Club 80-90 Forums

hi there, today the coolant temp was a bit over halfway, but not 3/4's, this in start/stop traffic, should it be dead centre or is it ok for them to be at this level? also if the coolant is old and is worn out could that mean the water runs a bit hotter?

Weather is warmer, so temp in stop start traffic will be higher, I get that in mine and it has new coolant in.

Just keep an eye on it.

Worse case is put heater on full blast to help cool it down a little, as this is what I had to do when I had my old mini

Anything around the centre to just to the right is normal.. if it goes up and comes back when moving thats normal... its when it goes to the right and doesnt want to come back you need to worry...

Coolant... if it looks crappy and no idea of the strength/age of it... change it.... use a "phosphate free" coolant though...

Sounds fine to me...I would however point out that once it reaches the 2/3rds mark (approx) the electric fan on the radiator should cut in. This normally only happens when caught in stop/start traffic during the warmer summer months. Typically coming on at 2/3rds for about a minute/90seconds by which time the temp is brought down to just over half way, if you are still static the temp rises and the fan cuts in again. This cycle continues until you start to move again in the traffic where the radiator then has air moving through it to take away the heat.
Martin

Some time ago, on this forum, a member recommended changing over to a VW Corrado stat. The differences are that its 82 degrees and has the small hole/nipple in the skirt that allows a small quantity of coolant to bleed through the entire system at all times. Mine has been in about two years and I cover long distances each week summer and winter. Since fitting it my coolant LED never goes past the LED irrespective of driving conditions. Never had any problems with coolant loss, rad fan kicking in, etc. When I bled the sytem it was far easier and quicker to do. Rightly or wrongly I have stuck with it. The 'headroom' it gives seems to suit my engine and it runs fine on both LPG and petrol. The only downside is that the lower skirt diameter that sits at the bottom of the housing needs to be dressed back slightly but easy to do with a pair of tin snips.

angelo, that makes sense, thanks for that. i think it's good to have somewhere for air to bleed out. it's done on racing engines. i have kept an eye on the stat and it seems fine a little over halfway and levels when driving along.

Jiggle pins are fairly commonly used to aid the bleeding out of air in the cooling system.
Martin