"...had it cleaned out..." meaning what?
Assume your radiator is the original (it's possible). It is
over 30 years old. Even assuming it has received proper
cooling system maintanance all those years (less likely...)
all the flushing and even chemical cleaning is not going to
make it 'good as new'. Unless 'had it cleaned out' means it
was 'rodded out' (had the core physically scraped clean)
there is likely a significant loss of cooling efficiency in
that old radiator.
Is the coolant temp gauge in your '74 MGB electrical or
mechanical? Our '78 MGB has an electrical gauge. If yours is
mechanical you can skip the rest of my drivel.
Anyway, one day, after getting stuck in some stop & go
traffic with outside temps over 90F, our 'B's coolant gauge
began reading high. It continued to read high after we got
moving again and even later that evening when the air temps
had cooled off. At first I feared an engine or cooling
system problem but everything checked out OK. A few days
later, while doing some other maintanance work, I noticed
the instrument's voltage stabilizer was loose where it is
bolted to the inside firewall. I cleaned its mounting tab
and the spot on the firewall, snugged it back up and
subsequently noticed the gauge was now reading normally
again!
Eric Russell
Mebane, NC
> Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 18:47:42 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Matthew Milkevitch <mmilkevitch@yahoo.com>
> Subject: [Mgs] Cooling issue
> To: mgs@autox.team.net
>
> I have a cooling issue with my '74 MGB-GT, and I was
> wondering if anyone had any input as to the cause.
>
> The basic problem is this: The past couple of days have
> been fairly hot here in Philadelphia. Running my BGT with
> a 165 deg F thermostat, the car seems to run a little hot
> (in my opinion). The needle on the temp gauge is a little
> above the "N." When I sit in traffic, the temp goes up
> some more, maybe 1/2 way between "N" and "H." It comes
> down a little when I get going.
>
> Recently, I drained the radiator, had it cleaned out and
> checked....and I re-installed it with fresh hoses (one was
> leaking some) and a new thermostat.
>
> Today, it was in the low 80's in Phila...very dry and
> nice. I ran the car and it pretty much did the same
> thing!
>
> Any insights? I have yet to check the water pump. The
> temp sender could also be suspect.
>
>
> Thanks for all your help,
> Matt Milkevitch
> '74 MGB-GT
> Willow Grove, PA
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