what else can be done???

[Thekraken]

So......after Milbrook weekend I decided to upgrade the radiator to an Ally job to hopefully improve cooling and add confidence during heavy traffic.....new thermostat thrown in to boot and a new temp sensor...car has stainless water pipes and Silicon's already........bigger fan 2 ,bigger fan 1 on order....mounting both fans to the Rad directly to maximise air flow.......and water wetter to be added!!!!!

So.......what next to lower running temps???

Electric water pump??
Ceramic coated manifolds??
Pray for colder weather??

There must be ways to get the running temps lower in traffic!!!!

[TheRainMaker]

Is it over heating?

[gruffalo]

You shouldn't need to do anything, the Cerb is not prone to over heating, the gauges on the other hand are prone to over reading.

It should run mid 90's in traffic.

[Bogsye]

My 4.2 is a pretty standard example. OE spec radiator fitted in the last few years and I can't say the temperature gets wildly too high. The stop start of the A1 traffic didn't seem too bad. The cooling fan seems to work well and brings the temperature down reasonably swiftly.

I've over praised my car this week, so this is bound to end in trouble! 💥

[Supateg]

I found ceramic coated manifolds reduced under bonnet temps.
I did this from a performance point of view and to help radiant heat damage in the engine bay chassis etc.

[Incognegro]

Sitting in traffic was always a worry for me also 1st thing I did to me and my dads was have these vents put in. Also the design assists front end downforce... Or so I keep telling myself lol

[morgie]

Racetech do a nice looking mod. New thermostat housing that can take an early opening thermostat that I could be tempted in buying in helping engine temp.
Mine stays at 90 on hot days but soon rises in motorway traffic then I stay on left hand side lane to plan my exist.

[Byker28i]

ECU mod to bring the fans on earlier?
Fan override switch?

Does the second fan only come on if you've the aircon running?

Had the car sitting in traffic several times in Belgium in hot temps, car got upto 95 according to the app, 100 on the gauge. Some of the other cars were getting warm but a quick blast of the heater brought it down

[gruffalo]

Byker28i said:

ECU mod to bring the fans on earlier?
Fan override switch?

Does the second fan only come on if you've the aircon running?

Had the car sitting in traffic several times in Belgium in hot temps, car got upto 95 according to the app, 100 on the gauge. Some of the other cars were getting warm but a quick blast of the heater brought it down

Second fan cuts in at about 95 which is why you will see the temp rise to around 95 and then drop till that fan cuts out at 92 I think, then it will start to rise again.

100deg is not over heating, about 115 is overheating so you have a 20deg or so margin.

Cerberas really do not overheat I think we have all got used to modern cars where the temp gauge is only a representation of is all ok or not, the engines temps do vary but the gauge does not show within tolerance variation and stays sat in the middle unless something is wrong.

[Thekraken]

So.......monster fan one going in tomorrow.....and water wetter.......if that combined with the new ally Rad and thermostat fails to produce the results....then i guess the finger of blame has to go to the water pump for not circulating at a decent rate....Electric replacement with continued circulation after shut down would be the next option.....
Would like to ceramic coat the manifolds to help with heat sink and reducing under bonnet temps, but i wont be able to hide that bill from the Mrs!!!!

[Thekraken]

And yes my capillary gauge is way inaccurate...it's 100 in traffic from The ecu reading!! Hence why I think it maybe the pump being Inadequate at low revs...is that a common issue ?

[Thekraken]

Perhaps I'm being too jittery about it...

[gruffalo]

Does your car boil the coolant, if not you may be looking for a problem that does not exist.

The ECU sensor can degrade with age, mine reads 10deg over the SPA temp gauge I fitted a couple of years ago.

If you go out side early morning knowing it is 15 degrees what does the engine ECU say the temp is?

The other way would be the take the sensor out and put it in warm water of a known temp ang measure the resistance between the pins and compare to the spec for the sensor.

The water pump is weak when sat in traffic, as it is for any car, try blipping the throttle on it every now and then to help the water round the system.

[purpleliability]

Try this place for ceramic coating, pricing seems pretty reasonable to me : http://www.performance1coatings.com/

I'll be getting my (currently wrapped) manifolds coated over winter, along with the decats.

Keeps the cabin cooler, along with the slave cylinder and under bonnet temps.

[jamieduff1981]

Thekraken said:

Perhaps I'm being too jittery about it...

With respect, you are. Cerbera cooling capacity is perfectly adequate. As Gruffalo says earlier - most people sit in blissful ignorance thanks to a temperature gauge which is electronically controlled and designed not to move away from the middle under normal operation. The Cerbera, like most mechanical cars (any 1960s / 70s / 80s classic) needle will move around as the coolant temperature varies within its acceptable limits.

[Thekraken]

The sensor is new a bosch one.....new doesn't mean accurate I know.....as I've been down that route with duff coil packs from new!! But comparison wise it seems accurate enough......Hasnt boiled it guts as yet but as it has touched 103 in traffic as per ecu sensor, before i dived for the inside lane and switched it off!!!
S to the coating of the manifolds cheers for the heads up i am going down that route as soon as i can afford it.....just want to keep the damage to chassis and other bits to a minimum plus it couldn't hurt any......

[pmessling]

Wrapping my manifolds made a difference. I have a SPA gauge and there is a little difference to the ecu temp not much. Remember that a pressured cooling systems boiling point changes so 100 degrees is within tolerance. The biggest difference is getting the cooling mod done to bring the fans in earlier.

Whilst at millbrook my car was reading about 94. I did use my override switch when we was stationary after we had been going round it a few times.

[Twinkam]

A lot of small/cheap cars don't even have a gauge at all, just a red light to explain the steam. If you do have a gauge, chances are it's not even graduated, it just has a 'happy' zone for the centre 80% It is only a 'gauge', not a calibrated scientific 'instrument'. Not saying that's good or progress or that I like it; but that's just the way it is. So possibly this concern of boiling up should be be filed under 'too much information is bad for you'.
Incidently, the cooling fan switching temperature on 'modern' cars is much higher than you would imagine; 105 on / 100 off is common on Fords, I had a Zafira in recently and that was 113 on / 105 off ...now that does make you sweat while you're waiting... watching the data... waiting... watching the data... waiting... watching the data...

[Thekraken]

Mind is set far more at ease....thank you gents!

[billybradshaw]

Thekraken said:

....new thermostat thrown in boot and a new temp sensor

I think the problem you've got is that you've put the thermostat in the boot...........