Overheating Tamora - advice please
Discussion
Evening all, it's been a while (many years of non-participation and no TVR driving!)
I ran my 2005 Tamora for the first time in 3 years today, and although the battery needed help, she started and ran beautifully... no dramas, no seized brakes, clutch was fine, gears were fine, in fact it was looking exceedingly good!
Then a puff of steam from the expansion tank... temp up at 104. Engine off home to consider things!
Just been back and done/seen the following:
1) Added about 1/2 pint of new coolant into the expansion tank which was empty, it seemed to hold level at at 50% full
2) Started the car, ran it for a while, observed bubbling in the expansion tank but level stayed pretty consistent
3) Fan one came on about 75, fan two about 85 (very small time gap between these)
4) Squeezed the hose coming out of the top of the radiator at about (nothing happened no bubbling anywhere and it felt empty)
5) I replaced the expansion tank cap and continued to watch temps
6) Observed the water temp rising (oil still about rising nicely and at about 47 at this point)
7) Turned on the cabin heater to hot, no hot air came out, not even a cough! Cold air was ok.
8) Watched the temp climb to 100 - water sensor error showed (think as temp flipped the 100 mark - or close to it)
9) Turned everything off to have a think before any more overheating
Looked over the engine observing:
1) No drips or leaks, no fluids on the ground
2) The expansion tank was cool to the touch
3) Touched the swirl tank (Think thats what the vertical metal column with the slotted 'cap' is called, it was very hot
4) Touched the lower radiator hose, it was very hot
5) Touched the top radiator hose, it was very cold (and still empty feeling)
Any thoughts or advice? (I'm suspecting a blocked rad or similar, but I'm not an expert - or particularly knowledgeable!)
Thanks,
Matt
I ran my 2005 Tamora for the first time in 3 years today, and although the battery needed help, she started and ran beautifully... no dramas, no seized brakes, clutch was fine, gears were fine, in fact it was looking exceedingly good!
Then a puff of steam from the expansion tank... temp up at 104. Engine off home to consider things!
Just been back and done/seen the following:
1) Added about 1/2 pint of new coolant into the expansion tank which was empty, it seemed to hold level at at 50% full
2) Started the car, ran it for a while, observed bubbling in the expansion tank but level stayed pretty consistent
3) Fan one came on about 75, fan two about 85 (very small time gap between these)
4) Squeezed the hose coming out of the top of the radiator at about (nothing happened no bubbling anywhere and it felt empty)
5) I replaced the expansion tank cap and continued to watch temps
6) Observed the water temp rising (oil still about rising nicely and at about 47 at this point)
7) Turned on the cabin heater to hot, no hot air came out, not even a cough! Cold air was ok.
8) Watched the temp climb to 100 - water sensor error showed (think as temp flipped the 100 mark - or close to it)
9) Turned everything off to have a think before any more overheating
Looked over the engine observing:
1) No drips or leaks, no fluids on the ground
2) The expansion tank was cool to the touch
3) Touched the swirl tank (Think thats what the vertical metal column with the slotted 'cap' is called, it was very hot
4) Touched the lower radiator hose, it was very hot
5) Touched the top radiator hose, it was very cold (and still empty feeling)
Any thoughts or advice? (I'm suspecting a blocked rad or similar, but I'm not an expert - or particularly knowledgeable!)
Thanks,
Matt
Sounds like an airlock or dodgy thermostat to me. Although, please bear in mind, I am not a mechanic!
A few years ago, I had my T350C fitted with a modification to auto-bleed the cooling system and prevent any airlocks. It was supplied/fitted by Track V Road in Clitheroe.
Hope that helps.
A few years ago, I had my T350C fitted with a modification to auto-bleed the cooling system and prevent any airlocks. It was supplied/fitted by Track V Road in Clitheroe.
Hope that helps.
Edited by Mr.Chips on Sunday 12th April 20:07
This won't apply to your initial issue, but during the static testing did you leave the engine idling all the time?
By bringing revs up to about 2k the pump starts moving the coolant more effectively and you should see a small but noticeable drop in temperature.
Having written that if your top hose is cold then a change of thermostat seems a good first step.
If that's the only issue after 3 years it seems like a great result
By bringing revs up to about 2k the pump starts moving the coolant more effectively and you should see a small but noticeable drop in temperature.
Having written that if your top hose is cold then a change of thermostat seems a good first step.
If that's the only issue after 3 years it seems like a great result
Don't make the mistake of thinking that about 100C (or 200F) is as hot as you should ever see. The coolant system cap is there to pressurise the system and allow higher coolant temperature before it boils.
