A30 Overheating

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Janniebza
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A30 Overheating

Post by Janniebza »

Good day. I need help. I restored my 1953 Austin A30 and as I had an overhauled 948cc engine I fitted that in the car. My problem is that the car is now overheating. I had the radiator serviced and I’m using a Smith temp gauge. I have fitted the sensor where the heater valve will be normally – in South Africa you don’t need a heater for winter. Any suggestions what I can do next? I have checked the sensor and gauge – all okay. Do you think that is my overheating problem is as a result of the bigger engine? The radiator is still the original kidney shape radiator. The problem is not the thermostat. I took it out.
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Dinky
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Re: A30 Overheating

Post by Dinky »

I know there is not a problem running that engine with the radiator so I presume its the flow that is reduced somewhere. Make sure the fan belt is tight and the radiator is not silted up. Touch the rad while it is warm and see if you can find cold spots.
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roymck
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Re: A30 Overheating

Post by roymck »

Make sure the hoses are in good condition , My top hose had delaminated internally restricting flow to about zero . That cost me an engine .
Dave Clark
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Re: A30 Overheating

Post by Dave Clark »

Removing the thermostat is not a smart move as the flow of coolant around the engine has now been altered.

If you replace the thermostat with a flat plate with a hole of around 15-20mm this will restore the correct flow.

Also, are you sure it is overheating ? Measuring coolant temperature is normally done at the front of the head, just below the thermostat housing, which will be substantially cooler than the back of the head at the heater take off, which is the hottest part of the head.

Most A30/A35 overheating issues are due to an inefficient radiator with blocked tubes and. possibly, scale and sediment in the block itself, which has to cleared by removing all the core plugs and water pump.
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Neil Evans
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Re: A30 Overheating

Post by Neil Evans »

Is it actually boiling over or just reading high on your gauge?

What was actually done to the radiator when it was serviced? Does it have a new core or was it just cleaned out?
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Edosan
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Re: A30 Overheating

Post by Edosan »

As said already it is definitely not the bigger engine that is causing the problem, you say you had the radiator serviced, do you mean it was recored or simply flushed through. I had similar problems recently and had flushed the radiator through many times. The cause was actually restricted flow through the radiator and was cured with a recore using the service provided by Stan. Temperature rarely goes above 80C now with a 1098 and before it was rarely below 95c and often over 100c. One of the clues was the weight of the radiator, the one I took out was much heavier than the recored one due to all the deposits. :wave:
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Re: A30 Overheating

Post by Tight Yorkshireman »

My 181 A35 was overheating I put on another radiator one of two new radiators that I had in stock in the loft 30 years. It still overheated and thought cant be the radiator I had just fitted never used 30 years old? I eventually fitted the second new but 30 year old rad and it seems to run ok now no overheating

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Clive
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Re: A30 Overheating

Post by Clive »

I would certainly agree with other members that first thing is to make sure the standard components are in good condition. Restricted flow in the block might be simply due to the age of the engine. Short of taking out the core plugs etc., it night we worth trying one of the proprietary flushing products such as Barr's Flush. This might also clear muck out of the radiator. It's a cheap and easy option. I imagine that in the bigger cities in South Africa you have radiator firms that will recore your old radiator. Cheaper than buying a new one from UK, currently about £180 plus freighting charges etc. But new water pumps are only about £15 so maybe invest in one. But if you are in a hot climate, some sort of upgrade would be very wise to protect the engine. Simply fitting a fan with more blades (maybe from another model) is a help, sounds too easy but it works. Maybe an electric fan, also quite cheap now on EBay etc. Or enquire about an upgrade to your radiator using a high performance core. A quick Google search brought up this link which shows what can be done with modern radiator core upgrades:-
http://www.aaronradiator.co.uk/pages/Cl ... rades.html
For the record, my A30 1275 got the Marina donor car's radiator as part of the engine transplant in 2005. This is a big cross-flow type, virtually the full width of the Austin engine bay, with a separate header tank. My car has never shown any signs of overheating and I'm guessing the bigger rad helps. Anyway, there's some ideas. Good luck. Clive
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Re: A30 Overheating

Post by Dave Clark »

Whilst there is nothing wrong in fitting a larger radiator my experience with the standard, rebuilt by Serck, radiator is that it has coped with a 1275 turbocharged engine and no mechanical fan,so any smaller engine should not tax it at all.
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stuart13
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Re: A30 Overheating

Post by stuart13 »

Is it really overheating or just showing hot because of the sensor being located at the the heater valve take-off?

Is it boiling over?

Stu :)
Paulc
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Re: A30 Overheating

Post by Paulc »

I've just cleaned my A35 rad and system using Fernox F3 which is a a de-sludger designed for central heating systems. I can't see any component that is in our system that isn't in a c/h system (rubber perhaps, although its ok with plastic pipes). On another radiator, off the car, I used spirit of salts which is very effective at descaling. As always, read the manufacturers instructions.
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Clive
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Re: A30 Overheating

Post by Clive »

I saw a great movie recently called "Endgame", set in a town in the spectacular Great Karoo region of South Africa. It certainly looked hot in the film. Some Googling came up with summer temperatures there of 40c/104f. We don't tend to see those sort of figures in the UK. This got me thinking about cooling system upgrades - a sort of insurance if you like.
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Neil Evans
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Re: A30 Overheating

Post by Neil Evans »

The A30 and A35 were exported throughout the world. The only difference in the export models was a second fan blade fitted at 90 degrees t o the standard one, making it a four blade. If the system can't cope all it needs is restoring to original specification...
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Re: A30 Overheating

Post by Dave Clark »

:iagree:
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Re: A30 Overheating

Post by earthhist »

Janniebza wrote:I’m using a Smith temp gauge. I have fitted the sensor where the heater valve will be normally – in South Africa you don’t need a heater for winter. Any suggestions what I can do next? I have checked the sensor and gauge – all okay.
Are you relying on the gauge? If so, do you have the voltage regulator that it needs fitted? If you have not, then the gauge will *massively* over read, and say it is very hot when it is actually only normal.
Richard Johnston, Plymtree Devon, formerly A30/A35 Club Technical Officer and President
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