Totally different subject!

R.V.Boxall · Post by **R.V.Boxall** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 8:13 pm

Hi, all, can anyone help, please. I just met an MX5 owner, a Canadian named
Bill, who is touring NZ, and has reached New Plymouth. He has an overheating
problem, great thing to happen on a saturday night!!!.

Questions:
Does anyone have any ideas what may be the problem? He has a full radiator
and his fans are working.

Does anyone have any contacts in the New Plymouth area who may be able to
help him on a Sunday morning?

He's staying in a Motel down the road, so I can probably get information to
him.

Ron Boxall

Mikkels · Post by **Mikkels** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 8:29 pm

If he has a full radiator and has not lost fluid then It may
be that the radiator is clogged. That was my problem and
the only solution was to have the radiator pulled apart and
physically de clogged.

Symptoms were: Car warms up normally and stays on nominal
temp for about 10 kms then begins to overheat.

Turning on the heater full with full fan helps as does using
AC as both radiator fans run.

Other possibilities are radiator cap - usually hear bubbling
in header tank when system fully warm, stuck thermostat but
that means that the car would not warm up normally but would
just go straight off the guage after a short time.

I'm in Auckland sorry so can't help with a place in New
Plymouth.

Good luck

Don

[...]

Michael & Kate Cooper · Post by **Michael & Kate Cooper** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 10:08 pm

When our MX5 had a radiator overflow/blowout, (during a blat around the
track at Ruapuna) it was a faulty thermostat. We took the thermostat out
and put it in boiling water, and it didn't open, which told us it was
faulty. So fitted a new one and all was good... (well, once we had put it
in properly and stopped the leak that resulted the first time round!)

When the engine is cold the thermostat is closed and the radiator fluid has
a restricted route, then when it warms up to a certain temperature, the
thermostat opens and allows the fluid to flow through the whole radiator
system. If it doesn't open then the fluid gets hotter and hotter as there
is not enough cooling in the restricted circuit.

It was a bit of a job for us amateurs, so maybe easiest for him to drop it
at a mechanic for the day rather than spending his holiday fixing the car!

Kate Cooper

www.penzance.co.nz

joanie · Post by **joanie** » Sun Jan 16, 2005 4:28 pm

Generally themostats tend to fail in the open position and your car never
warms up fully rather than the other way which causes overheating---but I
guess sometimes Murphy wins out!
Cheers Joan H

poison · Post by **poison** » Sun Jan 16, 2005 4:52 pm

I would have thought it was a 50/50 think as to whether closed or not. A few
cars ago mine failed closed out in the middle of no where. Fortunately it was
on a Cortina so easy to get at so I popped it out (once cool) and got home
without one.

Gazza
"PO1SON"

joanie · Post by **joanie** » Sun Jan 16, 2005 7:33 pm

Perhaps we have just been lucky ---I don't recall ever having one fail in
the closed position but certainly several in the open.Often when we have
bought cars (read old bombs!)they never heat up properly and the thermostat
was the problem.
Better touch wood now I may have just put a hex on myself!
Joan H

Michael & Kate Cooper · Post by **Michael & Kate Cooper** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 8:42 pm

From what we could gather through our dealings with our MX5 thermostat, it

was closed unless forced open by putting it in hot water.

If it was naturally open, then it would require you to immerse it in cold
water to see if it closes, to check if it's working or not. Michael says
that for years he has been under the impression that to check a car's
thermostat, it had to be put in hot water to test it. I feel that this
long-held belief would seem to indicate that others are/have been designed
in the same way ...?

Although I can see that it would be easier to drive with a faulty thermostat
if it was frozen open, rather than driving along at 30km/h with hazards on,
topping up the radiator with bottled water every few minutes!

Kate

joanie · Post by **joanie** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 10:07 pm

Yes you are correct in that they are naturally closed and to check they are
working you pop them into hot water. Never the less when they fail it seems
they usually fail in the open position and thus don't close when the car
cools down again, this has been our experience anyway, and for sure it is a
much better scenario to have a car not heating up than have a red hot one

Cheers Joan H
Wonder how the bloke got on in NP anyway...did he get the problem fixed and
what was it???

r.v.boxall · Post by **r.v.boxall** » Tue Jan 18, 2005 8:58 am

Yes, well, I don't know how he got on, because he'd disappeared from the motel before I got there next day. So, if anyone bumps into (not literally) a North American named Bill, driving a 1991 real (V-Special BRG, tan interior, top down, identical to mine!!))MX5, touring NZ, please ask what he did, how he got on, etc.

Speaking of top down, why does almost every other MX5 I see on a sunny day have its top up? Wannabe MR2 drivers? Can't stand the draught from behind? The weather here in NP last week was super, and they all had tops up except this one other one.

Ron Boxall
[...]

From jifjif@gmail.com Fri Apr 27 17:15:37 2007
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Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 10:26:27 +1300
From: ~Jeff~ <jifjif@gmail.com>
To: MX5List <mx5list@mx5club.org.nz>
Subject: Re: Re: Totally different subject!
In-Reply-To: <20050117195846.CXMA29485.mta2-rme.xtra.co.nz@210.86.15.139>
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maybe they're taking their double-wishboned, rear wheel drive, 50:50
F:R balanced *sports car* out for a hard blat and didn't want to be
lumped with the cafe cruisers -->

<--

[...]

