Temperature Issue

[athawk11]

Through blood, sweat, frustrations and successes, I finally drove my Willys today. �Here it is.



Here's my problem. � I can't get the temp above about 130 degrees. �

It's pretty cold here in Colorado today, but shouldn't it still warm up to 160 to 180 degrees?

I have a brand new gauge, radiator was flushed clean, brand new 50-50 fluid, �the Harrison heater warms up nicely. �

Tim

[Carls_jeep]

Do you have an infrared temp gun? If so shoot it at the head to see what the temp is. It's not unusual for the temp gauges to be wrong.

[Ryan_M]

It looks amazing...even at 130 degrees. Nice work!

[aboyandhisdog]

Lookin' good, Tim.  Can't say why she's running cold but, yes, it should be running between 160-190 even in the winter.  I drove mine yesterday and it heated right up even though it is cold out.  I've found it will run about 10 degrees lower in the winter than summer, but not 130 in winter.

[Comanche_County]

Very nice work!  

[athawk11]

Hey guys.  Thanks for the comments.  I don't have an infared gun.  I may be able to borrow one from a guy at work.  Is is worth changing the thermostat?  Could it be stuck open?

I did get the temp gauge from Walcks.  I may have gotten a dude, I guess.    

The other heat related thing I noticed today is the heat riser, raises, but did not open fully.  Only opened about half way.  The flapper moves freely open and closed.  I only drove it 4-5 miles on a pretty cool day.  Warn out spring?   The Jeep ran well.  A little vibration at 30 MPH.  U-joint?

Any and all thoughts are appreciated.

I drove it again tonight.  I am so excited to have it back on the road again after almost 2 years.  I'm not even freaking out about how dirty I got it while driving on wet slushy roads.  Okay, I freaked out a little.
  

Tim  

[Carls_jeep]

Don't fret, the dirt will wash off and Jeeps like to get dirty.

You can try replacing the thermostat but I would check the temp at the head by the thermo housing first.

Is the thermostat new?

[athawk11]

Carl,
The thermostat is not new. �It seemed to warm up fine before the tear down. �(ain't broke don't fix it) � Only thing that changed was a complete flush of the engine block and radiator and a new temp gauge. There were some chunks of garbage that came out of the engine block drain. �Could some of that get stuck in the thermostat?

Any thoughts on the heat riser not raising all the way?

Tim

[Bob W]

Any thoughts on the heat riser not raising all the way?

Is it the original bimetalic spring? Many of the aftermarket springs were not made properly and do not work.

[athawk11]

Bob,
The Willys came to me with no heat riser and the flapper seized. The only thing that was present was the spring and the disc. (Probably because they were rusted solid to the flapper pivot arm.) .
 
I bought the heat riser complete from a guy on ebay that claimed it was a take off. �Its was very rusty and old looking. �Came with the weight, disc, spring, screw, nut and the small odd shaped washer that locks the weight to the slot in the flapper shaft. �

Once I freed up the flapper, I installed the riser system and applied heat. (short blast of propane torch) �

The spring tightened up and raised the riser. Figured I was good to go. � I do have my old spring. (Someone here convinced me to never throw away old Willys parts.) �I could try the old one and see if it works better.

[athawk11]

As Carl suggested, I borrowed an infared gun from a co-worker.

I took it for a spin and got it nice and warm. �I left the engine running and shot the heat gun in numorous spots on the head. �Toward the fan, 163 degrees. �Toward the rear of the head 175 degrees. �At the thermostat connection, 145 degrees. This is what my connection looks like. �I have a Harrison heater.



The Temp gauge read just over 140 degrees and I think it's fine. � The temperature was the same right where the gauge thermostat is installed in the T-pipe. �I believe the gauge would read 170-175 if the temp gauge thermostat was installed in the head and not in the pipe that feeds the Harrison heater.

Here is another glamor shot. �Just for fun

[Matto]

Tim,
 ï¿½ � �The way your Temp. sending unit is installed may have something to do with your low readings. Here is a pic of my 3A with a Harrison heater. You'll notice the heater is fed from the top of the water pump and returns to the back of the cylinder head. The sending unit is mounted directly into the block.

Matt

[athawk11]

Yep, Matto.  I'm thinking you're dead on.  This is how the heater was installed when the Willys came to me.  I had never messed with old Jeeps before and assumed everything was right.  I have seen many photos of heater hoses installed like yours, and only one other done like mine.   I considered changing it because the old head connection was sticking so far out that it pushed up against the oil bath filter that I added back to the Jeep.  I decided not to re-invent the wheel and just installed the brass elbow and routed the hose down and under the air cleaner.  

Again, the head does get to 175 degrees.  I think I'm okay there.  I'll just have to know that 145 at the gauge means 175 at the head.

Tim

[johnnybravo]

WOW...THANKS FOR THE EXTRA GLAMOR SHOT.  MAY WILL MAKE THREE YEARS WORKING ON MY 3A.  MIND POSTING A "BOOTY" PHOTO?  

[ventport]

I would change it back to the factory setup so the gauge reads correctly.  That way you will know for sure if it ever over heats by the gauge that you have a REAL problem.  My 3A is set up per factory with the Harrison heater and both the heater and the gauge work as they should.