Taking Griff abroad

[Burriana500]

I am taking my '96 500 down through France, over the Pyrenees and down to the south of Spain in August. Obviously I am getting pretty giddy about the trip but am worried about breakdowns... more specifically overheating. My fans never cut in until 90 deg - and the temp goes upto 100 before stabilising, never seems to drop though until you get up some speed and the ram effect cuts in. I was thinking of asking Jules at Joospeed to fit a thermostat that will cut in earlier, say 80 deg, and also fitting the fans with the curved blades as opposed to my current flat faced ones.

Does this seem a reasonable course of action?

Also, has anyone done a trip down to Spain before in the heat? I think I should take a pack of emergency repair bits and pieces like head gaskets, thermostats, fan belt, ignition leads and so on - anyone got any ideas as to a list of 'must takes'?

Thanks!

[guillotine]

did italy...

best advice is to use waterwetter. will drop temp by 5 degrees and improve system performance.

new otter switch is a good idea, but running without antifreeze will also reduce running temp 5-10 degrees. MUST us waterwetter etc for anti-corosion etc.

spares...lots in steves book, basics tho

plug
longest lead
oil
water
fuses
lamps
throttle cable
tool kit

best advice is to have it thoroughly checked for touring. belts changed,plugs changed oils etc.

then drive and enjoy

[mel]

If you phone Leven they do a natty kit that contains water wetter and new thermostat/switch to aid cool running, its also easy enough to fit it all yourself.

[mongoose]

tried water wetter and it made no discerable difference imho.you can fit a lower temp thermostat which is fully open at 74oc(i think)and this would be a must for me if i were taking mine to hot climates.also you can make the fans run faster by running them on seperate cicuits-see modwise for kit or diy costing £9 for parts,i dont think its worth the trouble or expense of changing the fans.also would fit a lower temp otter switch with a cut in say at 82oc.as for spares i agree with whats already been said with the inclusion of a plug cap to go with the longest lead

[griffman]

guillotine said: did italy...

best advice is to use waterwetter. will drop temp by 5 degrees and improve system performance.

new otter switch is a good idea, but running without antifreeze will also reduce running temp 5-10 degrees. MUST us waterwetter etc for anti-corosion etc.

spares...lots in steves book, basics tho

plug
longest lead
oil
water
fuses
lamps
throttle cable
tool kit

best advice is to have it thoroughly checked for touring. belts changed,plugs changed oils etc.

then drive and enjoy

i second that. take the spares with you as you never know. i drove thru spain last year in temperatures upto 35 some days and did not have any probs at all. the roads are good people very friendly not alot of traffic aswell and best of all no speed cameras. try to stay off the motorways cos the alternative roads are a dream to drive on and secenary to die for.
enjoy.
get a service and rad flush aswell before you leave and call peninsula for a lower rating fan switch.

[marki]

A few years ago when i had my Wedge i did the south of France on the way down the cooling fans packed up , not such a problem on motorways or even the Route Napolien , got to Juan Le Pen and put it in a Citroen garage then had WLA in Maidstone where i purchased the car UPS down a set of fans and the garage fitted them first class job by the Froggy and WLA .

In all it was fixed in 3-4 days which was fine by me as i was too pissed during that time to drive anyhow so i escaped getting the car trailered home , i guess Wedges or Griff`s are quite basic to work on really even a Froggy Citroen dude can fix them

[Lensey]

Snap! I'm going down to Spain in July, I plan on doing about 2800 miles. My car goes into David Batty tomorrow and I will have the anti-freeze taken out and replaced with water wetter, the thermostat replaced and all the hoses checked for wear. It is also having a service and MOT so should be A1 for Le Mans. I will take the advice from Steve and take the essential spares.

I don't think we will have to many problems with the heat until we actually get down to Spain and get stuck in the town traffic.

[simon.b]

I've never taken my Griff abroad so for what its worth, I would fit at the very least a fan override switch and, if funds are available, a duel speed mod-wise kit. I would also fit a splitter, these definitely improve cooling on the move, though you will have to take more care with ground clearance especially at the docks.

Cheers,

Simon.

[Burriana500]

Thanks for all the info guys - what exactly is water wetter then? And I presume the otter switch is the one that kicks the fans in???

I think I'll ask Jools @ Joospeed to fit the lower temp thermostat and otter switch, flush out the whole system and put water wetter in (I presume I have to reverse this process when it gets to winter!) Getting the fans to run faster seems a plus aswell if it is quite an easy job to do - ARE YOU GETTING ALL THIS JOOLS?!

