overheating

[charles ramsey]

I found an 1967 alpine in a field. It was torn apart and half of the finish was sanded down to the metal. This was in 1989. I have been working on it in my spare time since.

It is now almost complete. Two problems left. When I idle the engine, it slowly overheats to about 100c. I then have to turn the motor off. I replaced the thermostat 82c, new water pump, flushed the radiator twice, took it to a shop and had the flow checked, replaced the ignition components and varied the timing, replaced the fuel pump, checked that the fan belt was tight. Could too lean a fuel mixture cause the problem or are there deposits in the radiator after sitting 19 years that could cause the problem?

Also, the wheels were rusted, had to replace most of the spokes. Where can I get the wheels adjusted. Any help is appreciated.
charles

 

[alpine_64]

OK.. assuming the gauge is right and the motor is actually over heating i'd say you would have to be really off on the mixtures to cause this issue.

Radiator will deffinatly be a place to start. Did you pull the motor down? Chances are the water passages in the heads are blocked, the passages in the block too, esp round the rear where the last welsh plug is hiding.

Start at the radiator and work your way from there, Ian spencer here offers a service to rebuild and upgrade the core which would be a good place to start.

 

[64beam]

Hi Charles,

You would assume that the a flow test should show a blockage in the engine, but it would depend on where the blockage was I suppose. Do as Michael suggested and maybe check that the correct temperature sensor is fitted also.

Regards, Robin.

 

[Bill Blue]

Verify water temperature at the top of the radiator. I removed the radiator cap when cold, inserted a cooking thermometer and fired it up and compared readings as the engine warmed. The gauge was off by 20* F., which does not seem to be unusual. Infrared thermometers also work well, but are not nearly the fun.

Seems that putting a temp gauge in an Alpine is an unlimited license for it to go wacko. I have VDO gauges in a Pinto engined Series V and the temp gauge reads high!

Bill

 

[Ken Ellis]

Charles,

First up, those are pretty small problems compared to starting with an abandoned, disassembled Alpine -- congrats on that!

On your overheating, in addition to the radiator and block flow recommendations made above, try running it without a thermostat in the housing, just to see if it has any cooling capacity, rather than just not enough. Secondly, measure the depth of the radiator neck, like top surface to the base the radiator cap gasket sits on, and compare it to the measurement from the inside top of the radiator cap to the face of the gasket. As I recall, some cars are 3/4 inch, some are 1 inch. If you have a 1" radiator with a 3/4" cap, then a seal is never established, pressure never builds up, and things don't work well. Look in the early Alpine Marque magazines posted in SAOCA Info in the links at the top of the page. Ian Spencer went throught this with a car once -- look at the symptoms he discusses, and compare them to your own.

On the wheels, do a search of the forum. I believe a few outfits have been discussed in the last 6 months or so.

Good luck!
Ken

PS -- as others mentioned, check the actual temperature independently, too. A common problem is that the electrical devices in the temp/fuel guage circuit can fail, causing false-high readings from both. There is a regulator behind the dash that knocks 12v down to 10v for these two gauges. If that regulator is not working, and is passing a full 12v to the gauges, they will read high when, in fact, all is fine. So, check the actual temperature, and if it is correct, then do a forum search for "instrument regulator" and dive in. I caution, though: make triple-sure the temp is fine (by other measurements) before assuming the temp gauge to be wrong. 'Tis better to err on the side of caution than to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous overheating. Plan for the worst, and hope for the best.

 

[husky drvr]

Charles,

First up, those are pretty small problems compared to starting with an abandoned, disassembled Alpine -- congrats on that!

On your overheating, in addition to the radiator and block flow recommendations made above, try running it without a thermostat in the housing, just to see if it has any cooling capacity, rather than just not enough. Secondly, measure the depth of the radiator neck, like top surface to the base the radiator cap gasket sits on, and compare it to the measurement from the inside top of the radiator cap to the face of the gasket. As I recall, some cars are 3/4 inch, some are 1 inch. If you have a 1" radiator with a 3/4" cap, then a seal is never established, pressure never builds up, and things don't work well. Look in the early Alpine Marque magazines posted in SAOCA Info in the links at the top of the page. Ian Spencer went throught this with a car once -- look at the symptoms he discusses, and compare them to your own.

On the wheels, do a search of the forum. I believe a few outfits have been discussed in the last 6 months or so.

Good luck!
Ken

PS -- as others mentioned, check the actual temperature independently, too. A common problem is that the electrical devices in the temp/fuel guage circuit can fail, causing false-high readings from both. There is a regulator behind the dash that knocks 12v down to 10v for these two gauges. If that regulator is not working, and is passing a full 12v to the gauges, they will read high when, in fact, all is fine. So, check the actual temperature, and if it is correct, then do a forum search for "instrument regulator" and dive in. I caution, though: make triple-sure the temp is fine (by other measurements) before assuming the temp gauge to be wrong. 'Tis better to err on the side of caution than to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous overheating. Plan for the worst, and hope for the best.

^^ What he said!

 

[rnimares]

over heating

My Series IV temp. gage will go up to 220 degrees but there is never any over flow from the radiator, and the water level stays up. Should I be concern with a 220 reading and shouldn't there be a sign of the water expanding through the over flow at the temp?

Rick

 

[tony perrett]

Your gauge may be reading high or (more likely) the sensor is faulty.

 

[TulsaAlpine]

Get the Rad recored!

Do yourself a favor now and just get the Rad re-cored. Similar situation my set forever in a field rusting away took 3-years for the restoration work. All seemed fine was running hot at times, when the summer heat hit 90+ degrees. The restoration included sending the radiator and heater core to a bad shop to be rodded and pressure checked. Pulled into the local cruise just a few months after restoration and my rad was spewing like Shamu. Seems the BAD shop dipped my rad painted it nice and shiny black. I took it to a GOOD shop and his comment was the thing was rotted, replaced with 3-row core and problem solved. Well almost solved seems as time went on the heater core that was also painted shiny black was leaking the whole time, got it replaced last fall and Wahoo even better this year at keeping the temp at the 180 degree mark. Cost under $200.00 bucks but never having it spew in front of the car people, Priceless!
And while were on the subject when I replaced the heater core we flushed the whole system and instead of adding back the mix type antifreeze I used the pre-mix type, somewhere it was suggested that the type of water out of you your local tap mixed with antifreeze is not as good (Not deionized) as the already mixed antifreeze it might prove to be less corrosive over the years. The cost is maybe 10 bucks more for the pre-mix so my theory was why not use it if it may be better, are rads are so small and do not use that much antifreeze.

Donna

 

[RootesRooter]

While you at the radiator shop, you should have had them pressure-check the whole cooling system. It's a one-minute job that'll eliminate a likely culprit for overheating: a blown head gasket.

It also could be that you have the typical problem of built-up silt near the back of the block. A power flush probably wouldn't budge it, and the only way to know for sure is to pull the engine and pop out the freeze plugs for a look-see. Hopefully the other solutions offered work so don't get to that point!