MGB: TR-3 runs hot

I am doing a roofing project for a guy with a 58 TR-3a and he says his car runs hot and he has had everything done to it short of hot tanking the block to get the buildup of crud around the rear cylinders. I know our B engines can suffer from the same problem caused by sitting for long periods of time without the coolant being changed. Is there a quick fix. My inclination is no but just maybe someone has the cure.

Sometimes fifty year old tractor engines need to get "tanked". LOL Jack

I have a few friends with Massey-Ferguson tractors, maybe we should do a swap.

the 3 (and 4) have wet cylinders...the bore is in the cylinders, not the block.

One could drain the coolant, remove the head and then even remove the cylinders (they don't screw in as I recall, but just push in and out...simple as that LOL!), clean the visible, re-gasket the cylinders (it's a figure 8-looking thing, for two cylinders in each gasket) and replace them all without removing the engine. Not quite as simple as it sounds, but neither is removing the engine where you ned to tear out the interrior to yank the trans and all that.

just thought...

Evapo-Rust has a cooling system cleaner, non acidic, thus sewage system disposable, that should do a hellova job in cleaning out the rust that probably accounts for most of of the crud. I ran a gallon of the regular stuff thru the B (topped off, then, with water) and the result was very visible. I would bet the special stuff, perhaps repeated 2x could get him a step closer to resolved.

I just e-mailed Evapo-rust about this possible use of their product. Thanks Mac

Dan,
On MGs that can also be a sign of a cracked head. Someone with dark-side experience might have more input.

DB Wood Wrote:

The cooling system is very simple. I would doubt its something so drastic as having to get the block tanked. Although, time and 50 years can clog up a cooling system, especially if it has sat.

Here's what I would suggest . . . . Firstly, he more than likely still has the old original metal 3 bladed fan. Get rid of that! Get the replacement plastic 8 bladed fan that they sell for the car.

Now, aside from that, is the radiator NEW? Just because it doesn;t leak, doesn't mean it actually moves water. These clog horribly, and are the cause of most cooling issues.

Does the water pump move water???

Does the thermostat work??

There's only a few components to the cooling.

Water circulates thru the engine and radiator because the water pump moves it. The thermostat opens and allows the water to circulate from the hot engine into the radiator, that's it really! so if the radiator is clogged, or the thermostat is stuck, or the water pump is broken water cannot circulate.

Now, that's water flow, now air flow. Air must flow thru the radiator in order to cool the water. That can be done either with the stock mechanical fan, or an electrical fan can be added.

I won't get into the electrical fan debate, some people swear by them. But, our cars stayed cool just fine before they came along. The original fan, the metal 3 blader is not sufficient for the stop and go traffic that we drive in today. A retrofit to an 8-bladed kit is the best solution in my opinion. I don't thin k an electrical fan is needed, plus, they look out of place in the old cars.

So, there you have it. Many, many people overlook the radiator, that is 90% of the problems. People have a leak, and they pour in that stop-leak, well that clogs stuff, then you add in years and years of corrosion from never flushing or old anti-freeze and you have a clogged rad.

Also, I don't know too much about the evapo-run that they're talking about, but there are lots of motor flushes that are designed chemically to dissolve the crap in the motor that builds up.

I would try everything suggested before pulling a motor to be tanked. You'll have to remove everything and rebuild it if you're gonna dip it in the caustic tank!

B

Daniel,
Brian's comments above cover just about all I was going to post.
Being from 1958 the car sounds like it most likely just needs some TLC in the waterworks dept.

Cheers , Pete.

At the moment I have 4 "Tractor engines" here and I totally agree with Brian. The cooling problems I've encountered over the years most often revolve around the thermostat, the water pump or the radiator. If any system cleaning products are used the thermostat should be removed anyway, make sure it's the correct range and opens in a pot of boiling water. You can see the if the water pump is working by removing the cap and watching the coolant flow in the radiator (hot engine or thermostat removed). It always amazes me what comes out of a radiator when it's removed, turned up side down and simply back-flushed with a garden hose. I swear I found Jimmy Hoffa in one! I have never used anything other than the three blade fans in any of my TR3s and have never had a problem as long as the cooling system is in good working order. Only partially true I guess... I did add an expansion tank to the 55 I had living in Southern California.

Newt

Lots of good advise here. Surprised that no one has mentioned verifiying that it actually is hot. Could be a bad sending unit, which is fairly common to all these cars.

BTW, I have a 1950 TO20 Ferguson that I use to cut my field. Looks pretty much the same as an 8N Ford. Engine is a Continental OHV. Does sound a bit like a TR :)