unfortunately not, have a look at this article it explains it quite nicely (its actually quite honest for a product spec sheet!) glycol and its derivitives do decrease the freezing point and increase the boiling point with 50/50 being the best ratio, the problem is that once you add the glycol it decreases the waters ability to transfer the heat efficiently.

http://www.redlineoil.com/whitePaper/21.pdf

some results would look like this but I cannot get the table to line up so the temps are out of line with the stabilized temp column, hope it makes sense

DYNO TEST RESULTS
Dynomometer tests performed by Malcolm Garrett
Racing Engines showed significant improvements in
coolant temperatures using WaterWetter®. These
tests were performed with a Chevrolet 350 V-8 with a
cast iron block and aluminum cylinder heads. The
thermostat temperature was 160°F. The engine operated
at 7200 rpm for three hours and the stabilized
cooling system temperature was recorded and tabulated
below:
Cooling System Fluid Stabilized Temperature
50% Glycol/ 50% Water 228°F
50/50 with WaterWetter® 220°F
Water 220°F
Water with WaterWetter® 202°F

These numbers are similar to the temperatures
recorded in track use and heavy-duty street use

__________________
61 Austin mini
67 Lotus 7
74 450sl
76 Cadillac 8.2l (501 ci)

some new cars

megasquirt conversion on:
djet 74 450sl http://www.mercdjetmegasquirt.britautorepair.com/
cis 76 450sl http://www.merccismegasquirt.britautorepair.com/

the best view is always from the point of no return

Guru is right about the water. We do that on the offshore drilling rig cat engines during the warm months to help keep em running cooler and it works.

I installed a radiator with one from later R107 e.g. 420SL (one with upper outlet one side and inlet below on the opposite side with built-in transcooler but I didn't use that b/c my car is stick.), then I plugged the very short hose below the thermostat housing so that the coolant will flow to the block without thermostat and I blocked off the tab above the water pump housing where the by-pass steel tubing is placed and the engine has manual choke (which I like it very much) so, the thermostat housing does not have provisions for auto choke.

my car didn't overheat! It stays around 160-180F(with AC on) range despite outside temperature averaging 30-33C the Philippines weather! and distilled water as well. AT the expense of warming-up, it will take longer about 6 minutes to reach the engine's operating temperature.

Hi all,

Sorry for not having updated this thread, but since I welcomed my friends in Las Vegas we have been moving a lot, driving, hiking, visiting, and I had no time and most often no access to internet.

Here is a summary of our trip: we stayed in Las Vegas for three days visiting all the crazy hotels. It’s like Disneyland for adults. It’s even crazier when one thinks it’s in the middle of a desert. From there we drove through the Death Valley. We got 120°F there, before reaching the snow in Yosemite National Park in the evening. There we had a scary experience with a bear trying to open our special metal food storage box in the middle of the night. That made a hell of a noise, and everybody in the tents around woke up and kind of ran away. We then headed to San Francisco, which I really liked, being a sailor. My friends both are winemakers so we also visited the Napa and Sonoma valleys. From there we drove back south to the Grand Canyon, and then proceeded to Canyon de Chelly, Monument Valley, Lake Powell, Canyonlands and Arches. This is an increadibly beautiful region, with a lot to see and a lot of hiking to do. It was also interesting to meet with some Navajos. There my friends flew back to Europe from Denver while my girlfriend joined me. We drove north to Salt Lake City and then Yellowstone. Seeneries there are less breathtaking than further south, but it is very beautiful, and a lot of animals to see. We then drove through Grand Teton and reached Jackson Hole. When time came to go back home we drove to Chicago that I wanted to visit and reached back home in DC early August.

I am not going much into details because there would be far too much to say. All in all this was a fantastic once in a lifetime travel where I discovered America. I was lucky to do that trip with my ’62 W111 Coupe which ran well globally and made these 10000 miles without giving us too much trouble, apart from that overheating reported at the beginning. I followed the recommendations received on this board, flushed the system and replaced the antifreeze mix with water and a dose of water wetter. I also reduced the ignition advance a bit as lower octane caused the engine to ping a bit. I guess this also contributed to keep the engine cooler. It even made it out of the Death Valley with a temperature under shade of 120°F. Temperature was much higher out under the sun at midday, when we drove on that long uphill road taking us to the snowy mountains on the way to Yosemite.

