I'm not searching for trouble but keen to understand my new toy-and it has a 3 month warranty! I understand that new, the cooling system was "adequate" but that was years ago. That temp gauges of that era are "indications of change": that overheating occurs when coolant exits the overflow. Here in the UK it is unseasonably warm at 10-12*C, and in summer we regard 25*C as "hot" and 30* as very hot.... What temperatures (infra red thermometer) should I see at normal running temp at 1- Thermostat housing: 2- Rad inlet: 3- Rad outlet 4- reading on the gauge. I intend to check: foam around the rad: foam under the hood: Fan operation and flow direction. I'm aware of the bleed points but haven't fiddled. I've heard the fans come on once (parked up at idle for several minutes) but runs so far have been traffic jam free!
I worked on them extensively when new and the issues were very common then. Ferrari did in fact redefine overheating as a boil over rather than any gauge indication and also changed from .9 bar caps to 1.1 bar caps to delay boil over. Water is a better cooling medium than antifreeze so abandon the old 50/50 mix and use as low an antifreeze content your weather will allow. I have also long been an advocate of Redlines Watter wetter additive. Better, higher output ducted fans are a great idea as well. As far as external temps I have no idea. Neither I or Ferrari considered it a source of important information with one exception.The radiator core itself but only for the purpose of confirming good reasonably even temps indicating good even flow through the core.
I wouldn’t worry about it . As long as the fans work and you occasionally vent it parked slight up hill so rad screw is uppermost you will be ok . The gauge does fluctuate with ambient temp and running speed ( airflow ) and engine rpm . As others have said stuck in traffic crawling along with ambient 30 + because of min airflow the needle will move to 5 o clock with the fans on ( GT4 here ) .I have taken mine to the EU in mid August 36 - 40 degrees and it’s been fine . BTW with modern cars say post 1990 s inc F cars they have algorithms built into the gauges to keep it bang on 90 ( or what ever ) So a 2022 Toyota or VW block temps fluctuate with speed / airflow / fan / ambient etc etc just like a 70 Ferrari …..except it’s dialled out of the gauge you just see 90 all day .The reason is to prevent idiots returning to dealers every 5 mins . The diff with a F car 3#8 you see the fluctuations. The needle moves both ways . I flushed mine through when I got it and even flushed the rad , easy remove the top + bottom hoses and simply let a garden hose in from the top .Leave it for an hour .Not a great deal washed out so I knew that was ok . The foam I used pipe insulation wedged at the sides of the rad and glued a piece under the hood to block that gap .It’s obviously important to prevent ram air or otherwise escaping round the sides and not going through the core .The core is Uber dense compared to other cars btw so naturally more resistant to air going through…..so block off all escape routes . Superperformance sell the replacement rubber hose kits under the chassis ……worth attending to when you do ( drain refresh ) the system . I changed the T stat , sorry can’t remember which new one I put in .It runs cooler with this .You will have to do your own research on T stats = plenty of threads .Iirc something to do with drilling a hole a bigger weep hole ? re warranty these are old cars and it’s a journey of repair and replace of parts just like any other classic .Welcome .Good news is pretty basic and simple analogue with widespread parts availability.= Enjoy tinkering . ps the expansion tanks corrode from the vapour inside and pin hole leaks occur.Again Superperformance are your friends they do alloy replacements in Matt black + sticker . When it’s belt time you will be able to fully examine the water pump ( check previous history ) and make the call then to replace it or repair ? Pretty robust but check the bearing for weeps .
Thanks. Superformance are 5 miles down the road… I’ve had a MGB Roadster that I’ve worked on for 20 years plus adding a supercharger so tinkering is good. But I’m also aware of “fixing it till it breaks”!
I'm not sure I agree with less than 50:50 antifreeze mix but I do agree with using water wetter. I have modern Kenlowe fans on my 308GT4 so the airflow is amazing. The origanl fans - probabvly past their best - were pretty useless and impossible to run the aircon with them. Agree important to get thefoam seals on the radiator sorted. My GT4 runs with virtually n o fluctiation in temp in all conditionsd
To add my two cents, those cheap handheld IR temp guns aren't something I'd base any major deductions on. There are better ones with stereo lasers for distance consistency and programmable offsets for different materials and shades but even than you need to have a method for verifying results and getting them dialed in. There are a lot of misconceptions such as believing that turning the fans on sooner is somehow going to prevent the inevitable but bottom line is that if there is a problem it will overheat and you'll have to shut it down and if not, you won't.