As you will all have gathered by now - I am a complete numpty when it comes to car DIY - I always worry that things'll never go back quite how they should!

Griffman - where'd you go in Spain? I'm heading down to Nerja just East of Malaga, so the quickest way is down tru Madrid, not ideal, had thought about taking an extra day and dropping down the coast via Barca, but if it's anything like the Costa Del Sol, the new Auto Vias run about 5k in from the coast anyway, so I might aswel be inland.

Any routes or experiences welcome - and thanks again for all the info guys.

Al in Yorkshire!

[Lensey]

I go to Costa Blanca and take the E15 (Autoroute) from Narbonne all the way down. The E15 runs out at Murcia and it takes so long to get anywhere if you go on their A roads, I think I would go the most direct way and then have more time cruising around the coast near Malaga.

[griffman]

i will dig out the route and reply asap.

[snarfy]

Fan belt might be useful too in the list as I'm sure people have mentioned getting hold of correct belt can be a problem.
I went down to spain on the santander ferry, and then back up through France. Only probs were the heat blowing over the windscreen when stuck in traffic..Felt hotter than a bloody hairdryer ! Also as simon mentioned, beware of the ramps on and off and within the ferries. Had plenty of scrapes under the car. Ouch!

[Moto]

Ditto the ramps !! I jammed on the upper lip and 2 guys came over grabbed the rear wheel arches and lifted me over. Luckily no damage to the arches. Going down and coming back, I found that going over the lip at a slight angle solved the problem.

[tj500]

Haven't used the Griff through a Spanish summer yet (acquired last Nov) so can't really comment on potential heating probs when the ambient temp is at its fiercest. Temps can be 40º+ in July & August here, perhaps a bit less on the coast. Had her out extensively over the last few days (the Spans, being very civilised take a 4-day weekend for the May Day celebs!)& outside temps were occasionally well over 30º, all systems functioning beautifully (although having air-con minimises any cabin heat build-up).

Traffic is gonna be BAD in July & August, whichever way you splice it. Basically Spain & France close down for their hols for these 2 months (Aug especially) & everyone gets on the road to somewhere. I second the suggestion to stick to the M'ways and then do your back-road blasting once you get to Nerja.

Should you have any serious mechanical probs (God forbid) anywhere near Madrid, I've found a brilliant Spanish mechanic who specialises in Brit classics & V8s who did all my Griff's servicing prior to my buying her. She's a very well sorted car IMHO.

Anyone stopping off in Madrid, give us a shout. Not too much other Griff activity / gossip in these parts!

tj

[Burriana500]

Arrrgh!... Just found out that Joolz @ Joospeed is stopping doing servicing to concentrate on performance stuff ... anyone know anywhere around West Yorks that they can recommend using without paying main dealer rates for little jobs like fitting fan over ride switches and system flushing etc???

TJ... any ideas on where best to stop in North of Spain just as I come down off the Pyrenees after first day's drive down though France? I'll clear Calais about 06.30 and hopefully reach the Pyrenees mid to late afternoon... Any ideas of the best / most scenic route over?

Thanks again for all the input guys.

al.

[Lensey]

I've heard that Perpignan is supposed to be quite nice? I haven't actually been there but I did see it on the TV not so long ago. May be worth looking at?

[tj500]

Never actually been over the Pyrenees myself, only been round to left or right (ie Atlantic or Med) so can't recommend any best route over. If you're going over it'll be non-M'way & thus much slower.

Are u coming down thru Burgos/Madrid or going the eastern route following the Med? (latter is much longer way to get to Nerja IMHO). If the former, I would recommend a stopover in a lovely village in the Basque Country called Mundaka, on the coast just north of Gernika about an hour (traffic allowing) from the French border. In my yoof used to go & surf there a lot (in winter frequently has the biggest rideable waves in Europe). There's a great little hotel there about 70 Eur/night, e-mail me off-line if interested, you'd have to book soon, alternatively if budget is tight there's a great campsite there which does a great chicken bbq for peanuts.

Don't wanna put a damper on things but I think Calais to N Spain in 8/9 hours may be a tad optimistic in August, specially if you're going off M'ways.

tj

[david beer]

Al, i have dropped you a message.

[Burriana500]

Hi TJ... I will be coming straight down through France on the motorways, over one of the scenic routes across the Pyrenees, then straight down to Madrid... Granada... then down to the coast at Almuneca. If it takes longer, another day driving... what a bummer