a pressurised system. The water pump doesn't have to move much water for the weight of water being moved to force a circulation throughtout the system.

We have a speedway car with a cabin mounted radiator, except for an electric fan and the obvious structural and piping modifications, everything else is standard. It runs fine without overheating. Not a mini though.

Any auxillarly radiator will help control temperature and are worthwhile in hot weather. As are electric fans etc. But none of these will correct a fundamental coolant problem.

I know thats not what you are suggesting but the point must be made for others looking for a bandaid fix.

Matt advance the distributor a touch and see if the revs pick up a touch as it might be slightly retarded which will make it run slighty hot

Steve

Interesting thread considering I have a similar problem with the Cooper that needs to be addressed. Some time back I was doing some research for my brother for his MG TF and came across an article from the WA MG owners club concerning cooling. That was some 2 years ago and I had forgotten about it till now. Makes for interesting reading so for anybody who would like to have a read, follow the attached link.

http://www.mgtcoc.com/showtt.php?id=1&s ... thor=Robin

Glycol is a not a great coolant. Water is better. More water and less glycol could help keep the temp down.

_________________
"Life is not like a box of chocolates... it's more like a jar of jalapenos. Whatever you do today, may burn your arse tomorrow."