Re: Delorean Overheating (almost)

["jtrealty@xxxx " <jtrealty@xxxx>]

A proper mixture of coolant is a 50/50 mix of clean low mineral water 
with ethelyne glycol (permanent type anti-freeze). It should also 
contain corrosion inhibiters and water pump lubricant. Dupont or any 
name brand should be adequate. Be sure it says compatible with 
aluminum, most all of the top brands do. If you have this 
concentration in the system and you can hold 15 psi the boiling point 
is 256 degrees F. The problem is if you lose pressure containment at
a 
temperature above 212 degrees you will get an immediate flash boil 
over. This is why it is so important to have a good tight system with 
hoses you can trust, If ANY hose anywhere in the system fails 
including the heater hoses, radiator cap etc you will immediatly
lose 
all coolant and all cooling capacity in the system. There will be no 
"buffer" or margin of safety in the event of a loss of pressure 
containment. You will immediatly overheat. The first sign may not
even 
be a rise on the temp gauge, it won't respond fast enough. Typically 
most drivers will first notice that the engine doesn'trespond to the 
gas pedal. There may be some unfamiliar odors and then it may occur
to 
look at the temp gauge. By then it is way past too late and all you 
can do is shut the engine down and coast to the side of the road.

David Teitelbaum
vin 10757



--- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxx, "Robert Rooney" <dmcvegas@xxxx> wrote:
> My cooling fans don't turn on untill a little bit below the 220 
mark. 
> While the motor appears to run fine @ this temp, I don't know that 
> it's the ideal range. I've found that when the temp gets up that 
> high, the heat robs the engine of power. For good pickup and power, 
> the car performs best in the 160-190 range. Plus for the coolant 
> mixture that I use, 220 is only 15-20 degrees below the boiling 
> point. When a cooling system failure occurs there is not a safe 
> enough "buffer zone" to give me enough time to pull the car over to 
> the side of the road before the radiator cap blows. (ie: if while
in 
> heavy traffic the cooling fans didn't turn on because of a blown 
> fuse, I could pull over to cool the engine down while I replaced
the 
> fuse. And then continue down the road. But if the coolant boils
over 
> before I can pull over, I'm then stranded no matter what because 
I've 
> dumped the majority of my water out.)
> As for the the otterstat, the unit is sealed so you can't adjust it 
> to have the fans kick on @ different temps.
> 
> -Robert
> vin 6585
> 
> --- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxx, joelpash@xxxx wrote:
> > Is 220 when the needle is right in the middle? If I remember
> > correctly, this is where it is supposed to run. The engine is
> > designed to run hot. It is possible to set the fans to come on
at 
a
> > lower temp, but then the fans will not last as long.