John Forsyth · Post by **John Forsyth** » Tue Jan 18, 2005 10:40 am

No, it's that strange (solar) thing in the sky that they need protection
from

From jifjif@gmail.com Fri Apr 27 17:15:36 2007
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Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 11:22:25 +1300
From: ~Jeff~ <jifjif@gmail.com>
To: MX5List <mx5list@mx5club.org.nz>
Subject: Re: Re: Totally different subject!
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ah yes, the great giver of melanoma and cataracts...

PS - my top has been down for 6 months straight ! One of them anyway, hehe.

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 10:40:05 +1300, John Forsyth <jdf@tenex.co.nz> wrote:
[...]

Michael & Kate Cooper · Post by **Michael & Kate Cooper** » Tue Jan 18, 2005 12:26 pm

After 6 weeks of rain and showers in Dunedin, you'd think everyone would be
itching to get their tops off, but no, still saw more tops up than down
during the 3 beautiful fine days we had this year. If I'm in the MX, I feel
I'm well within my rights to gesticulate wildly, indicating my shock, but I
have to stop myself when I'm driving the "other car!"

Kate

Matt Camp · Post by **Matt Camp** » Tue Jan 18, 2005 12:51 pm

I wonder if thats the same guy who accidentally tried to get into my car
(1990 V-Special BRG, tan interior, tan top) while parked in the carpark
at Jaycar in Auckland some time before xmas?

I was sitting in it at the time and he got a bit of a shock I think

He was there trying to find a way to stop his door speakers from
rattling or something.

I know that sometimes I don't put the top down simply because I have to
spend 30-45 minutes on a motorway at slow speed next to trucks and
busses pouring fumes all over the place... and also because I still
haven't remembered to put a tube of sunblock in the glovebox for those
sunny days!

r.v.boxall@xtra.co.nz wrote:

[...]

poison · Post by **poison** » Tue Jan 18, 2005 3:28 pm

I'm with Kate on this one, I like to see more MX'5rs with
their tops off, especially the women, and I really don't
care if they don't even have an MX5 at all. It's all good.

Gazza the dirty perv
"PO1SON"

[...]

Michael & Kate Cooper · Post by **Michael & Kate Cooper** » Tue Jan 18, 2005 5:17 pm

Careful Gazza ... this subject issue got a bit out of hand a few years back
... and I'm sure the long-time-listers will agree we don't want to go THERE
again!

Unfortunately in Dunedin, although it always gets dry enough to take the
ROOF off - it rarely gets hot enough to warrant stripping further - guys and
girls included!

Does anyone know of anyone who has managed to put a 3rd seat in an MX5? It
may just be a bit cheaper than buying another whole car... although not
quite as much fun of course! I suppose I should really be going to LTSA to
find out standards ... or maybe some sort of engineer...?

Kate

EricW · Post by **EricW** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 7:18 am

Don't worry Kate, if Gazza really want's to indulge his fantasies, I will
post the picture of me driving in Rarotonga with MY top down. If I do, I can
solemnly promise you that nobody on the list will ever want to go there
again!

Regards

Eric

Nina · Post by **Nina** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 5:21 pm

Heck if I know? Apart from me and another mariner blue I saw the other day,
every dman person in Tauranga seems to drive with the top up. And that goes
not only for MX5's... every other convertible I see has the top up.

Why would you buy a convertible and keep the top up? *shakes head*
I only put the top up if it's blowing a gale (yuck... debris all over the
cockpit... had a piece of bark hitting me square on the noodle from a
logging truck...) or if the roads are wet (big rig spray is NOT amusing) or
if it's seroiusly raining.

Nina

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You don't know
if it's fear or desire
Danger the drug
that takes you higher
Head in heaven
fingers in the mire

Stevo · Post by **Stevo** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 8:48 pm

You are dead right Nina. I just moved to Tauranga from the "Naki" in December
and most MX's I have seen have had their tops up. However I went over to the
mount the other day to watch the "Birdman Competition" and saw 2 others with
their tops down. They were both gold, (the same as mine) so maybe the owners
of Gold cars are the only ones who drive around and enjoy the sunshine?.
The only time I put the top up is when parking somewhere. Heaps of
personalised plates on them though. Saw "Slydit parked yesterday on Welcome
Bay road. I wave to all MX drivers so if you see my 98 Gold driving around, be
sure to give us a wave.
Cheers Stevo

Nina · Post by **Nina** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 8:26 pm

Hey Stevo, if you see a slightly striped red NA popping the lights atya or
waving it'll be me

Nina

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You don't know
if it's fear or desire
Danger the drug
that takes you higher
Head in heaven
fingers in the mire

Stevo · Post by **Stevo** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 8:40 pm

Cool Nina. We are out at Pyes Pa but travel everywhere
Cheers Stevo

Michael & Kate Cooper · Post by **Michael & Kate Cooper** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 9:55 pm

Nina - I thought you bought a 10th Anniversary model?

Kate

Nina · Post by **Nina** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 5:06 pm

Naw... I've had my baby for a couple of years now, she's a '89.
Must be confuzzling me with someone else

Cheers
Nina

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You don't know
if it's fear or desire
Danger the drug
that takes you higher
Head in heaven
fingers in the mire

Post by **zorruno** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 5:46 pm

on 25/01/2005 5:06 p.m. Nina wrote:

Naw... I've had my baby for a couple of years now, she's a '89.
Must be confuzzling me with someone else

Cheers
Nina

Maybe Chrissy the Taranaki/Wanganui/Manawatu local coordinator? She got
a 10AE a while ago

cheers
zorruno

Michael & Kate Cooper · Post by **Michael & Kate Cooper** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 7:33 pm

Yeah, sorry, I was thinking of Chrissy - must be losing it.

Kate

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