Coolant colours

[Mr156_2.0]

Hi all,

In traffic on a hot day mt 156 2.0 tspark goes above 90 degrees. Actually about 3 quarters up the gauge. I have a new thermostat and radiator. Can it be the coolant I'm using?

[Steve S]

Hi all,

In traffic on a hot day mt 156 2.0 tspark goes above 90 degrees. Actually about 3 quarters up the gauge. I have a new thermostat and radiator. Can it be the coolant I'm using?

No

The coolant does not "cool" the car, it just prevents corrosion and offers a safety margin, preventing boiling if the cooling system cannot keep up. The heat transfer coefficient of glycol based coolant is actually less than that of water, so plain water will actually work better in theory, however the difference is very minor. Coolant only needs replacing because it eventually turns acidic.

[Cool Jesus]

I have a new thermostat and radiator.

Is the fan turning on? Does the temp go down when car is moving, would indicate fan may not be turning on as air passses through your new radiator to remove heat from coolant.

Coolant should be either Red for an aftermarket or Alfa Paraflu is blue (I think).

[Mr156_2.0]

the fan cuts in and the car cools down when i am driving. when i become stationary for a few mins the temp also come down. its whe im in stop and start traffic.

[Cool Jesus]

Yeah, that's fairly normal for stop start traffic, temp may rise a little. How high does it get?

[Mr156_2.0]

Well half way is 90 it goes just over the 3 quarter mark. Just enough to make you worried.

[Cool Jesus]

Not sure how that looks, haven't seen a 156 gauge, but it does sound worrying to go that far. How far off the red is it?

In any case, the basics are;

Coolant; (is the type and ratio mix correct)
thermostat issues; (new)
Radiator issues; (new)
hoses; (in good condition/blockages)
Waterpump; (is it flowing/pumping)
Temp sender; (is it working properly)
thermo fans; (is it working properly)
Any blockage in the system restricting flow;
Last coolant flush < 2 years;
Coolant age < 2 years;
Clean all electrical connections for fan, senders etc in engine bay;

Am I missing any?
I might just add too, don't assume that because its 'new' its OK, verify it.

It seems like you may just have a sensitive temp sender.
Maybe someone else that actually has a 156 could chime in as far as temp gauge readings? Someone? Does it move around this much in stop start traffic?

[Mr156_2.0]

the red on the guage starts right near the end. the funny thing is that with the old engine or the new one it does the same thing.
i have changed the water pump with the motor, hoses are new, coolant new, radiator cleaned, thermostat new, all is new. would it be safe to assume that it is somthing the motor just does as it has happened to both motors?

[Cool Jesus]

Aha, thats right, you transplanted the engine with your Dad. Well, it might just be a quirk. I've not owned a 156, so can't say, someone will hopefully jump on and confirm or otherwise for you.

[Mr156_2.0]

Yeah the thing is that both the old and new engine is doing the same thing. The new engine has had all replaced in regards to water as mentioned above. So it got me thinking. Maybe they are made to do that? That are made for a Italian climate not an Australian 1. Maybe.......

[Beatle]

When you swapped engines did the sender stay with the engine, or the car?

Are you using the correct thermostat?

I'd try swapping senders between engines to see if it's just a quirk with that particular sender connected to that particular guage.

And can you better explain what you mean when you say the problem occurs on both engines? 
1.   Do you mean the problem happened in your car with both the previous and current engines fitted? Or,
2.   is it that your car and the other car with your old engine in it are displaying the same fault?
If the latter, did either car do it when they had their original engines installed.

i

[colcol]

My 156 JTS, on the freeway the gauge sits on 90c, slow down to about 50kph and it goes to about 95c, crawling traffic, up to about 100c, get caught in a traffic snarl, up to about 115c, thats about what i would expect, modern cars run very hot to increase efficient running, just make sure it doesn't go into the hot zone, but if it overheats, then the idiot light will come up, make sure you have the fresh red/pink coolant, too much water and it will corrode, too much coolant and the stuff running through your cooling system will be too thick, and not able to transfer heat from engine to coolant, from coolant to radiator, if in doubt check thermostat, problem area on 147's and 156's, Colin.