Tempreture problems on a '87 Mini

[bmt216a]

Hello.

I have a standard Mini 1000 and when I take it upto 60/70, the temperature just shoots to 3/4 mark. It dosnt matter if the weather is cool or hot. When its hot I end up putting my heater on and I have also fitted an electric fan on the otherside of the rad ( the fan sucks not blows ) it will then sit at 3/4 hot.

I have checked the water pump by taking the top rad hose of and running the car.

I have also used strong car rad flush and filled with 50% antifreeze.

Also I have changed the sendor unit 3 times ( for second hand ones I know that work)

And last of all am running with the thermostat out.

Any helpers?

Cheers

Ian

[wildoliver]

try running with the thermostat in, unless your running a thermo blanking tube you won't be getting waterflow around cylinder 4

[bmt216a]

I will give that a go now.

Thanks

Ian

p.s just looked at your profile. See you have a 964. I also have one. Its slate grey coupe. Nice car to drive.

[Mikey G]

wildoliver said:

try running with the thermostat in, unless your running a thermo blanking tube you won't be getting waterflow around cylinder 4

Yep good advice, surprising the number of people who cant get there head around this.
If the grill is clear, the pump is ok, thermostat working, rad is flushed, is the engine in a good state of tune? not running weak or pinking? a weak mixture can cause overheating too. Check the spark plugs, if they look a white colour could be your problem.

[leorest]

bmt216a said:

...I have also fitted an electric fan on the otherside of the rad ( the fan sucks not blows ) it will then sit at 3/4 hot.

Double check that the direction of flow for your extra fan is the same as the original airflow otherwise it will make things worse! Going back a few years my 850 mini benefited from an electric fan both on running temperatures and performance (such as it was LOL). The performance gain came from when I cut down the belt driven fan by a couple of inches which released a noticeable amount of power to the wheels instead of shifting air. Oh happy days...

[Mikey G]

leorest said:

bmt216a said:

...I have also fitted an electric fan on the otherside of the rad ( the fan sucks not blows ) it will then sit at 3/4 hot.

Double check that the direction of flow for your extra fan is the same as the original airflow otherwise it will make things worse! Going back a few years my 850 mini benefited from an electric fan both on running temperatures and performance (such as it was LOL). The performance gain came from when I cut down the belt driven fan by a couple of inches which released a noticeable amount of power to the wheels instead of shifting air. Oh happy days...

I totaly removed my fan, stopped that whiny windy noise too

[leorest]

Mikey G said:

I totaly removed my fan, stopped that whiny windy noise too

I tried all configurations but ended up with a small belt driven fan asisted by the leccy one. Seemed to work best for me.

[bmt216a]

My electric fan I fitted dose help the cooling, the guage stops going up when its on. I am running with the thermostat in now but still seems to be hot. I had the car on a rolling road the other day so its all set up, also checked my plugs and they are a good colour.

Basically I am driving to Mongolia in 2 weeks and worried about the tempereture.

[leorest]

bmt216a said:

...Basically I am driving to Mongolia in 2 weeks and worried about the tempereture.

I don't suppose there are many times in your life you get to say that! LOL

[bmt216a]

No there isnt. Am starting to think I am not going to get there. Its just problem after problem with this car. Think its a friday afternoon job. Its only done 40,000

[wildoliver]

Well if you want to sell it let me know!

[Justin S]

If you are going to Mongolia,you won't get there,if you are having cooling problems here.I know these things are done on a budget,but best is to get a large capacity rad from Minispares and bolt that in.It will have more cooling and your old rad is probably blocked with crud anyway.Also go to the breakers and get a mini heater.Strip it out and remove the rad core.Plumb this into the heating circuit and bolt it to the front side in front of the distributor.This will increase the capacity.We used to run 130bhp+ mini engines like this and cured the cooling problems,with an electric fan.
Did see one of the competition today on the M4.A grey coloured Seat thing,with Mongolia stickers on it and graffitti'd up and an Audi badge on the back (maybe an S3 in disguise) Good luck,sounds a good laugh.

[bmt216a]

Yeah I am going to replace the rad i think. Was thinking a brand new standard rad would be ok, but do you recommend a 4 core rad?

Cant wait. Leave sat week.

[annodomini2]

bmt216a said:

Yeah I am going to replace the rad i think. Was thinking a brand new standard rad would be ok, but do you recommend a 4 core rad?

Cant wait. Leave sat week.

The 2 Core is the best I think, check with Cooperman on the mini forum.