Unfortunately, The radiator cap might not have been the problem with the Mustang over heating.
 |
| Image source: motorworks.com It isn't that bad...yet. |
Is anything ever that easy?
I topped up the radiator with coolant and sealed it with the new cap. Now all I had to do was try it out.
The current 100 degree heatwave gave me a great opportunity to get the motor quickly to operating temperature. Did it ever! The gauge read even higher than it had up at Lake Tahoe, it even spilled coolant out of the cap. What could be the problem? Was it overfilled?
Usually overheating results form leaks that lower the amount of coolant in the system.
I haven't found any visible leaks. I'd better take a closer, more careful look.
The leaks can lower the pressure of the system which can result in the coolant overheating.
The first and easiest step was to replace the cap, which has an even more basic role in controlling pressure.
Sometimes the thermostat fails to open completely restricting flow. That will heat things up. Often times it will break and stick open. In that case the engine will run too cool and take a long time to heat up. This happened before to one of my minivans.
Collapsed hoses, and clogged radiators can also restrict the flow.
Sometimes the impeller vanes in the water pump itself can erode over time, reducing coolant circulation.
The electric radiator fan can fail, allowing it overheat in heavy traffic.
Advanced ignition timing, or a vacuum leak can also raise the temperature.
Time for a little detective work.
Looking for leaks in all the wrong places.
I haven't noticed any leaks from the various hoses, water pump, or the radiator itself. I had replaced the thermostat shortly after buying the car. I checked the electric fan and it was working once the motor got hot. Could it be a sensor that is delaying it turning on at too high a temperature? Maybe.
Could the radiator be clogged up? That's possible. It is almost 25 years old and during my 10 years of ownership I only changed the coolant... once. I also drained and refilled both of the times I changed the intake manifold.
Could it be the water pump? I've seen posts on the Jaguar forum and in the Riviera owners mag that detailed this problem. In the Jag cases the impellers are made of plastic and they erode over time. I've certainly seen plastic erode, look at my XJ6 radiator spigot! In the cases with the Riviera, the problem surfaced when the leaking water pump was replaced by a rebuilt unit. The rebuilder replaces the seals and bearings but reuses the eroded impeller. It can't circulate enough water during high stress conditions. The remedy is to replace the pump with a brand new unit.
In my situation I had noted the increase in temperature last year during my trip to Tahoe. I attributed it to my addition of a fuel system cleaner before the trip. I thought that it might have burned hotter than "normal" gasoline and caused the increased temps. There wasn't any noticeable increase in day to day use or even on my trip to Pismo Beach this July, well maybe a little. So this has been a gradual progression, not a sudden failure.
Replacing the cap was the easiest response.
I'm going to look for a loose or damaged vacuum line. Timing settings don't deteriorate over time like with old fashioned points systems.
Replacing the thermostat is cheap, and easier than flushing out the radiator, the next step after that.
I might have to pull the water pump after that. Just to check the impeller. I might do a bit of internet sleuthing before doing that.
I will definitely find the problem, I intend to keep the Mustang in good running shape.
------------------------------------------------------------
Now, on the Jaguar side of the drive...
I've posted a pic of the upper radiator hose spigot, it looks pretty bad. Could it be fixed?
I dove into the internet, looking for repair info, and found info on repairing cracks in the tank, or at the base of the spigot. I started thinking about crafty fixes like replacing the spigot with a metal or PVC pipe that I would epoxy in place. It might work, for a while.
Of course I priced replacements, starting on the web is easiest. I found a replacement at PartsGeek for 400.00. Rock Auto didn't offer the part, and a general internet search returned prices of four to five hundred dollars.
Another route is to see what my local parts store could come up with. My local guys came up with a quote of 750.00, They did say that they could give me a little break on the price. I told them that they couldn't give me a big enough break!
How about using a used, er, recycled part?
I contacted a Jaguar specialty wrecking yard in Stockton to inquire about availability. They sent me a quote for 300.00. My local wrecking yards are primarily Pick and Pull locations. They can be hit or miss, but now they have a computer listing of their auto inventory. That helps a lot. I checked the remaining San Jose location and they informed me that there weren't any Jags in their yard, but there were some, including a '96 XJ6 in the Newark yard. They had a lot of Jags in there! It's always sad to see an XJR languishing in a wrecking yard. Luckily there was also an X300 Van de Plas in the yard. And it had a good radiator! Eureka!
There was also a bunch of other good parts. A set of ignition coils. The cam cover looked great. These cam covers are made of magnesium and are prone to oxidation and pitting. I was thinking that I should pick that up. I seen that a few posters on the forum are having troubles locating good usable, affordable, examples. The shroud and double fans were perfect, I could pick those up to. While it's nice to have some spare parts, it's money that doesn't need to be spent, yet.
I left with the radiator and that set of coils. I figure that I could go back tomorrow and get a few of the other things. I thought about it overnight and returned in the morning,
I had loosened the cam cover completely before I left the day before, and I just removed it from the top of the engine. I had to do a little more work to remove the seat belt and latch. Luckily the driver's seat was already almost completely free. Unfortunately the driver's latch didn't work, so I removed the latch from the passenger side seat. I took both thinking I might use the passengers side for repair parts. Another 20 bucks! On my car the right side high beam lens is loose and flops around. It's been doing that since I bought it. I decided to take the one on the VdP. The bumper cover had been removed so I had easy access to head lamp assemblies. I found a few nuts on the brackets but couldn't figure out how to remove the actual head lamp assemblies. They were held on by three ball sockets. I gave the lamp a tug and two popped off. Another tug released the lower mount. One good thing about Pick and Pull, if you break something nobody is going to know!
I decided to take the other two good lamps as spares, but I was careful to remove the bulb and socket. P&P loves to nickel and dime you on every single little part. The day before I had carried the coils by their wires like a string of tomatoes on the vine. I didn't think that they would charge me for the loom. The cashier asked me if I wanted the wires. I told her for a dollar yes, for twenty, no. She said that the plug and wire was 4.00 each, that would have added an additional 24 bucks to the bill! I should have known better. If you buy a complete engine, if anything is missing like the carb, starter, distributor, or alternator, even plug wires, you'd be smart to find those and attach those to your motor before seeing the cashier. The price for a complete motor includes the accessories as a special deal, come back the next day to pick up those items and you'll be paying for something that would have been free had you taken it the day before.
In any case I was very happy to find the radiator. So I picked up those other items. Luckily the heatwave has passed. But due to the fires, the air quality is still very poor. I wore my mask while I was outside pulling parts in the yard. I felt pretty good afterwards, though, as this positive wrecking yard experience seems to have given me my old car mojo back!
Now to replace the radiator.
No comments:
Post a Comment