17 replies to this topic

[Cooperman]

That is the problem. Those gauges are so inaccurate that there is no hard & fast guide. One might read quite cool when in fact it's getting very hot, and another the other way round.

For the price of the capilliary-type gauge kit it is well worth having, if only for peace-of-mind. They are so easy to fit as well.

[Mk1cooper]

I installed a manually switched 10" cooling fan under the wing (sucking air out for one way air travel). I only turn this on when I get stuck in traffic. Last week while I was driving on the freeway, I heard a loud bang noise and it came from the engine bay. I even felt it on the gas pedal. There was a debris that fell from a big construction truck I was following and that debris made it in my engine bay. I developed a different driving habit to stay away from those and always leave great cushion from other cars. This big truck was too fast for me to pass. I decided to stay behind him since I was getting close to the exit.

 

But anyway,

 

Basically a small rock bounced off the road and jumped in my engine bay hitting the fan blades and destroying all blades. (I didnt understand how because it couldve hit the fan belt first.... weird.. dont ask me that)

 

I decided to drive the car with the help of the cooling fan switched on but this time I reversed it to BLOW AIR to the radiator. The fan didnt help on that remaining half a mile or so on the freeway. Had to stop once to cool it down. The cooling fan lowered the temp as soon as I started driving 35 mph (city driving). It stayed cool the whole time driving 3 more miles.

 

I noticed that strong ram air going inside the front grill driving at high speed overpowered the air coming from the cooling fan under the wing. My question is, Will the engine over heat on the freeway if i had left the cooling fan alone to keep sucking hot air without the help of the engine driven side fanblade ?

[Orange-Phantom]

I've got a mechanical fan (blowing) and an electric fan on a switch (sucking) air on my side mounted radiator.  I've never had to use the electric fan even when I've been stuck in traffic on a hot day.

 

My brother has completely done away with the mechanical fan on his race mini and only has an electric one sucking air on his side mounted radiator.  It has a proper shroud from the radiator to and round the fan which is controlled by a thermostat.  When he is driving normally and racing there is enough airflow going through the engine bay and consequently through the side radiator to keep the water cool without the electric fan having to run at all.  The electric fan only ever kicks in when stationery for a while, in traffic or queuing up to start an event.  My brother competes and wins his class in the hillclimb over here and competes in circuit racing and has never had any issues with cooling.

 

My brother did this to gain a few extra bhp which is more important for a race car than a road car.  My dad did exactly the same thing on his Mini clubman years ago.  This was the family car even though it had a 649 cam and twin 1 1/2" SU carbs etc and again it never had any issues with overheating and the fan only kicked in when stationery or in traffic etc, just like what happens with any modern car.