Hot Spider

["Kim Boydell" <boydell@domain.elided>]

Hi all.


I have a 79 spider that has started to over-heat in stop and go traffic
(note this is relatively new).  The normal operating temperature is about
180 F  but in stop and go traffic on a hot day the temperature starts to
climb past 212 F.  Turning on the heater and the fan stops the rise and
lowers the temperature, but it still stays above normal until there is a
break in traffic and I can start moving again.  I know that low oil level
can affect the cooling (that is why the sump also doubles as a speed-bump
feeler gauge) but my oil level is fine.  The fan has all its blades (always
check the obvious first), the shroud is in place and, yes, there is lots of
coolant.

When it stops raining out I will try cleaning the rad by blowing water
through the fins using a garden hose.  If that doesn't work, then I will
check the thermostat, but I not sure if this is the problem since the heater
core is getting lots of hot water.

Any other suggestions?

Also, how hot is too hot?

Thanks for you advice.

Kim

79 spider (it says veloce but I know its normale)
97 Honda family hauler and Cheerios storage device.


P S
FYI,
I submitted this earlier and it seemed to have disappeared into the great
computer void.  I then got a reply from Richard Welty who let me know that 7
bit characters were the maximum I could send to get this through.  I guess
what that means is that ASCII characters (such as the little o's used to
indicate degrees) don't work.  And thanks Richard for letting me know why
this wasn't working.

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