The only incident we had was on the highway between Chicago and Indianapolis. I was sleeping while my girlfriend was driving. Suddenly the lorry ahead of us hit a very big piece of metal (kind of steps lost by a lorry or a trailer) and blew two of its trailer tires. My girlfriend could not do else but also drive on that metal piece as vehicles were passing us on our left and the emergency lane was closed due to road works. The car behind us also ran into it and we both pulled behind the truck that had blown its tires (by then the emergency lane was free again). The shock and the loud noise woke me up and the car sustained quite some damage: the front emergency brake lever was bent, the cable ripped off, the left sub-frame bracket connecting with the front leaf bent, the reinforcing hedge of the left lower control arm bent, left down pipe and chassis rail dented behind the left front wheel, the left rear floor pan bent upwards by at least two inches and the triangular metal piece keeping the rear axle left trail arm also bent. Given the trajectory of that metal piece we were very lucky not to have the rear fuel pump ripped away. We were also lucky to hit that thing in the center left of the car. Hitting it in the center would have blown both engine and trans oil pans as well as the fuel tank. Hitting center right would have ripped oil cooler lines and fuel tank. The car was still running ok and after one hour of wrenching and hammering in a gas station everything was back into shape and operational. After reaching home I serviced the car and replaced a few bent parts with spare I had. Apart from that dent in the chassis rail which doesn’t affect chassis strength or geometry, there are no signs anymore of that misadventure.

Below are some pictures of the car during the trip: Malibu, Sunset Boulevard, Death Valley...

Attached Thumbnails

         

Death Valley, San Francisco, Route 66, On the way to Monument Valley,

Attached Thumbnails

         

On the way to Moab, Arches, Grand Teton and after crossing the Rocky Mountains on the way to Chicago.

Attached Thumbnails

         

That was some trip GGR. Glad you weren't hurt running over the metal in the highway!

By how many degrees did the Water Wetter let the engine run cooler?

__________________
1993 W124 300D 2.5L Turbo, OM602.962
2000 Chevrolet Cavalier, 2.4L DOHC
2002 Ford Explorer, 4.0L SOHC
2005 Toyota Prius, 1.5L

http://www.fuelly.com/sig-us/40601.png

looks like you had a great time - glad it all went so well other than the step incident!
thanks for all the great pictures
cheers
barri

__________________
61 Austin mini
67 Lotus 7
74 450sl
76 Cadillac 8.2l (501 ci)

some new cars

megasquirt conversion on:
djet 74 450sl http://www.mercdjetmegasquirt.britautorepair.com/
cis 76 450sl http://www.merccismegasquirt.britautorepair.com/

the best view is always from the point of no return

Sounds like you've had trip to remember for a long time!

I drove my 83 300D home from my Dad's Tucson in 2006, a nice uneventful 2300 miles.

Not near the adventure I had with my 59 190SL in 1976 when doing a cross country trip from Tucson to the east coast and back. Had to leave the car in OKC and fly home, then return to drive the rest of the way...

Would love to do a cross country again after I retire.

Jim

__________________
14 E250 BlueTEC black. 45k miles
95 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 66k miles
94 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 152k miles
85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles

Waow, crossing the US in a 190 SL must have been nice!

