cooling solved??

[LarryA]

been having cooling problems from the get go.... no surprise with radiator behind seat, but changing to an aluminum radiator, boxing it in and adding an air scoop underneath, now adding a mci bus heatercore to the rear seems to have done the trick.....if there is a next time, the radiator will be up front where they belong!

 

[LarryA]

been having cooling problems from the get go.... no surprise with radiator behind seat, but changing to an aluminum radiator, boxing it in and adding an air scoop underneath, now adding a mci bus heatercore to the rear seems to have done the trick.....if there is a next time,View attachment 46911 the radiator will be up front where they belong!

dont know how to string pics

 

[LarryA]

heat sheild

had to make a heat sheild between the turbo housing and the bus core......also added the expansion tank early on......been a battle, but seems to cool good enough that the electric fan doesn't run when @ highway speeds.

 

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Looking good .. and even better when it works.

 

[butchvoss]

nice, what speeds was it getting hot at. I use to have problems above 50-60 till i added scoops on my side mount radiator.. Im with you ,if i ever have a problem again i will put it in front ..

 

[LarryA]

reply

was heating at higher speeds.....creeping to 235/240 with fan running continuously. would idle @ 220, made a 10 mi run today,air temp 85 plus.....205 deg w/fan off, so big improvement. how is your front end coming along??

 

[butchvoss]

Front end is on hold till winter.. To nice out to deadline the trike. lol

 

[LarryA]

hear ya!

 

[rodekyll]

I mounted my cooler in front and inboard of the right rear wheel. You might be able to do something similar. I "scooped" the area in front to increase airflow, and added a temp-controlled fan behind with a manual override. I was overheating in 90+ in stop-and-go traffic/stalled freeways, etc. Getting the radiator into the airflow better and adding the fan seems to have eliminated the problem, although I have not yet had the opportunity to try Death Valley again (major failure there). If you can pull up the valley wall in June without frying everything, the problem is solved. ThumbUp

 

[LarryA]

reply

your cooling problems should be over with the exception of extreme heat and steep grade.....i would think a down shift and higher revs would help on the climb.....I sure like the green body on your trike.....retro for sure! I'm sure air cooled trikes overheat also. no temp gage....no worry!

 

[rodekyll]

Good advice on the downshift. Almost makes me wish I'd included a transmission in the build. :laugh: The aircooled engine does have limitations in hot weather with no airflow. But this 1200 Guzzi model has a thermostatically-controlled oil cooler, and I've put a small fan behind it for severe stop-and-go. It's so far been trouble-free. The problem is the hydraulic fluid.

And thanks on the color. The visual theme of the trike is "Mad Max Meets Model A" (that pic is pre-leading link install -- hated the modern-looking teleforks). So I needed a Model A-ish paint scheme, and the Ford Green is an iconic period color. Oddly, the green formula was never cataloged. It was just "Ford Green", and it changed a little from batch to batch. No accurate paint swatches still exist, and the restoration purists have been arguing over it for years. The shade I chose is one of the modern approximations.

My trike has no forward mechanical gear reduction other than the differential ratio and rear wheel diameter. It is a fluid drive, using only a torque converter fed with aviation hydraulic fluid for propulsion. The driveshaft is coupled to the T/C on the forward end, goes through a transfer case for powered reverse, and on to a differential at the rear. No gearbox in the design; the T/C slips to keep the engine and road speeds in synch. So I'm more at the mercy of grades and temperatures than a conventional drive, but the engine has the torque to pull the hills. The trick seems to be keeping the drive fluid cool in AZ summer traffic jams and similar situations.

Under normal highway and street conditions, my hydraulic fluid cruises at about 20ºf warmer than ambient air. Pulling grades in moderate temperatures it seldom breaks 140º. So the inboard cooler and scoop arrangement are effective when in motion. I've improved my low speed/stopped airflow with an electric fan, which is proving effective in my tests so far. Increasing the fluid capacity by 2 quarts and opening up the banjo bolt holes for increased fluid flow is also helping, if those details give you any ideas.

I don't know what you're willing to do with the design you've got there. Developing some VW pancake/Porsche/Corvair-type fan and ducting setup would be complicated and probably spendy, and redesigning the rig around a radiator wouldn't be fun, either. But I was thinking you could mount a pair of radiators -- one on each side -- inside the front of the fenders, since your design has no inboard space. If you inset the radiators at angles and directed the air with some attractive scoops you could get a lot of cooling surface without altering the overall design too much.

$0.02

 

[LarryA]

reply

rodekyll for now, I'm calling my cooling problems solved......engine seems to hold @205 which is considered normal for the 2.2 chrysler warmed up. On an 85 degree day @ highway speeds the fan doesn't even come on....I'm calling that good. However, have been having intermittent troubles with the engine cutting out......havn't had much time to troubleshoot this problem. so it goes with older computer controlled fuel injection systems. will work on it more this winter. I believe automtic transmissions run around 200 deg.......so you must be cooling good enough. a lockup converter would reduce your heat @ cruise big time.......maybe easier said than done! anyhow, my build can be seen on the last winter thread here on homebuilt. Larry