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Bugeye overheating - help please

Another update. I started the car with the radiator cap off. I used the infrared thermometer, pointing it at the thermostat cover periodically. After a half hour, the highest temp showing up on the gauge was 160. The corresponding temp showing on my infrared thermometer was about 155. At start up, the oil pressure was 55. After one half hour at idle, the oil pressure dropped to 30. Because it didn't get hot enough to open the thermostat, I don't know if the cooling system is moving coolant or not. Of course some of the checks suggested were not possible either. I am nervous about the lack of oil pressure, and especially the loss of power I experienced the first time. There are some 50 mph back roads I could test it out on to see if I can get it to heat up and lose oil pressure again. Besides all the checks, the only thing I really did different was to change the 100% coolant to a 50:50 ratio. At what temp and oil pressure do I need to pull the car over and shut it off?

A local British shop near me charges $65 to go through a 5 page checklist. Unless someone has any other things I can do, I think I am just ready to take it in there and see what they have to say. What do you think?

Kevin
 
30 lbs at idle after half an hour sounds normal to me - rev it and see if it climbs again
 
Seems to me that the energy flow is somehow disturbed. The proportion of energy into the cooling system and out of the cooling system is somehow different at higher speeds than at lower speeds.

Some of the following could be true.
The radiator has limited cooling capacity.
The waterpump has limited flow.
Disproportionately more combustion energy transfers at higher loads.

I have seen head gaskets that otherwise show excellent compression but leak combustion gasses into the cooling system under load.

I have seen a distributor that doesn't advance enough and therefore runs retarded timing at higher speeds.

I have seen carburetors that run lean at higher power settings.

just my 2 cents.
 
As Donn mentioned---check timing then warm it and check oil pressure at 3K RPM then if good go for a drive. Sounds to me as if the problem may have just been the coolant mix and temp was actually higher than guage reading since heat transfer to the bulb would have been poor like it was to the radiator.
Hope for the best!

Kurt.
 
I do think the 100% antifreeze would be enough to cause overheating. I'm still a little concerned over your comment of it running really slow when draining. Assuming you also had the cap off to allow air entry, that could be an indication of clogging in the radiator.
 
Clean out the valve, shove something up in it like a wire.
 
I have a question. A little over a week ago you started a thread on the TR forum aboout your TR6 overheating, also.
I can understand one overheating, happens, but both?

Oh, and straight coolant will decrease the ability to transfer heat...it will also freeze. I do think you're actually running hot, as oil pressure that drops off like that is an indicator.
 
TOC, I did think the TR6 was overheating. I finally purchased an infrared thermometer, which helped greatly. I let the TR6 warm up at idle for 20 minutes at which time the needle was at a stable 2/3. I have a 180 thermostat, and when I pointed the thermometer to the top radiator hose, it was 183, pretty much telling me the car was not in fact overheating. I replaced the temp sending unit and it made no difference in the gauge reading. The bottom line is that I think it is the gauge at this point.

I go in for surgery shortly, so depending on how fast I recover, I plan on taking the Bugeye out for a run this weekend.

Kevin
 
I had the same issues on the wife's Sprite (1275 with verticle radiator). I just installed a new water pump, 160 degree thermostat, removed the radiator and flushed it with the hose, removed the useless 4 blade fan that was too far from the engine anyway, installed a pusher fan (10"Hayden) and installed an oil cooler. I also set the timing. You have already done most of this. I drove it hard yesterday on the same route that I used to have falling oil pressure and rising temps and it stayed constantly at about 175 degrees (but I suspect the gauge is not totally accurate). Regardless, the oil pressure stayed high and the temp stayed constant with no overheating.

I also run 20/50 and about 1 gallon of antifreeze.

I believe the oil cooler is doing a lot for the running temp.
 
hey Go Dogs Go; you installed a pusher fan!!! I thought that was a big no no!
it should be a puller fan. At hight speed the air won't be able to go through the radiator as there is a big fan trying to push air against it.

Deffo pull fan. Less antifreeze works, you just need somthing to stop rust in the summer. You can eve get somthing called "waterwetter" to add which even improves on the thermal capacities of water alone.
I wouldn't be worried until temperature gets above 200F
 
I'm a big fan of alcohol. First I fill up my Martini glass, then the remainder goes into the radiator!

I just put a pusher fan on my BE today. Set it to run about 190. Haven't got a chance to see if it's effective as it started to rain when I finished the job.
 
Harryone-
A pusher fan in front of the radiator works fine, a pusher behind the radiator is not to be done (unless it is in a Mini!)
BillM
 
Kevin,
Putting 100% antifreeze in your car does not make it run cooler than a 50/50 antifreeze/water mix, because antifreeze actually doesn't have very good heat transfer qualities.

It is important to understand that the purpose of antifreeze threefold--it is 1) to lubricate your water pump, 2) inhibit corrosion

and 3) to raise the boiling point of the water you put in the radiator and to lower it's freezing point.

If you didn't put any water in you are going to run hotter than if you had.


So if you haven't done so already, drain half the antifreeze out and replace it with distilled water. Water Wetter is also a good addition.

Charlie
 
The water around here in Washington (the "Everwet" State) is so plentiful and clean that we can just use tap water and it is about as pure as distilled is for the rest of the world. I would NEVER use water from the LA city system in my car without putting it through a strainer (at least!) first.
BillM
 
Hey! They steal that water from my hometown/valley! It's good when it hits the LA Aqueduct!
 
The small town where I live is fed by a mountain spring.
It's made me extremely picky about drinking water, my kids go places (out of town) and comment on how 'stinky' their water is.
It's very easy for us to take this for granted, we open the tap and the stuff just comes out.
I'm really thankful for the clean clear water here, and if I have to endure a little extra rain once in a while I guess it's a good tradeoff.
 
I've been having similar problems with my Bugeye running hot with a noticeable loss of power when it happens. It's got a 1275 too, and the original radiator was re-cored recently. I've been thinking lately that it must be a timing issue. Question, with the timing marks and pointer located at the bottom of the crank pulley how do you see to get the timing light on them? I have timed mine by setting the distributor to where the engine seems to run smoothest. Is there another acurate method of timing that does not involve a timing light? Seems to me I vaguely remember something about a 12 volt light bulb wired into the contact breaker circuit...???

JPF
 
I've made a new pointer & mark on my 1275 in my frogeye (see another post here somewhere) & I've set ignition with strobe gun at 32' @4000 revs, runs like a train. had a 45min hack the other day at around 4K to 4K5 revs 80+ mph all the way. Didn't get hot.
I only have around 20% antifreeze in the mix.
I do of course have the correct water. Coming from the mother land as I do, & near to Abingdon, my water has a percentage of chalk, essential for the transfer of heat away from the cylinder block. :lol:
 
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