Re: Cooling System

["David Kirk" <david@domain.elided>]

Dear Mike and all,

Thanks for the info Mike (No arguments - honest).

I want to be able to tell if my old radiator is standard. I have never had
problems with overheating so if the old one is standard I am happy to
replace it with the same, but, if it is uprated than I would feel uneasy
fitting a poorer, standard one.

Now, I am stupid I know, but when I look at the radiator, all I see is the
black metal end caps at each side of the radiator, and a large area of fins
in the middle (with lots of squashed flies). Do I need to be looking
in-between the fins to be able to count the rows? As you say, there will be
either 3,4,or 5 rows deep, but how many high should I see? Will the tubes
run horizontally or vertical?

Regards
David Kirk

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Wattam <MikeWattam@domain.elided>
To: David Kirk <david@domain.elided>
Cc: TSR Mailing List <stag-digest@domain.elided>
Date: 16 March 1999 19:29
Subject: Cooling System


Hi David

Only ever fit reinforced hoses, the unreinforced variety can be very
suspect as they often 'balloon' particularly the top hose on the outside of
the bend ( I have access to several gruesome photo's and a detailed
professional report for anybody who feels they really have to gratuitously
argue with everything I put in this digest).

These reinforced hoses are available - often in sets - from most Stag parts
suppliers.

Regarding the radiator, the 'rows' question is not simple.  The coolant
flows through tubes, arranged in either 3, 4 or 5 rows.  The Stag standard
for most of the cars life was 4 rows, although the last Stags had 3 rows
only.

It was quite popular to 'uprate' the radiator by going to 5 rows although
it has to be said that this was done carelessly by a number of radiator
repair shops.  Many of the '5-row' radiators thus made had fine matrices
and/or staggered tubes which all impeded air flow and resulted in worse
results than with the standard radiator which is fine if the rest of the
system is OK, except for a tendency to overheat at idle which can be
alleviated by the use of fan cowls which are available only from the USA.

Overheating problems are not usually caused by the radiator except if
incorrect as above, look for the cause of overheating elsewhere.

If you definitely need to uprate your radiator I suggest you look no place
other than Tony Hart who has uprated rads which are well known to work
well.  You might find the price more expensive than elswhere, but you pay
for what you get.  A radiator which doesn't work is expensive at any price.

Mike Wattam
Chairman - Triumph Stag Register