engine and brake issues

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Glanceb

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I managed to finally get the car out driving after taking out the thermostat to stop the engine over heating. While driving I am having the following issues, perhaps somebody could shed some light on them

1: After driving for about 30mins the brake pedal starts to get really stiff and harder to push, if I turn the car off for about 20mins and on again it is fine for another 30mins of driving then it starts to get stiff again. Any ideas?

2: With the thermostat out the engine keeps a nice temp while driving in the city and while stopped but once I start moving the temp drops into the blue. I can only assume that this is because the thermostat is removed. Will this cause any issues other than burning more fuel when in the blue on the temp guage?

3: While driving and pushing the car hard the floor and drive shaft area inside the cab get quite hot, the seat belt bolts even get hot to touch. Is this normal, and when driving should there be so much heat coming from the engine, when the wind blows you get wafts of hot air coming into the cab?

Cheer,

Glanceb
 
Glanceb said:
I managed to finally get the car out driving after taking out the thermostat to stop the engine over heating. While driving I am having the following issues, perhaps somebody could shed some light on them

1: After driving for about 30mins the brake pedal starts to get really stiff and harder to push, if I turn the car off for about 20mins and on again it is fine for another 30mins of driving then it starts to get stiff again. Any ideas?

2: With the thermostat out the engine keeps a nice temp while driving in the city and while stopped but once I start moving the temp drops into the blue. I can only assume that this is because the thermostat is removed. Will this cause any issues other than burning more fuel when in the blue on the temp guage?

3: While driving and pushing the car hard the floor and drive shaft area inside the cab get quite hot, the seat belt bolts even get hot to touch. Is this normal, and when driving should there be so much heat coming from the engine, when the wind blows you get wafts of hot air coming into the cab?

Cheer,

Glanceb
Click to expand...

1. May be a bad brake booster, or a slow vac leak. It being very difficult means you are lacking mechanical advantage, which is provided by the booster.

2. When you are stopped, the temp should actually rise a good bit, as there is little airflow over the rad, excluding the engine fan. Have you checked out the temp sensor, to see if it is within spec?

3. Check that the holed area in front of the pedals has the correct gasketing and the underpanels are fitted. Without oth of those, you will get lots of heat from the engine bay. As for the driveshaft, check to see if you have any exhaust leaks. Otherwise, you may want to wrap the exhaust in certain places.
 
x_atlas0,

If it does rise when there is no air flow should it then drop into the blue when driving. It doesnt seem very efficient?? is this normal. I have an aftermarket electric fan fitted which keeps it half way even when stuck in traffic, but I cant keep it mid way when driving?

I will look into the brake master cylinder and see how it goes.

Thanks,

Glanceb
 
hmmm

Thoughts...

If you're using an electric fan, it ought to be (IMHO) thermostatically controlled. The engine is supposed to operate in a specific heat range; the fan and thermostat regulate the flow of cooling air and coolant to maintain the engine in that range. If you are not using the original radiator, you likely have a threaded port for the thermoswitch. Other switching alternatives exist.

Running in the blue is not running in the appropriate heat range. My coupe used to do that, but I installed a thermostat and now it runs, I think, correctly, just below halfway.

You should run a tstat. Reasons above. If you can't keep it around halfway during driving, you are "overcooling" and lack of a tstat may be the reason. Removing the tstat is not a solution, it is a patch over a problem. Let's examine all the evidence and find that problem, then fix it. This will be the cost-effective solution, rather than throwing patches at an unidentified issue, which cause other "issues" like overcooling.

You can verify the coolant flow through the radiator using an infrared "ray gun" thermometer so search out cool spots where the rad tubes may be plugged. These are now fairly inexpensive at Harbor Freight and such. You don't need NIST accuracy, just to know that across the radiator, things are pretty much the same temperature.

No mention of your radiator condition... hmmm?

I think the hard pedal suggests you should remove and check the function of the one-way valve between the brake servo and intake manifold. Unusual for it to be causing a hard pedal in the manner described, but hard pedal suggests no vacuum in the servo. Alternatively, the o-ring between the brake master cylinder and servo may be bad, or the seal of the elbow coming out of the servo (to which the vacuum hose attaches) may not be sealing. In each case, remove, clean, inspect, verify, replace as needed, reassemble and test. If I work on a brake system, I make sure it's working (and/or the hand brake is properly adjusted) before going out on the road. Even then, when leaving my driveway, I go uphill at first. No stories about that today...
 
Honolulu,

Thanks for your input, I can take you throught he progress.

1: Purchased car, no fan installed, thermostat installed, previous owner told me that the water is being pumped constantly and that is why it goes into blue when driving and explodes when stuck in traffic

2: Installed electric fan with its own temperature switch in the old radiator, which comes on and off correctly, thermostat still in.

3: Ran car engine overheated when driving

4: Removed thermostat, electric fan keeps engine temp mid way when in traffic, blue when driving. Is this just because I have removed the thermostat?? But I cant see how installing the thermostat could cause the engine to overheat when driving. I have checked it and it is working?? It has me puzzeled, I will check the radiator next.

Thanks for the input on the brake, I will attack that problem ASAP, just trying to enjoy the last few possible driving days before the rain in Ireland gets even heavier in the winter than it is in the summer.

Can you recommend a good brake fluid and coolant? I just run water in the system no additivies?
 
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