Engine Cooling on a Sebring
- Thread starter TWhite
- Start date
letterman7
Honorary Admin
No worries, Tracey. The scoops on the Sterlings actually scavange air out of the engine bay rather than inwards, unless the openings are partially covered over. The Sebring engine bay is far larger, so I think you'll have an adequate amount of air circulation from underneath.
GreazMonky
New member
what engine are u running? i have the Sebring Turbo, so my car has the stock v6. the radiator is mounted in the front with 2 fans, and i haven't had any cooling problems. since the radiator is so far forward, there is plenty of coolant
I have a stock Type 1 1600cc engine. My engine compartment is a little different than normal. I took out the slanted gas tank and put in a cylindrical aluminum 10 gallon tank. Between that and the engine, I put a "firewall". What I'm wondering about is: am I just recirculating the hot air?
letterman7
Honorary Admin
Maybe a little, but no more than a regular Sterling. How much ground can you see around the engine? If you can step back and say, 'wow - there's a lot of open space here', then chances are it's more than enough!
GreazMonky
New member
there is alot of engine bay in the sebring, so you will be fine. even with my sebring having the stock v6, i still have plenty of room in the engine bay 
My son and I went for a ride the other day...and "overheated" the Type 1. What happened was, the engine got hot enough to basically boil the gas out of the fuel pump. It lost prime and wouldn't pump gas. I has to take the top off the pump and pour gas into it to get it to pump again...after it had cooled off of course. I could not touch the fuel pump right after it died...WAY hot to the touch. My Bug NEVER gets that hot.
letterman7
Honorary Admin
Somethin' ain't right there, Tracey. The pump only has one moving part, and that shouldn't have gotten anywhere near that hot unless it was conducting from the block - and even then there is a non-metallic spacer to keep that from happening. Do you have an oil temp gauge? How hot was the block? I'm worried about that....I'm wondering if you cooked the block and didn't know it.
I don't think it's cooked. It's still running fine. The entire engine bay way very hot. I did finally realize that the lower cooling tins were not in (the curved ones that connect to the heat exchangers). Maybe the air wasn't getting ported out of the engine bay properly. It just seems to be recyling the hot air. I'm going to open up the "vents" on the engine lid. I'm also going to see if I can find a good place to put some air ducts to make sure the engine is getting fresh air instead of recycled hot air.
letterman7
Honorary Admin
Probably a good precautionary step with the vents. You also might want to drain the oil and check it for anything metallic looking. When Bug motors get that hot, the oil can cook off the bearings. Even though it's running, there may be some internal damage. Checking the oil is an easy way to see if there was any metal on metal contact.
I would have thought with that big open area you would have gotten some good air flow through there. But I guess you need the air to go somewhere through the bay. I never gave it a second thought with the Sterling. I had opened up a vent in the front of the engine compartment lid and faired in another opening that the PO had hacked at the back, all in an attempt to get more fresh air to the fan. It must have aided in releasing some of the hot air as well - I didn't have the under cylinder cooling tins, either!
I would have thought with that big open area you would have gotten some good air flow through there. But I guess you need the air to go somewhere through the bay. I never gave it a second thought with the Sterling. I had opened up a vent in the front of the engine compartment lid and faired in another opening that the PO had hacked at the back, all in an attempt to get more fresh air to the fan. It must have aided in releasing some of the hot air as well - I didn't have the under cylinder cooling tins, either!
ydeardorff
New member
you can buy squirrel cage fans off of ebay, they are cheap, and push quite abit of air. They would nicely hook up to the rear fender vents. From there the air could be ducted however you want.
Just an idea...
Just an idea...
The thing with my Sebring is, I don't have any fender vents. In fact, there are none at all. The deck lids (front and back) have "ribs" on them that can be opened up for a little ventallation, but beyonf that, there's no vents. So I'll need to put some in or figure out a better way to vent the hot air out of the compartment. Or, I can try to split the engine compartment like a bug, where the top end is seperate from the bottom end by tins.
Or, I can continue with the water-cooled idea
Whatever I end up doing, it's going to be a while. My funds are too low to do much right now. I'm pulling some extra AF Reserve weekends for extra cash...that may help!
Or, I can continue with the water-cooled idea
Whatever I end up doing, it's going to be a while. My funds are too low to do much right now. I'm pulling some extra AF Reserve weekends for extra cash...that may help!