Re: [alfa] alfa cooling saga

["Gwynne W. Spencer" <gwynnes1@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

The fan in front of the radiator IS blowing front to back, isn't it 
??  SInce you tried it both in front and behind the radiator, just making 
sure you did not reverse the fan direction when you tried to put it behind 
the radiator and forgot to reset it for the direction required when it is 
in front of the radiator.

Gwynne Spencer

At 09:52 PM 8/8/2004 -0700, you wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>Thanks for the brake advice a few weeks back - all those upgraded pads 
>turned out to be rather pricey given my current underemployed status, so I 
>went with stock stuff.
>
>But what's still bugging me is the cooling issue with my '77 spider. I had 
>replaced the engine-driven fan with an electric one a couple of years back 
>and then gone off to grad school. Since then, the car tended to reach 
>temps of 190-212 in traffic where before it always ran at 185, except on 
>very hot days after a long run on the freeway, where it got up to maybe 195.
>
>When I got back from grad school last fall, I started working on the 
>problem. I've now got a new 3-row core in my radiator, new water pump 
>belt, new Alfa OEM thermostat, bypass restrictor, and I've tried moving 
>the thermo-probe to the top of the radiator (temp difference betw. top and 
>bottom was about 50 degrees - 180 vs 130, roughly). I also tested the 
>temp. sensor that is connected to the gauge, and it's more or less 
>accurate. Timing is set to 34 degrees BTDC. The heater is really 
>effective, which suggests to me that the system is properly bled. Today 
>was the final recommendation I took from the helpful emails everyone sent, 
>which was to move the fan to the engine side of the radiator. However, the 
>fan mounted on that side of the radiator won't clear the water pump, so 
>that didn't work out so well.
>
>So, does anyone see that I'm missing something here? I'm really reluctant 
>to go back to the engine driven fan since I've had enough radiators chewed 
>up, and what's more is I like the extra space underhood as well as the 
>reduced noise - I can hear more engine and less fan, which is a good thing 
>in any Alfa.
>
>Any suggestions would be appreciated, even if they're all in caps :P
>
>Thanks,
>Chris Keen
>'77 spider
>Los Altos, CA
>
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