12 replies to this topic

[phippsey27]

Hi Guys,

I have a 1987 mini which has a cooper spi engine fitted(SPI not connected) the problem is it has no thermostat sensor and the heating is not connected up.

where the heater tap should go has never been bored out is this a hard job to do or is it not advisible to bore out this hole? was thinking of a sandwhich plate but there is a home made stabiliser bar fitted to top of thermostat housing so don't want to fit a sandwich plate if I can help it.also where whould I find the wiring for the thermostat sensor under the bonnet and how hard would it be to wire a new sensor up (is it just a 12v live to guage?)  any help welcome perry

[tiger99]

Don't bore out the heater tap hole, if you mean the one on the head. It is not hard to do, but on engines where it is not bored, the heater takeoff is from the thermostat housing or sandwich plate, and there are certain subtle differences which can result in uneven cooling if you modify the arrangement. You should have a sandwich plate or extra port on teh thermostat housing.

 

See here:

http://www.somerford...page=page&id=96

 

As for the home made steady, you do not need that. The normal top and bottom steadies at the clutch end are more or less in line vertically, and are correctly positioned to react engine torque properly. If you add a third steady at the radiator end, torque will try to make the engine move in a most peculiar manner. If the normal steadies are not good enough, fit poly bushes in the body end and new rubber in the engine ent, both top and bottom. The bushes are identical so you need 1 poly kit and 1 rubber kit, as a kit does only one steady (4 half bushes).

[phippsey27]

Thanks for the info, any idea on the thermostat sensor set up and how hard it is to wire up (I cannot find any loose wiring around engine)

[1984mini25]

Don't bore out the heater tap hole, if you mean the one on the head.

I'd disagree, on a 87 you would have 1/2" heater hoses one of witch enters through the drivers side of the bullhead. so I would drill the head (very simple to do) and fit a heater tap as per standard. also in drilling for the heater tap (or were it's standard fit) you get much better cooling across the head. the only reason why the head wasn't drilled on the spi is the cooling system was re arranged because of the extra under bonnet stuff, like the servo witch takes up most of the left hand side of the engine bay.

[Dan]

  The temperature sender on an SPi engine is in the bottom of the inlet manifold.  Extend the green/blue temperature wire that should be near the alternator to this sender.

[phippsey27]

 

Don't bore out the heater tap hole, if you mean the one on the head.

I'd disagree, on a 87 you would have 1/2" heater hoses one of witch enters through the drivers side of the bullhead. so I would drill the head (very simple to do) and fit a heater tap as per standard. also in drilling for the heater tap (or were it's standard fit) you get much better cooling across the head. the only reason why the head wasn't drilled on the spi is the cooling system was re arranged because of the extra under bonnet stuff, like the servo witch takes up most of the left hand side of the engine bay.

 

how would I bore it out, is it just a simple drilling procedure, and could I drill out the hole for the thermostat too if it is just a simple case of drilling?

[mini=love]

I also digress, just drill the hole out where the heater tap used to be and if the holes arent threaded tap some new threads in.

 

As dan says if your using the spi manifold use that sender, but if not i have seen people use a sender between the thermostat before, im not sure if these are custom jobbies though

[phippsey27]

  The temperature sender on an SPi engine is in the bottom of the inlet manifold.  Extend the green/blue temperature wire that should be near the alternator to this sender.

thanks for reply, the temp sensor is not on the manifold , this is a conversion and looks like the old manifold has been refitted(no where to fit sensor) this has a su carb fitted, I believe it has the original wiring loom so where should I be looking for the wires or would it still be the green/blue wire near alternator? many thanks.  I will try and upload a picture

Edited by phippsey27, 24 May 2013 - 04:54 PM.

[Dan]

  In that case you can drill and tap the head in the normal place but it's not quite as easy as drilling the heater outlet is.  There are various sandwich plates or inline hose fittings available that you can use to fit the temperature sender too.  Yes the connector for it should be near the front somewhere around there.

 

  If the SPi manifold and the sandwich plate are not fitted you need to check how this engine is making its thermostat bypass, as standard it would not have had a bypass connection between the head and water pump.

Edited by Dan, 24 May 2013 - 05:08 PM.

[phippsey27]

  In that case you can drill and tap the head in the normal place but it's not quite as easy as drilling the heater outlet is.  There are various sandwich plates or inline hose fittings available that you can use to fit the temperature sender too.  Yes the connector for it should be near the front somewhere around there.

 

  If the SPi manifold and the sandwich plate are not fitted you need to check how this engine is making its thermostat bypass, as standard it would not have had a bypass connection between the head and water pump.

it has a hose from the thermostat housing and one from the water pump the hose that goes through the bulkhead (passenger side)has a bolt in it and is not attached to the heater matrix. could I purchase the thermostat housing with the thermostat hole in it to solve this problem?

[maccers]

My SPI head was drilled and tapped to first of all accept a manual capillary guage type temp sender in the usual place on the right of the head, then when I converted to fuel injection / supercharger setup I used the thermostat housing to put the ecu connected temp sender into. I looked at the hole where the heater tap is usually, as either side of that there are two holes that are threaded, but the throttle body/intake is right there..!

[Dan]

  If you put the sender in the thermostat housing you will only know what the temperature is after the thermostat has opened.  You need it under the 'stat really.

[phippsey27]

thanks for all your advise, it has been extremely helpful