Gettin hot and bothered

[Spoggle]

A little advice please chaps......went to the Lakes with the caravan last weekend, yes I know it rained Well on the way back on the A66 the old girl started to struggle a bit going over Stainmoor, nothing too bad mind ,but she was heading towards the red. Luck was on my side and a layby appeared so I could pull in and let things cool down a bit. I noticed that she was chucking a little bit of water out from the overflow pipe on the expantion tank, but not a huge amount. Having managed to get home without further exitement I decided to top the cooling system up. Removed rad cap let her tick over etc.This is question 1, Didnt have to put much water in only about a pint. This took about half an hour, pouring in a little at a time, noted vortex type effect in top of filler and a few bubbles, not a lot, but what you could expect on the top on a pint of southern beer.Is this normal? Should I be alarmed by these bubbles and contact Stevo now or will she live to fight another day. I have fitted an override switch on the electric fan, and use it when I see a hill on its way.Am I doing it right? I am going to fit a couple of bonnet vents (facing towards the screen) to try and draw heat out . And am also trying to build up the nerve to try and fit an ATF cooler ( not sure if Im up to it though, wife would kill me if I couldnt put it back together again).
As always any advice or observations are more than welcome.


Thanks in advance, Spoggle

[BUSHWHACKER]

Sounds to me that it's o.k. and you stopped before anything serious. When the engine overheats, coolant is forced into the expansion tank. When the engine cools, the coolant is sucked back into the cooling system, so that's why you only needed a little water to top the level up.
Always make sure the end of the tube in the expansion tank is submerged so no air is drawn into the coolant.

As for the transmission cooler.......
http://www.showmesome.info/hilux/workshop/oilcooler.htm

[Spoggle]

Cheers for that Vince, Phew!!! Anyone got any suggestions about an ATF cooler. No decent breakers around here, saw some Serk oil coolers on Fleabay the other day, and I suppose as they are new would come with fittings. Any ideas about size or suppliers? Had a look at that link Vince, havent got the nerve to show the wife though!! Always seem to have a few bits left over when I put anything back together again. What about a bigger fan? Would that be worth fitting whilst the front ends off, and again any suggestions of one that may fit.

Cheers; Spoggle

[BUSHWHACKER]

Not sure wether fitting a bigger electric fan is the answer, as the factory fan is covering nearly half of the rad already.
Bonnet vents are the way to go, 'cos as your moving, the hot air from the engine bay is forced out, improving the efficiency of the engine fan/radiator.


I think Range Rover coolers fit, give Tim (DirtyDog) a Shout.


How about one of these for a vent, awesome I reckon!
http://www.andon.net/html/?go=hoodvent

[Spoggle]

Verry interesting......but how d'ya keep the snow out in the winter No I think I had something a little more subtle in mind, couple of louvers, one on each side of the bonnet. Recon I could fit one over the top of the turbo, that should get rid of a fair bit of heat

Cheers: Spoggle

[BUSHWHACKER]

It would be good for burgers!

[Spoggle]

Hell, just bought a new barbie

Spoggle

[MattF]

I think Range Rover coolers fit, give Tim (DirtyDog) a Shout.


How about one of these for a vent, awesome I reckon!
http://www.andon.net/html/?go=hoodvent

Hell, I thought I had some weird ideas. Can't hold a light to that chap.

Do R.R's have the seperate standalone assembly? Was talking to a scr*pper
the other day, and he reckoned fitting a seperate cooler could be detrimental.
Any known side effects?

[BUSHWHACKER]

A seperate cooler would cool the fluid much better than the standard one which is at the bottom of the main rad.
It's the hot transmission fluid that contributes to the increase in engine coolant temps, so if you can give the transmission it's own cooler then the engine should, theoretically run cooler.

[phoebelala]

A little advice please chaps......went to the Lakes with the caravan last weekend, yes I know it rained Well on the way back on the A66 the old girl started to struggle a bit going over Stainmoor, nothing too bad mind ,but she was heading towards the red. Luck was on my side and a layby appeared so I could pull in and let things cool down a bit. I noticed that she was chucking a little bit of water out from the overflow pipe on the expantion tank, but not a huge amount. Having managed to get home without further exitement I decided to top the cooling system up. Removed rad cap let her tick over etc.This is question 1, Didnt have to put much water in only about a pint. This took about half an hour, pouring in a little at a time, noted vortex type effect in top of filler and a few bubbles, not a lot, but what you could expect on the top on a pint of southern beer.Is this normal? Should I be alarmed by these bubbles and contact Stevo now or will she live to fight another day. I have fitted an override switch on the electric fan, and use it when I see a hill on its way.Am I doing it right? I am going to fit a couple of bonnet vents (facing towards the screen) to try and draw heat out . And am also trying to build up the nerve to try and fit an ATF cooler ( not sure if Im up to it though, wife would kill me if I couldnt put it back together again).
As always any advice or observations are more than welcome.


