| Author | Message | ||
| Ron Vallejo (Ron328)
Member Username: Ron328 Post Number: 271 Registered: 3-2003 |
"I then took some tire cleaner and sprayed down my radiator and rinsed off even more gunk." quoted by Frank. Hi Frank. Interesting. So, can I use ANY tire cleaner to free my 328's radiator of bugs? (I couldn't seem to get rid of the latter even when hosing it with water). Thanks. Ron | ||
| James Selevan (Jselevan)
Member Username: Jselevan Post Number: 738 Registered: 6-2002 |
Frank - now that you mention it, these new TRXs are significantly quieter than the old. However, mine were the original tires (manufacture date 37th week of 1983). The tread was good, but the cracks running along the side were scary. I suspect that the hard rubber may have contributed to the noise. Jim S. | ||
| Frank Parker (Parkerfe)
Advanced Member Username: Parkerfe Post Number: 2893 Registered: 9-2001 |
James, were your TRX tires noisy before you replaced them ? The ones on my Boxer roar at any speed over 50mph or so even though the tread looks fine and they have no visible cracking. | ||
| James Selevan (Jselevan)
Member Username: Jselevan Post Number: 736 Registered: 6-2002 |
While not related to cooling, I wish to contribute a few observations from my recent work on my Boxer. 1) New Koni's and shock bushings, along with new TRX rubber resulted in an UNBELIEVABLE improvement in how the car rides. I did not realize how poor the drive was until I did this work. Car drives like new, handles much better, less suspension noise, and resolution of a "knocking" that was obviously a bad shock. 2) Re-leathering of the dash and instrument console afforded the opportunity of cleaning up 20 years of previous owners wiring nightmares. While driving around without instruments, I inadvertently put my finger on the 12 gauge wire supplying the two fuses of the fuel pumps. Burnt my hand. Too hot to touch. The design is wanting, as there is a single wire supplying two 16 amp fuses. I cleaned all of the contacts, fuse ends, and the fuse holders (where the pointed fuse meets the fuse holder), and the temperature of this circuit has dropped significantly. I can now hold my hand on the wire. While still quite warm, it is nothing close to what it was. My observations. Jim S. | ||
| Frank Parker (Parkerfe)
Advanced Member Username: Parkerfe Post Number: 2885 Registered: 9-2001 |
The motto I have now relearned when looking for a problem is "think horses not zebras" a/k/a Occam's Razor. | ||
| JRV (Jrvall)
Intermediate Member Username: Jrvall Post Number: 2357 Registered: 11-2002 |
>> After blowing out 21 years worth of bugs and other crap, my water temp dropped 5c to 10c in traffic. << Yep...sometimes the problems are simple but not so obvious! >>I drove my Boxer over 200 miles yesterday in 95f heat with the a/c on and the water temp stayed at 90c to 95c even in bumper to bumper traffic << Those numbers sound much better and "normal". Glad you stuck with seeking answers Frank and solved this nagging problem.. "The Truth is Out There" Catchy title...{  } | ||
| David Feinberg (Fastradio2)
Member Username: Fastradio2 Post Number: 306 Registered: 4-2002 |
Frank, This is good to hear... I used a simple water hose for a few minutes on my BB radiator, and also was amazed at the animal kingdom of bugs that fell out. Unfortunately, the weather up here has been very rainy, so I haven't had a chance to see the expected temperature drop! Regards, David | ||
| Frank Parker (Parkerfe)
Advanced Member Username: Parkerfe Post Number: 2884 Registered: 9-2001 |
As I have posted before I was concerned that the 100c water temp that my Boxer was running in traffic was a little high. But, everything checked out OK with the fans, thermostat, temp sensors all working to spec. I spoke with JRV and he suggested that I clean my radiator with compressed air to see if that would help. After blowing out 21 years worth of bugs and other crap, my water temp dropped 5c to 10c in traffic. I then took some tire cleaner and sprayed down my radiator good and rinsed off even more gunk. I drove my Boxer over 200 miles yesterday in 95f heat with the a/c on and the water temp stayed at 90c to 95c even in bumper to bumper traffic in Helen, a North Georgia tourist trap. So, if you haven't already done it, use compressed air to blow out your car's radiator and see what you get out. You may be surprised at the results. |