Once again. Apples and oranges. GT4 never had a cooling problem. 308QV did. It is very well known antifreeze is less efficient at cooling than straight water. While you do not know about running less than 50/50 I do. Also Watter wetter is rendered far less effective with antifreeze so running it with a 50/50 mix is a waste of money.
Like the fuel gauges in a Cessna, they aren't there to tell you how much gas you have because you're supposed to already know that but if you look at them and have to ask yourself "why is it doing that?" you should probably find a place to land.
I struggle to get any sensible temperature into mine in a UK winter unless I’m really pushing it hard. It doesn’t get much above 80 on the gauge in normal driving. In summer it will sit at 90 happily all day, a hint higher when pushed. When we had those 30 degree days last summer it would reach the giddy heights of 100-105 when really pushing on. We live in a very mild climate here. The cooling system is well up to most things the UK can throw at it if it’s in proper working order.
Hi can anyone help, I have a GTS QV and it is going through fan belts for fun, ( one every few months) they melt around the water pump pulley it seems, I have changed the water pump thinking that was sticking but it has just eat another, I thought the pulleys were out of line but they seem to be ok, it’s the one that goes around crank, water pump, and alternator , any ideas would be great , Thanks
I guess my real problem is that having just got the car I can’t go out to play as the weather is sh**t. The next best thing is to learn as much as I can!
Welcome to one reason why Ferrari changed the design to have separate v-belts for crank-to-WP and crank-to-alternator. Unfortunately, the parts to do the update are all pretty much gone. One thing you could do is confirm the alternator is the stock 80A and not some super-duper "upgraded" higher current alternator. In desperation, you could try downgrading to the 65A 308i-2V alternator. What version 308QV do you have? US, euro, euro converted to US legal, something else? PS We don't call them "fan belts" when they don't drive a fan .
If it's melting (slipping) around the WP it wouldn't be the alternator. Sounds like the belt is too narrow, wrong profile, and sits too deep in the pulley and lack grip.
He really only said that that's where the melted material is collecting -- it's typically the driving (crankshaft) pulley that does the melting (and the WP pulley is the first "cool" item to resolidify the melted belt material downstream from the crankshaft pulley). Also, he said he replaced the WP and had the same issue -- do you think he has 2 bad WPs? That design was brilliant and absolutely perfect for the carbed 308 with a 55A alternator -- lightweight and very low HP loss from the (wide V-angle) belt. The problem was that they kept stepping up the electrical needs of the car without making any other changes. If a design done for a WP+55A alternator could run a WP+80A alternator with no issues = it was way over-designed for the original WP+55A application.
Point well taken. I didn't say or mean to imply it was the water pump. However, I suggested that it's possible he is using the wrong type of belt which remains a possibility.
Hi thanks so much for all your responses, my QV is the U.S. model , the belts I buy from Superformance and are supposed to be the correct ones, I had no idea the rating of the alternator could have this effect, to answer the question about the water pump melting the belt, I don’t know what is the cause, it’s just when it happens the belt is in shreds and the only remaining piece is tight around the water pump pulley. ( good point about the fan)
The guys at SF are a great bunch but...... I would agree with JohnK, the V belt profile seems wrong to me, regardless of where it melts and cools the belt is overheating. Possible seized components the belt is driving need to be eliminated in the first instance. Measure the pulleys and make sure they are all the same spec ie common ones are SPA or SPZ profile. There are plenty of web sites that give you the correct dimensions/ profile of various "fan" belts. tony
Worth checking a couple of things. I’ve had 2 cooling system failures, both simply aging parts. hoses to the front of the car from near side of the engine block rotted. New section can be spliced into under wheel arch. Second was my header tank. The paint started bubbling and when I poked it coolant leaked out. Rotted out. Both known problems that if you are planning longer trips might be worth a look.
