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Running hot - any advice?

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Europa73:
Hi all,

Just took the TCS out for the first time - and - my first time in a moving Europa - WOW

But - its running hot - needle settling around the marker to the right of 90.

During the restoration I did take off the swirl pot for painting.

The hose coming out of the engine (by the thermostat) is very hot - but - the hoses at the radiator are nowhere near as hot.

Could this mean the rad needs bleeding?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

BDA:
If in doubt, I would burp the radiator (again). It doesn't seem like your thermostat is bad but you could when it opens (you can use a thermometer and a pot of water on your stove). I would also note that the mark past the 90° mark (see the graphic I've attached) is not THAT hot. I have a fan controller and a radiator fan switch. I tried the radiator fan switch for a change it it got as hot as you describe. I thought it wasn't working but the fan kicked in a short while later and cooled it down to about 90°. I decided to use the controller but the fan switch can be wired up easily for backup. I only mention this in case that is the way your fan switch works. I don't remember it behaving that way way back when the car was new. There are also products like Red Line's Water Wetter that helps the water stay in contact with the radiator and helps reduce your temps.


I'm assuming your ignition timing and fuel mixture are reasonably close (not too advanced or lean), that you have enough coolant, and that your water pump is working (proper belt turning the pump, the pump isn't showing signs of distress like leaking water).


Everybody complains about the cooling system in a Europa. I certainly wouldn't say it's over designed but I lived in New Orleans and when it was new, I drove through the Nevada desert in the afternoon (trust me, you don't want to try that) and I don't remember having any cooling issues. I would say the stock system is adequate. You can help yourself with an aluminum radiator and a high CFM fan (I did) if you feel you need it.

BERNIEHUMBER:
HI:I had an issue with my S2.The rad has a baffle in it about 1/2 way down that forces the water(coolant) to circulate properly.Mine had come loose and coolant was in effect bypassing part of the rad.
I was worried that I had a bad head gasket !!

EuropaTC:
Hi there,

As BDA shows, the recommendations from Lotus themselves do show quite a variation and from what I recall the stromberg engine versions did run at slightly higher temperatures so I wouldn't get too wound up unless the engine was clearly boiling and blowing water out.

However....    I've usually had to bleed the radiator at the front to remove some trapped air so if you've not done so, that's the first job. Also check the heater is working, not so much to keep your toes warm but to ensure that water does circulate around the pipes and there's no air lock. I usually find that slowly filling the system with the engine running takes care of that aspect, but it's worth checking because if by some chance you had a lock on initial filling then you might find you're a bit down on total coolant.

If the coolant volumes are about right, there's no air locks and you're still concerned then I would check the gauge/sender combination.  In my notes I have a page where someone measured the voltages/resistances of the Europa gauge/senders but unfortunately I've just checked and the original is no longer there. So with cut'n'paste here's the data for the temperature gauge.

Temperature gauge

Temperature   Voltage      Current   Sender Resistance   Sender Voltage
(C/F)             (volts)      (ma)           (Ohms)         (volts)   

70/158      3.05              51.3           135.5         6.95
90/194      4.31              72.2           78.8                 5.69
100/212      5.15              85.7           56.6                 4.85
130/266      6.55              107.8   32.0                 3.45

This data is for the S2 but.....  the S2 & TC have similar numerical part numbers and so it might be useful as a starting point.  When I had cooling problems (before finding this chart) I simply took out the sender, wired it up with extension leads and popped it in a kettle of water. When it boiled, I checked the gauge reading to see where 100C came, which was pretty much on the mark to the right of the 90deg. figure. At least that way you'll be certain when the engine is approaching boiling although in my experience it's clearly unhappy and throwing water out when something is wrong.

Brian

Europa73:
Many thanks for all the grate advice.

Much appreciated!

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