[alfa] Re: Alfetta cooling problems

[C2slayman@xxxxxxx]

Hey Sefano,
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2004 09:12:30 -0700 
From: Stefano.Iachella@domain.elided
Subject: [alfa] Alfetta cooling problems

Cats,

My Alfetta's cooling system is doing some weird things.

It sat over the weekend and I started it and drove it last night. I
had no temperature reading for a few miles so I pulled over. I opened
No temperature reading probably indicates there is no water contacting the 
temp sensor.  So engine is HOT but sensor is not!

the radiator cap and water burst out. I refilled and started it up,
shut it off and checked again. Filled up and repeated. It took about
2 liters. Temperature readings had resumed.

Yep!  That makes sense.

Driving it caused the temperature to rise to over 200 from 175 in 
about 15 seconds and then drop back to 175 in about the same
time. It goes for 4 or 5 minutes at 175 and then rises again. This 
is even at freeway speeds.

Hmmmm........ Might be thermostat.  It could be intermittenly opening and 
closing.  Thus the erratic behavior.

Other confusing things - when I stop it, the over flow bottle fills 
up to the top. 

Yep.  If thermostat is erratic and sticking, the engine is overheating and 
boiling over.

This morning I'm getting the same behavior, so I left it at home. 
I replaced the thermostat with the kind discussed here before; 
a Stant with the reverse poppet. I did this 6 months ago. Also 6 
months ago, I replaced the squeaky electric fan with a slim radiator
fan, 9 inch diameter, I think.

Check to make sure the fan is running and not cutting out.  Is it 
thermostatically controlled?  My money is on the thermostat.  Remove it temporarily as 
see if you get the same erratic behavior.  If it takes a while to heat up but 
runs at a relatively constant temperature without all the boiling over nonsense, 
then the problem is the thermostat.  But put an new thermostat in.  Don't run 
for prolonged periods without one or Fred will return from the grave and yell 
at you to PUT ONE IN!  ;-)

This is the same car that had been diagnosed with faulty radiator
cap and overflow bottle cap a few weeks ago, which have been replaced.
It also could have a failing head gasket or something else sinister;
I'm getting water seeping out at the exhaust manifold at the copper
exhaust gasket #3. It seeps out the top when it's cold and dries up
and stops when it's hot.

These symptoms don't explain the radical boiling over and loss of tons of 
fluid that you are seeing.  They would explain slighty elevated operating 
temperature (or overheating on a really HOT day under heavy loads - which we haven't 
seen in the Bay Area since March!)

The guys at Norman Racing say the water jacket fails near the
intake, not the exhaust. Could I have a cracked head, or is it 
a cooling problem that can be found.

You might want to run a compression test.  But I wouldn't worry too much if 
the leak goes away when warm.  You'll probably want a new head gasket at some 
point, but that's not your problem today.  A cracked head would be much less 
likely than a warped head or a blown head gasket.  So the repair shouldn't be 
too bad.

Any opinions welcome. Thanks,
Stefano
Oakland, CA
If you have had oil leaking into the cooling system in the past, your 
radiator might also be full of gunk that is impossible to clean without taking the 
radiator our and rodding or coreing it.

A neat troubleshooting trick Larry Dickman Jr taught me was to get the engine 
up to operating temperature.  Then put your hand on the core of the radiator 
(careful of the fan) at the top and bottom.  If the core is clogged, the top 
will be hot from the engine coolant.  But the bottom will be cool because the 
coolant is not flowing down through the core.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Charlie
--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided