BX16V.com Forum

My BX 16V (J990JMW) - I think ex- Mr. Hughes.

I took it to a track day at RAF Odiham in April, the engine oil and water temperatures were very high whilst on the track.

My radiator looks old and could do with replacing, does anybody else suffer from this. Has anybody added more cooling area with a custom radiator etc.

My first plan is to remove the radiator and flush the cooling system.

Rather than just get a new replacement radiator, I had thought about adding one of the BakerBM "low fat" radiators he makes for the 205 GTI. I dont know whether it fits yet either.

Has anyone done this. It might be a way forward as it gives extra access for the induction system as it can come further forward over the radiator.

Has anybody else done anything, or is it actually ok for the water and oil to hover on the red whilst on the track. At times I put the heating on full for the heater matrix to try and cool the car. I don't know whether it worked but it pumped loads of heat into the already hot cabin. Link To Coolant Hose Section would be good here.

Suggestions welcome as Im going to another track day soon. I know the air temperature should be a lot cooler anyway which will help.

Does anybody know where to get a cheap good new radiator?

One final thing, my car takes 8 to 10 miles for the coolant temp to get up to normal. Do you think my thermostat might be broken?

PhilS

Never done a track day, but the cooling system usually takes about 5mins of driving in mine to start rising and within 10mins it's a midway. The oil temp takes another 5 mins or so to reach operating temperature depending on how you're driving it. Never tracked it, so can't say how hot it gets. I've never seen the oil temp get near the red with spirited road driving.

You have baffled the sump, yeah? Not tempature related, but you engine's on borrowed time if you haven't and you're tracking it.

iirc in the racer, Gary used to use a std rad??
when i changed mine for new made a Massive difference, could also look at getting a lower temp thermostat in too,
ive never track'd mine so have no idea what mine would run like heat wise,

Mines happy to run falt out without the oil or water going anywhere near the red.
Standard rad, but it does have an 82° stat and diesel rad switch, along with a new rad.
Bear in mind though that the guages in BX's are not always that accurate.

When I put the Kent cams in mine it always ran hot. I too had to put the blowers on when stood in traffic. An easy fix which worked great, was to fit a second cooling fan controlled from a switch in the cabin. I positioned mine at the side of the front fog-light switch. There are already mounting points for a second fan, as the diesels have two fans, I believe.

I'd start by not using water TBH, its crap at dealing with heat. Industrial applications usually use 50%+ glycol and i'd recommend 70%+ if you can afford the cost everytime it escapes. Oh and buy a decent branded coolant, there does seem to be a difference. We've also found at work that coolant degrades faster than expected when stored for a long time.

You could get kits for fitting a second fan to the valver, and most valvers i've seen have a twin fan cowling that just need a motor and turbine adding.

Diesel thermostat and fan switch are a must. I'd also make sure your using a decent oil as the difference in heat generation between good and bad lubrication is quite noticeable.

These are the cheap options, and after these you go into the realms of engine and cooling system modifications. I've considered a high pressure water spray onto the rad before now, it works for intercoolers and i suspect it would help radiators too, albeit at the cost of radiator life!

install a 2nd cooling fan as i did gives you double cooling power. flushing out the cooling system to get the gunk out will help too

rossco

j990kmw is indeed ex mr hughes!, i was under the impression it had been stripped for parts!. Glad to see its still going. Must have over 220,000 miles by now??

Hi Robin,

Yes I think someone did strip it of useful parts.

I have given up listing all the parts I have replaced.

Its done 213475 miles = maybe 50

Oh yes when I first looked at it with a heady 210,000 miles I just walked away.

My Pug 309GTI died after 104,000 miles.

But anyway suspension wise its almost new.

Regards PhilS

Isn't the red on the oil temp gauge 140 degrees C?!?!?!

Hi All,
just to clarify I have a clone peugeot sump baffle in the engine.
I was told I would ruin the engine otherwise.

Thanks for the useful info from you all.

regards Phil

It is not surprising that the 16V runs hot in traffic, given that the rad is much smaller than on the 8V because of the lack of space meaning it is mounted more forward in the car.

I have never had mine go into the red when the fans have worked. Potential overheat problem is only when crawling. If yours is getting too hot when moving, I suspect the cooling system is not working 100%.

2nd fan works well, flush and replace coolent every few years, and make sure rad is not missing lots of its fins.

It is normal for the engine to run hot, but obviously not into the 'red'.

The engines are tough, and do not appear to cook their valve oil seals like the 8v units do. Probably because of better head cooling.

My 16V heats up very fast- always has. Great car in the cold weather!
8 to 10 miles is much too slow- I too suspect your thermostat. Perhaps it is stuck midway between open and shut?

Mike

Mine has AC and 2 fans and still runs high when pushed hard,
the rad is judt too small to be effective. maybe I will fabricate a alum unit..