Is the system pressurising correctly? You can check this by very carefully loosening the cap from a warm system. Do not scald yourself! Sometimes a new coolant cap is all that's needed.
From cold start the engine heats the coolant in the block, the thermostat opens and cold coolant floods into the engine from the cold radiator - so the thermostat will close again until that batch of coolant has heated and the cycle continues. The cabin heater is usually plumbed in before the thermostat, making it the first thing to receive hot water from the engine. If the 'stat is stuck open the heater can be slow to warm up. Also if the stat is stuck open it would probably take quite some time to get anywhere near an engine overheat. That's more likely with it stuck closed, in which case the heater should get hot.
You mention the fans coming on. Where is the switch that triggers the fans? It's usually a different sensor from the one that runs the temperature gauge, the point being that temperature is measured in different locations for different purposes.
One question is why your coolant level has dropped. Some of the symptoms here may point towards water pump..
Is the system pressurising correctly? You can check this by very carefully loosening the cap from a warm system. Do not scald yourself! Sometimes a new coolant cap is all that's needed.
From cold start the engine heats the coolant in the block, the thermostat opens and cold coolant floods into the engine from the cold radiator - so the thermostat will close again until that batch of coolant has heated and the cycle continues. The cabin heater is usually plumbed in before the thermostat, making it the first thing to receive hot water from the engine. If the 'stat is stuck open the heater can be slow to warm up. Also if the stat is stuck open it would probably take quite some time to get anywhere near an engine overheat. That's more likely with it stuck closed, in which case the heater should get hot.
You mention the fans coming on. Where is the switch that triggers the fans? It's usually a different sensor from the one that runs the temperature gauge, the point being that temperature is measured in different locations for different purposes.
One question is why your coolant level has dropped. Some of the symptoms here may point towards water pump..
Many thanks to all.
I did blip the throttle to see if the temp varied… it didn’t, or at least not that I could tell. I too wondered if the water pump may be suspect, but nothings making any odd noises so starting with a new thermostat and seeing how that works. Hoping that it’s not a complicated fix.
I did blip the throttle to see if the temp varied… it didn’t, or at least not that I could tell. I too wondered if the water pump may be suspect, but nothings making any odd noises so starting with a new thermostat and seeing how that works. Hoping that it’s not a complicated fix.
My T350 used to run very hot too.. 110-115 in traffic.... i found that very very stressful at times, always worried it might boil over but it didn't as far as i can remember. The guys at Track v Road never found anything really wrong with it, and it did run a little cooler when i had the breather mod done and had both fans come on earlier.
My Sagaris runs much cooler, but as soon as I hit traffic it still goes up to 100, which for some reason I still find stressful, but both fans come on and cool it down.
They are big engines, tucked right under the bulkhead, and I think generally they do run a little hotter than most, but I rarely have to top up the coolant, so if you've lost coolant look for leaks from the hoses both when its hot and when it cools down as well as possible leak from the water pump as advised
The coolant pot cap being knackered is a new one on me - never thought they could potentially fail and let pressure out of the system - good point and worth checking too !
My Sagaris runs much cooler, but as soon as I hit traffic it still goes up to 100, which for some reason I still find stressful, but both fans come on and cool it down.
They are big engines, tucked right under the bulkhead, and I think generally they do run a little hotter than most, but I rarely have to top up the coolant, so if you've lost coolant look for leaks from the hoses both when its hot and when it cools down as well as possible leak from the water pump as advised
The coolant pot cap being knackered is a new one on me - never thought they could potentially fail and let pressure out of the system - good point and worth checking too !
I've noticed over the last 15 years two things:
First: the water temperature in the system is lower than what the system displays. When I measure the temperature with a thermometer on the hoses right next to the engine, it's usually lower. At the expansion tank, it only shows 70 or 75°C, even though the engine temperature sensor reads over 100°C. The hoses leading to the radiator and the radiator itself are even cooler.
Second: the expansion tank has a fixed level; for me, when cold, it’s about two-thirds full, and still below the inlet pipe coming from the engine. If I top it off, the car spits it out.
However, you mentioned that you hadn’t added any water, so I would expect that overfilling isn’t the issue.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
First: the water temperature in the system is lower than what the system displays. When I measure the temperature with a thermometer on the hoses right next to the engine, it's usually lower. At the expansion tank, it only shows 70 or 75°C, even though the engine temperature sensor reads over 100°C. The hoses leading to the radiator and the radiator itself are even cooler.
Second: the expansion tank has a fixed level; for me, when cold, it’s about two-thirds full, and still below the inlet pipe coming from the engine. If I top it off, the car spits it out.
However, you mentioned that you hadn’t added any water, so I would expect that overfilling isn’t the issue.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
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