[Glaucus]

Hey everyone!

Posting from Vancouver today, drove out here from Winnipeg (with a stop over in banff for two nights). My '83 Blupra was fine for the most part but it gave me a bit of a scare when the engine temp. guage went to +2 above normal. Now, this happened only when I was pushing the car at speeds over 110km/hr or prolonged uphill climbs (the incline right after Kamloops on route 5 forced me to slow down to 80km to let it cool down). Also, this overheating only happened between noon and 4pm, during the hottest parts of the day. And it was pretty sunny and hot at the time of the overheating (around 30C). When I got closer to the coast it got cloudy and the temp dropped and I had no more overheating problems even when I pushed the car hard to over 130km while aproaching Vancouver from Hope. Now, before the trip I flushed the rad and changed the thermostat. To help alleviate the problem I turned the heater on to high and that seemed to help a little. My radiator is kinda fucked, if I touch the fins they simply fall off and with all the bugs that have hit it along the way about 1/5 of the fins have fallen off. My concern is, how normal is it for these cars to overheat in over 30C weather when being driven hard up hills for 7 hours straight? Should I just learn to slow down on the highways or is the rad something i should concider replacing?

Also, the Check Engine light went on a couple of times when I was trying to accelerate up steep hills in 4th gear, but the Check Engine light never went on while the eng over heated. The Check Eng light went off when I slowed down or shifted gears. This only happened twice. Is there anything about pushing the engine on a really hard load that could cause the Chk Eng light to go on? How concerned should I be? I have to drive this back to Winnipeg (about 2500km's away) in a couple of weeks and thought it would be nice if I could get some advice on this before the treck back. Any thoughts?

- Mike

ps: Any members in Vancouver???

 

[dohc82]

I took my 82 throught the Rogers pass last summer and had one over heat incident...also from pushing it up the hills in the afternoon heat. I guess ther is a limit to what they can take.

The 5m block can get air pockets during rad fluid changes. It can be difficult to get the air out. Try parking the car facing up hill and run the car with the cap off. This will let you see any bubbles as they are purged.
The Vancouver area has several members. Perhaps one of them can help you with replacement radiator.

So did you enjoy those twisty mountain passes after the praries? (stupid question right)

 

[SupraFiend]

Hey! Damn man, you should have checked the events section. You posted this question while we were still at our big mk2 meet for the year, there were 14 mk2s out there! You can give me a call at 604-431-0845 if you like, I'll see what I can do to give you a hand. Sounds like you need a new rad. Your description of your trip sounds identical to one I took in my old 82 several years ago. There is something wrong with your cooling system, I'm guessing you have a leak somewhere. If your rad is as flaky as you say thats probably it. For me it was a leaky heater core valve.

 

[Glaucus]

I took my 82 throught the Rogers pass last summer and had one over heat incident...also from pushing it up the hills in the afternoon heat. I guess ther is a limit to what they can take.

Yeah, every car has it's limit. I saw many other cars, new and old, pulling over to the slow lane and taking their time with the uphill climbs. Most of the time I was zooming past them but a couple of times I had to pull aside and let others zoom past me (not something I enjoy doing :evil: ).

The 5m block can get air pockets during rad fluid changes. It can be difficult to get the air out. Try parking the car facing up hill and run the car with the cap off.

Good idea. I would have thought that after time the water would naturally absorb the air (especially with that intense heat) and release it in the reservoir.

So did you enjoy those twisty mountain passes after the praries? (stupid question right)

Honestly, the main reason I drove my car instead of flying was just for that reason! :twisted: Nothing quite like letting the car drop in a free fall for a 10km 8 degree downhill. I also got a kick out of ripping up/down that little twisty road leading from Tunnel Mountain camp site to Banff. I love these cars!

- Mike

 

[Glaucus]

Hey! Damn man, you should have checked the events section. You posted this question while we were still at our big mk2 meet for the year, there were 14 mk2s out there!

Well that's just my luck!!! :-(

You can give me a call at 604-431-0845 if you like, I'll see what I can do to give you a hand. Sounds like you need a new rad. Your description of your trip sounds identical to one I took in my old 82 several years ago. There is something wrong with your cooling system, I'm guessing you have a leak somewhere. If your rad is as flaky as you say thats probably it. For me it was a leaky heater core valve.

Hey, I'd love to meet up with other mk2 owners while I'm here. I have to warn ya though, this '83 I'm driving has been used as a winter beater for years now and the body is in pretty rough shape. Just letting ya know as I don't think you'll be impressed with anything about this car. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind checking out other mk2's and talking about mods and stuff (I used to own a sweet white '86 until it got smashed by some looser who ran a red light :evil:, so don't let the condition of my current mk2 be an indicator as to how much I enjoy these cars).

- Mike

 

[SupraFiend]

no prob man, they can't all be show cars. Mine has many imperfections as well. give me a call one of these nights while your in town. Its funny, I just ran into Kickin' supra again today, hes down from prince george.

That road your talking about is the 1A. I spent a summer working in Lake Louise, I've driven that road many many times in my old 82. Awesome road. I did Lake Louise to Banff on it in 35 minutes once, its about a 55 minute drive on the #1

 

[suprathepeg]

Hey Mike,

I think we have met before were you restoring your white sup when it got hit? I am from Winnipeg too and have a two tone (silver/blue) 85. Lets get together (again, if you are who I think you are).

 

[suprathepeg]

Hey Mike,

I think we have met before were you restoring your white sup when it got hit? I am from Winnipeg too and have a two tone (silver/blue) 85. Lets get together (again, if you are who I think you are).

 

[Glaucus]

@suprathepeg,

Hey! Yeah, I remember you and your '85 two tone. How's it running these days? My white '86 was auctioned off by autopac and my cousin Mike (same name as me) bought it for around $600 and is now fixing it himself. Not sure when it will be fixed but I'm not sure I'll ever want to buy it back from him, I might just get another one. Anyway, when I get back into Winnipeg I'll drop you a line. Take care.

- Mike

 

[suprathepeg]

I lost your contact info when I left the last company I was with, Can you shoot me an email with it again? [email protected]