15 replies to this topic

[Clubby1275GT]

in the summer months i know engines get warmer and so do us lot, so driving around in the mini becomes a lot more fun and a lot hotter
I always get the impression that without the heater on the engine will over heat as it gives somewhere for the heat to disperse?
is this fact or fiction as sometimes i boil to death with the rate my heater kicks out hot air!
i'd love to be able to not switch it on at all and still keep the engine running well and keep me cool!!
any thoughts?
Daz

[pikey7]

running with the heater on warm will cool the engine "slightly" as its an extra circuit for the water to be pumped around, used, and convection to cool it down.

Its actually quite useful in traffic jams, but otherwise, if you're paranoid about it, then you should start looking at a better rad, different thermostat and a better water pump! Maybe even an extra *mini* radiator!

[Jammy]

Have you not got a radiator on your engine?

Dam you Pikey!!

[Clubby1275GT]

nah i have, rad is 3 months old, water pump is 4 weeks old!
u no the knob u pull out that lets the water through, well that doesnt go back in easily once its pulled out, it has to be done from the engine bay, thats just bone idleness though!
i imagine thats what i should do, pull the knob out and leave the heater off???
suppose it just worries me as every car ive ever seen there temp thing sits on normal permanently, yet mine normally sits just above cold, and when it approaches normal i get worried, although, apparently, its normal!!

[pikey7]

that'll explain why it's called "normal" then!

God, paranoid about cooling, paranoid about RR-ing, whats next!? Paranoid about wearing out the foam in the seats!

[Clubby1275GT]

think you've got the wrong person when it comes to RR-ing, ive had mine done 4 times in a year, i love it!
not paranoid about cooling, well maybe a little, but dont u think its a little strange theat my temp gauge never reads normal?? only when its really warm outside and i leave it idling for 5 minutes! even then it only says normal rather than cold!

[pikey7]

oops! apologies!

I wouldn't worry about it. Its probably just that you have a thermostat with a lower opening temperature, or maybe its just sowell built that theres no crud in the system! You do have a nice big grille to get some *more* air in there too.

[Teapot]

Huey's heater knob stays out (off) until my passenger starts shivering, when I casually get out, take off the bonnet and pull the other end of the heater cable. Sound familiar?

Huey has a supercool (is that the right term?) radiator because, I'm told, Metro engines are prone to overheating. So the water temp, like yours, rarely gets to normal except in this kind of weather. So, like you, I worry -- but that's because if you give me a gauge I'll worry about it! And that's because once when I forgot to check the instruments the fanbelt snapped, the red light came on and in no time the temp gauge was exploring unknown territory in the red.

Paranoid about wearing out the foam in the seats!

Ooh, better check that

[mini25]

the only time i use the heater for this use is when the temp goes up to near the red and even then i never done it because it hasnt been that hot, mines jus turned off all the time

[taffy1967]

My 90' Mainstream Cooper has that little auxilliary fan under the wing and if my car has sat in traffic whilst it's blazingly hot, it will come on for a while. But I've owned my Mini since 1994 and that's only ever happened a couple of times and yes it's still working too.

So yeah if your worried about overheating, fit one of those as it just bolts to the radiator grille under the wheel-arch and only RSP's and Mainstreams got them, as they then fitted the larger fan into the wing from the Cooper 1.3i onwards.

[Clubby1275GT]

think i might have the wrong shaped front end for one of them!! sounds good though!

[taffy1967]

Don't Clubmans have the grille by the side of the radiator, on the inner the wing?

[Xiao_Bin]

I dont even have aheater in mine

just an extra fan in the inner wing... never checked if its permanently on, but the aircon one surely is

[miniboo]

now thats just showing off xiao bin

[Flyby]

Mine usually sits at normal unless im in traffic or on a long motorway stretch, the heater helps to keep it just above normal although this can be a bit un pleasant in hot weather in stationary traffic with the heater belting out hot air!!! :'(