I don't really know by how many degrees the Water Wetter let the engine run cooler. It's more the pattern which changed. The "normal" running temperature remained the same, bu before, in hot weather, the needle would climb earlier when driving uphill or in heavy traffic in town. And after a certain point it would go very quickly in the vicinity or even into the red, and getting it down from there was difficult (you don't want to stop the engine at that point because this is when you blow your head gasket due to the localised temp surge caused by stopping the liquid circulation). After the liquid change, the needle would take more time to climb in the same conditions, and would not rush to the red after a certain point. It would still climb, but in a more linear manner which made it much more manageable. For example, I drove on that long uphill strech between LA and Las Vegas twice, once before the change and the second time after the change. Both times it was in the middle of the afternoon at the hottest time in the day. I belive it must have been around 105 or 110°F each time. The first time the needle started climbing nearly into the red and I had to slow down at around 50-60 mph. The needle then stopped climbing but remained in the vicinity of the red untill I reached the top. The second time I could stay at 80 mph nearly up to the top with the needle half way between the normal running temp and the red. When it started going further I slowed down to 70 mph and the needle went down a bit.

I also noted that my fan clutch has seized, ie the propeller is always in motion now. I'm not complaining as this helps cooling during summer. But I thought these clutches were failing on the contrary by remaining loose.

I'm thinking of replacing that mechanical fan by a big electric puller one. Would that improve the situation? I long thought that electric fans were appropriate for lower speeds when the air flow is not much. What about higher speeds, on that long uphill stretch I described above for example?

For info, my rad is the correct 3.5 Coupe one, is clean, and I also have an oil cooler. I also noted that the liquid level NEVER went down, even after having been over boiling temps. Which makes me wonder if the gage is giving me the correct info.

Also, I had changed the liquid before my trip from the mixture of whatever was in there (water, green stuff, blue stuff, and rain water collected on the side of the road after repairing a blown heater hose) to the correct MB stuff with 50% water as recommended. And I immediately noticed the engine was running hotter.

Finally, I can confirm these MB engine are really solid, especially the head gaskets. I had a number of other cars where having the needle in the red meant "too late" and ending up with blown head gaskets. Here, after really worrying at the beginning, I was not really paying much attention to the position of the needle anymore towards the end.

Your situation is obviously not typical. Around here we have this thing called winter.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I don't know it a siezed fan could cause it to run hotter or not but I know that if working properly they will freewheel at highway speeds. As for the electric fans I would be careful about that. I think it would be pretty easy to buy one that is too small. As an auxiliary to the mechanical fan its less critical.

I think on a long uphill it you would have to be running pretty slowly for the fan to do much cooling.

It does sound like your temp guage might be off.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Sorry to hear about the accident, but otherwise sounds like a great trip.

Wrt temperature, if you have everything to spec, you have nothing to worry about. I drive my 3,5 coupe daily in Atlanta and it has never overheated (or come close). Temp needle will rise ominously in traffic jams or city stop light driving, but will drop as soon as you make some speed. And this is without my aux fan working.

I think your ignition change may have helped. I had an old MGB and it always ran hot until I changed the timing. If you have pinging, you have detonation btdc and all that energy will be converted in heat and not useful work.

Bert

__________________
'70 111 280SE/c 3.5 (4 spd manual) - sold
'63 MGB
'73 MGBGT V8

When the thermostat opens the needle stabilizes slightly above the 180° mark. With weather around 100° at 80 mph on the highway the needle rises between the 180° mark and the next white mark. Uphill, weather at 105° and during a long highway drive at 80 mph the needle would stabilize on that next white mark, the last one before the red mark. I start monitoring seriously the needle when it is between that last white mark and the red mark, which happens in slow town traffic or uphill with weather temps over 110°.

Worth to note that my diff ratio is 3.92:1 which puts the engine at 4500 rpm for long hours while driving at 80mph on the highway.

Regarding the fan: I long thought these were efficient only at low speed, as air flow increases over what the fan can move at higher speeds. But I heared recently that fans are also needed at higher speed. Can someone confirm this?

The thermostat keeps the pressure up in the engine increasing the boiling point and reducing or eliminating localized hot spots in the heads causing boiling and damage.

__________________
Regards

Warren

Currently 1965 220Sb, 2002 FORD Crown Vic Police Interceptor

Had 1965 220SEb, 1967 230S, 280SE 4.5, 300SE (W126), 420SEL

ENTER > = (HP RPN)

Not part of the in-crowd since 1952.