Thanks in advance, Spoggle

I honestly think a good cooling system service with serious rad and system flush has got to be money better spent than adding vents that were never needed in the first place. Lets consider the markets that Yota shipped these beasts to in the first place for a while....................... OK, some of them are blumin hot, a lot hotter than here for a start. If your system is in good order it will be fine without bonnet vents. MY opinion

[Apache]

I just bought a cooler off eBay (a 19 row one) and will be fitting it as suggested by Tony (ie in series with the rad cooler). Hopefully will get around to it in the next week or two.

Incidentally, got some spotlights off eBay the other day. Real bargain! Brand new Hella Rallye 3000s. Demon Tweeks want over £70+vat per lamp. Mine were £30 the pair!

[Spoggle]

I honestly think a good cooling system service with serious rad and system flush has got to be money better spent than adding vents that were never needed in the first place. Lets consider the markets that Yota shipped these beasts to in the first place for a while....................... OK, some of them are blumin hot, a lot hotter than here for a start. If your system is in good order it will be fine without bonnet vents. MY opinion

Have to say that this is something that I have found a bit perplexing as well. Not that I'm an expert on geography, but I always thought that the land of the rising sun would have been quite a bit warmer than dear old blighty. If this is the case why oh why did the boffins at Toyota make such a cock up of the 2.4 head . O.k the speed limit is, I think, a lot lower than in the UK. But I'm sure that traffic is more congested than here, so things must get a lot hotter. This being the case, why so many over heating problems and busted heads? On the subject of flushing the cooling system, I was reading on some website the other day that it's a waste of time as once the sediment has settled it's almost impossible to shift and that most flushing agents just dont do what it says on the tin. I dont know cos I aint an expert but if anyone wants to advise, well , I'm willing to listen.

What about just taking the whole bonnet off!!!

Cheers; Spoggle.

[MattF]

Have to say that this is something that I have found a bit perplexing as well. Not that I'm an expert on geography, but I always thought that the land of the rising sun would have been quite a bit warmer than dear old blighty. If this is the case why oh why did the boffins at Toyota make such a cock up of the 2.4 head . O.k the speed limit is, I think, a lot lower than in the UK. But I'm sure that traffic is more congested than here, so things must get a lot hotter. This being the case, why so many over heating problems and busted heads? On the subject of flushing the cooling system, I was reading on some website the other day that it's a waste of time as once the sediment has settled it's almost impossible to shift and that most flushing agents just dont do what it says on the tin. I dont know cos I aint an expert but if anyone wants to advise, well , I'm willing to listen.

What about just taking the whole bonnet off!!!

Cheers; Spoggle.

With regards to the heat issues, age, wear and tear, pure bad luck.
Thing is they generally will cope okay. No excuse for not adding bits
though. Also one thing to remember is that a lot of these vehicles get
subjected to towing as well, which is something that is usually catered
for in a borderline fashion by the original engineers.

With regards to the rad flush, it's true. However, it will shift some of
the softer cr*p. Any less gunge is better than none. At the end of the
day, good maintenance on the cooling system upon initial purchase
will always be the most beneficial per pound measure.

[dave.j.robbo]

What about just taking the whole bonnet off!!!

Cheers; Spoggle.

I have been thinking along a similar line... Not removing the bonnet, but how about raising the rear edge to create a gap along the rear edge?

Old Beetles sometimes have a 'stand off' engine cover to aid cooling.. Could it work?
Shouldn't be too difficult. Just some spacers to raise the bonnet off the hinge brackets.. Not sure what would happen when it rains, though..

Any thoughts??

[stormforce]

I have been thinking along a similar line... Not removing the bonnet, but how about raising the rear edge to create a gap along the rear edge?

Old Beetles sometimes have a 'stand off' engine cover to aid cooling.. Could it work?
Shouldn't be too difficult. Just some spacers to raise the bonnet off the hinge brackets.. Not sure what would happen when it rains, though..

Any thoughts??

i know of a couple of preludes that have done the same thing and they reacon it helps