Running high temp

[athadani]

Car US 280SL 1970 shows temp at 190 F at stops even after new visco interrupter and thermostat have been installed. Radiator fan which did'nt speed up prior to the above mentioned job now works fine. Do you think a more powerfu thermostat is needed? Or something else.

Also when I cut the ignition while engine is hot the motor still turns for a second or so. Annoying.

Any comments and help would be greatly appreciated.

Best,

Ashok

[Naj ✝︎]

Ashok,
Has the timing been checked recently?
May be running hot because of that.
naj

naj
'Kloines Scheisserle'
65 230SL
68 280SL

[George Davis]

Ashok,

I wouldn't worry too much about 190 degrees at a stop.  I would get concerned if it went above that, or if it didn't drop to 180 when the car is moving.

In addition to timing as Naj suggested, you might check your spark plugs.  If it has "city" plugs, these run hot to burn off deposits and may cause that run-on after you turn off the ignition.

Last, a small trick is to increase engine speed to about 1,000-1,200 rpm.  In my car, this speeds up the fan enough to bring the temperature down almost immediately.

George Davis
'69 280 SL Euro manual

[athadani]

George
Naj

Thanks for your replies. Timing is ok, checked this morning.
Spark plug review is a good thought. But I think I found the reason for the post iginition cut engine run and that is that I turned the key off stopping ever so briefly in the intermediate position. When I then turned the key off completely and pronto the motor was quiet. There is probably a connection issue. Will let you know.

About hightemp, I agree that its no problem at 190 but if I am stuck at a trafic light and its warm then, the needle threatens northwards. Also, its supposed to stay at 180 so I wonder what else could be the matter.

BTW this is a good forum and I visit often. bet the automatic gearbox is the most prolific topic and I am not surprised as no mechanic has been able to adjust my automatic to perfection though its not all that bad, even if its jolting shifts are a great change from the new automatics.

Cees, when is the poster out.

Regards to all,

Ashok

[Naj ✝︎]

Ashok,
Since you only live 'down the road' from Heidelberg, will you be coming to the Pagoda meet in August?
naj

naj
'Kloines Scheisserle'
65 230SL
68 280SL

[Cees Klumper]

Ashok - the poster is coming together slowly, but I have not yet secured my 40 countries/regions. I need to spend some time actively recruiting more countries to participate. I now have about half the photos here (including yours of course, very nice pictures, I think we will use the one with the vineyards in the background), but it will take me probably until around July to get it all finished.
My car almost NEVER overheats, certainly not in regular city or other traffic. It's always steady at around 180. Maybe it does get a little warmer under extremely warm circumstances, but this is certainly an exception. Backflushing the cooling system may solve your problem (which, from what I recall seeing in the past on the various sites, is a problem experienced by many). You may want to check the technical articles, if you have not already done so.
The same goes for the automatic transmission shifting issue - mine shifts very smooth 80% of the time and just a tad rough the rest of the time.

white 1969 280 SL

[athadani]

Cees
Naj

Yes, thinking of attending heidelberg. Please indicate precise dates and Cees could you please consider a liitle organization for this group - logistics. A great motivator would be Joe Anderson who could help us all get the automatic to shift in a dignified fashion so we could have a smooth ride home.

Best wishes,

Ashok

PS It was not the ignition that kept the motor alive after turning off. its something else and I'll get my Mercedes"expert" to look into it. Wish we could all live in blacklick!!!