Re: traffic overheat

[Godfrey DiGiorgi <ramarren@domain.elided>]

Again, very similar to the behavior my '78 was demonstrating. A thermostat
can belly up at any time so that's the first thing to check, luckily they
are cheap and easily replaced. But if that doesn't do it, you likely need
a new radiator core. That's what mine needed. 

The flow testing done by most radiator shops presumes about 50% overhead
in the cooling system, it seems, but Alfa Romeo generally only has about
20% to start with, it seems (numbers are purely conjectural). So the
testing can come out just fine but you still don't have enough flow to
cool properly.

A new radiator core fixed my problem completely (oh yes, along with a new
water pump which was showing evidence of seal leakage at the same time). 

Godfrey

> '74 Spider overheating in traffic ...
>
> I replaced the thermostat last year, rebuilt the head over the
> winter, had the radiator tested and flushed, carefully filled the
> coolant system with 50-50 antifreeze to distilled water ratio.
> 
> Oh, there are no bubbles in the expansion reservoir while the car
> is running, so that removes one source.
> 
> I guess my question is what the heck could be causing this?? What
> is the life span of a thermostat? Should I change it again?

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