Upgrading an S1 radiator - cooling issues.

[GordonMasson]

So the 40 year old issue of keeping an Esprit cool appears to as problematic as ever. 

My S1 has 3 fans and I have tried the usual suggestions of a fan in the engine bay etc but the car us still overheating and the battery is draining when all the fans are running. 

Has anyone fitted an upgraded radiator or come up with any new ideas?

Surely this must be a major issue in warmer climates.......... Tony K???

 If my car is overheating in traffic when it's 20 degrees Celsius there must be something that is preventing that overseas?

[Paul Coleman]

My car regularly overheats in traffic. I've got 3 Kenlowe fans fitted to a refurbished radiator which I bought from SJ but others have said the problem is the water pump not being up to the job. Must have been a bitch in Sardinia hahaha

[GordonMasson]

Yep, heard the water pump might be the problem.... is the radiator higher spec or just the same as the original.

I am thinking that a new spec radiator with a better core might go a long way to solving it but so far I don't know of anyone who has found such a thing.

[johnpwalsh]

Gordon, have you spoken with Mike at Lotusbits, slightly different, but I think he did an upgrade to alloy for his rally cars. He may have a suggestion for you. Triple core alloy.

[GordonMasson]

Car is on a transporter as we speak on its way to Lotus bits for them to sort out the oil leaks after the engine re-build. Will ask him but it would be good to hear from an S1 owner who knows for sure that an upgraded radiator has made a difference.

[Paul Coleman]

According to the SJ website SJ079K0010 is an 'uprated' radiator - whatever that means! Is the alloy radiator (SJ079K0019) worth fitting? Anybody fitted one and noticed any difference? My car is fine as long as it's moving, it's just crawling along in traffic that it doesn't like.

[giorgio67]

I had my two fans rad recored to 3 row with two 11" Kenlow fans. My rad man said that alloy is just bullshit because it has less cooling property compared to brass, so recoring to 3 row would be a better solution for me. The later type Water pump have different impellor and will be more efficent  compared to the S1 early type, someone said me that the cooling is 30-40% better.

 

Giorgio

[GordonMasson]

OK, possibly a stupid suggestion but would putting some form of electric pump in series help the flow or are you limited by the throughput of the main water pump?

[krytensmeghead]

On 7/18/2016 at 23:05, GordonMasson said:

OK, possibly a stupid suggestion but would putting some form of electric pump in series help the flow or are you limited by the throughput of the main water pump?

Exactly what I was thinking when reading this topic. There are off the shelf electric water pumps. Haven't looked into how they would fit in the Esprit.

My temp gauge shows over 100 degrees but I don't trust it. A hand held thermometer shows 80 degrees. Not sure if there's some weird voltage thing happening there as the fuel gauge is also wrong with a new sender unit.

The letterbox slot disguised as an air intake for the radiator seems a tad small too. Has anyone tried letting more air in from under the radiator support ?

[skiing]

There is a voltage regulator behind the instruments which if it goes wrong can cause various dials to over read.

[marode]

mine is doing slighty better since a flush with Liqui Moly radiator cleaner (I flushed the complete system). Had placed 4 SPAL fans behind the original radiator before with no big efforts when sitting in traffic. 

[krytensmeghead]

On 11/11/2017 at 02:39, skiing said:

There is a voltage regulator behind the instruments which if it goes wrong can cause various dials to over read.

Thanks Matthias,

I've heard of this before but haven't found it yet.

So I'm looking for parts 13 and 23 ?

[Andyww]

On 10/11/2017 at 12:29, krytensmeghead said:

Exactly what I was thinking when reading this topic. There are off the shelf electric water pumps. Haven't looked into how they would fit in the Esprit.

The letterbox slot disguised as an air intake for the radiator seems a tad small too. Has anyone tried letting more air in from under the radiator support ?

On the Turbo the cooling should be fine, they sorted it by then. The standard system should work, no need for any extra mods so if its overheating something is wrong, maybe air lock in the system. 

[peteyg]

This is an old topic but I have never had an overheating issue in my S2. Standard rad (inclined as it's a later car so OK might be slightly larger than the upright ones), standard waterpump etc. What was so different with the earlier cars that could have such a dramatic effect on the cooling? I have 2 fans - standard. They both come on in traffic when the temp goes up and cool the water back down to 90 odd degrees. 

Keen to know...

Pete

[Steve V8]

Another consideration to help prevent engine and cooling system damage through overheating would be the use of Evans waterless coolant, it won't cure the overheating problem but raises the coolants boiling point to around 160 degrees I believe, reducing damage through pressure build up and subsequent coolant loss. And as it's also non corrosive it prevents oxidisation furing and clogging of the waterways, which on cars that are not used regularly can cause problems.

[marode]

On 14.11.2017 at 20:39, peteyg said:

I have 2 fans - standard. They both come on in traffic when the temp goes up and cool the water back down to 90 odd degrees. 

Pete, I´ve been there. Has worked out very well for years, but suddenly I went into overheating troubles. Had not used the car regulary due to other failures before, maybe that's why. My guess is I´ve had partially clogged waterways. The liqui moly stuff helped.