Alright what temp is too hot for the V8 Esprit
Discussion
We'll I got stuck in traffic today and temp rose to around 113 almost 114 for a little while. I have owned the car for about 2 years and the highest its risen is 111. I added Red Line Water Wetter a couple of months ago thinking it might help. I am concerned. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks mates
Mike
Mike
MIke:
I pulled my radiator last year due to a small leak. I took it to a local radiator repair shop who simply re-cored it with a heavy duty four-row core instead of the stock two-row core. It essentially doubled the cooliing capacity of the radiator and although it still gets warm, it rarely goes above 98 degrees(fans kick in at 98) in normal driving, including traffic. The old core was about 35% blocked internally. I used the stock fans and completely flushed the sytem swithcing to the coolant Ford and Chrysler (G5 I think it's called) use due to the variety of metals in the cooling system. My total cost (my labor of course to remove and re-install) was around $550 for the radiator. When
re-installing the radiator, its cradle and other parts I used stainless steel bolts and nuts to avoid any future rust issues. Some of the best, most peace-of-mind producing money I've spent on my 1999 Esprit.
Not a horrible job, but a little dirty with all the fluids. I live in St. Louis where we don't get the outright heat you have in Texas, but we have a lot of 95 degree days with 95% humidity. Challenging to a cooling system.
Mark Mazman in Chicago took a slightly different route installing a custom aluminum radiator from Griffin with Spal fans. Same cocnept but about 3-4 times the investment.
If you have questions, feel free to call me at (314) 889-0572. Happy Lotusing!
Mark Pfeffer
(314) 889-0572
Feffman@Yahoo.com
I pulled my radiator last year due to a small leak. I took it to a local radiator repair shop who simply re-cored it with a heavy duty four-row core instead of the stock two-row core. It essentially doubled the cooliing capacity of the radiator and although it still gets warm, it rarely goes above 98 degrees(fans kick in at 98) in normal driving, including traffic. The old core was about 35% blocked internally. I used the stock fans and completely flushed the sytem swithcing to the coolant Ford and Chrysler (G5 I think it's called) use due to the variety of metals in the cooling system. My total cost (my labor of course to remove and re-install) was around $550 for the radiator. When
re-installing the radiator, its cradle and other parts I used stainless steel bolts and nuts to avoid any future rust issues. Some of the best, most peace-of-mind producing money I've spent on my 1999 Esprit.
Not a horrible job, but a little dirty with all the fluids. I live in St. Louis where we don't get the outright heat you have in Texas, but we have a lot of 95 degree days with 95% humidity. Challenging to a cooling system.
Mark Mazman in Chicago took a slightly different route installing a custom aluminum radiator from Griffin with Spal fans. Same cocnept but about 3-4 times the investment.
If you have questions, feel free to call me at (314) 889-0572. Happy Lotusing!
Mark Pfeffer
(314) 889-0572
Feffman@Yahoo.com
sa mike said:
We'll I got stuck in traffic today and temp rose to around 113 almost 114 for a little while. I have owned the car for about 2 years and the highest its risen is 111. I added Red Line Water Wetter a couple of months ago thinking it might help. I am concerned. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks mates
Mike
Mike
where do you get such precise numbers? do you have a digital gauge? My gauge does not have individual degree marking.
I know that my gauuge has acted up occasionally, I have a precision digital gauge and I have attached its sensor to the same place as the car's sensor. I have been able to show that the gauge on the dash was not indicating the proper temp. I would start there. You may be chasing an instrumentation problem. Eliminate that first.
I think that even the cheap digital indoor outdoor thermometers that you can buy at the hardware store will give you a good idea of where your temp really is.
I would break open the plastic cover on the thermocouple and tie-wrap (hose clamp if it melts) it carefully to the bottom of the transducer on the engine. You should also wrap it in a little insulation to get a decent reading. Run the wire into the car and you have a new temporary digital gauge.
Mark Mazman in Chicago took a slightly different route installing a custom aluminum radiator from Griffin with Spal fans. Same cocnept but about 3-4 times the investment.
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yep. that's me. and it is the first thing i would do to any esprit i owned.
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yep. that's me. and it is the first thing i would do to any esprit i owned.
I guess I was making more of accurate guess than anything else, judging where the needle was positioned. I would be nice to have a digital gauge. My main question to this whole issue is that, is there any possibility of the engine being damaged if the needle wanders above the 100 mark, and if so what temp would be considered too hot and what are the tell tale signs of somethings wrong. I will get the radiator checked.
Mike
Mike
I am trying to tell you to double check the reading on the gauge in the dash. There may be no temp problem at all.
As far as what temp is a problem,, well Lotus put a red zone there for a reason. if you approach the red zone, think about stopping .. if you get to the red zone. STOP. Not many cars designed differently than that.
As far as what temp is a problem,, well Lotus put a red zone there for a reason. if you approach the red zone, think about stopping .. if you get to the red zone. STOP. Not many cars designed differently than that.
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