Autumn 2022 Update: Overheating Issues
I’m having some issues with Pearline getting too warm on drives.
First off, since the last update, we did a little something that took some time out of the middle of the summer. After we got home, we spent most of the time painting walls, putting down new flooring, and trying to merge two households of furniture.
This started about 2 months ago. It’s been brutally hot all summer, with most days being about 100F (39C) degrees. I find if I take Pearline out in the middle of the day on one of these scorchers, I barely get 15 miles (22km) before the temperature gauge is in the “H” area. I didn’t know if this was an issue with driving on hot days or if I had some other problem.
The experts on MGEXP say the gauges are notoriously unreliable, even when the cars were new, so I went to Harbor Freight and bought an infrared thermometer. After a 20 minute drive, the housing for the thermostat is 230F degrees while the engine block is around 280F. The radiator exterior shows 210F, while the radiator cap shows a “cool” 140F.
The concensus is that I have an air bubble in the coolant and I need to drain it and slowly refill. I had multiple people comment that they drive their cars in places like Phoenix and Los Angeles, so I just need to spend some time, effort, (and money) on the cooling system. I’m really not set up to do that here, so I have an appointment booked at a local NAPA-certified mechanic I know that also happens to like working on older cars. He’s worked on Pearline a few times, including a clutch repair.
While we’re at it, I’m going to update the thermostat, put in a radiator shroud to help with the cooling, and replace the 6-blade metal fan with a 7-blade nylon fan. That’s also supposed to help. I’m also planning to have him replace the fuel pump, since I bought it 9 months ago but haven’t put it on myself.
On a related note, I’ve been buying parts lately from LBCarCo out of Michigan. The owners are really nice and they charge a fair rate for shipping. I still spend money with Moss when they are having a sale with free shipping, but if I need a couple of gaskets, it’s much easier buying from LBCarCo because they usually ship in 1 day.
Maybe we’ll get in another few weeks of nice weather to drive her after he’s done. I’ve done a few trips this summer, none more than an hour away, so every bit of repair makes her even funner to drive.