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September 29th, 2008

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Q & A: MGB Overheating

Wednesday December 10th, 2008
Q & A, MGA, MGB, MGC, MG T-Type, Midget
My 66 MGB is overheating only when the engine goes above 50mph, it begins
to
cool down as soon as I slow down.

I may have written to you before about this problem, but did not get a
response. You seem to be the man who will know, so here we go, fingers
crossed.

I have flushed the radiator both ways and it appears to be equally heated
when I run my hand over it when warm.

I have replaced the thermostat, there is plenty of water in the system
with
the correct amount of coolant.

I have replaced the heater control valve, which was sludged up solid.

The water pump appears to be fine.

I have added a 123-ignition and set the timing with a strobascope.

The plugs are all new and set to the correct gap.

The only part that does not seem to be as it should is the rear drainage
tap. This is also sludged up. If I open it, nothing comes out. When I take
it off completely, nothing comes out.

Have you come across this before, with these symptoms?

I have bought a replacement head gasket set and was considering removing
the
head to see if I could scoop out any of the sludge which is blocking the
waterways from above.

When I take the head off, could you point out to me on a picture which
holes
in the block are going to be the offending ones. I assume that they are at
the back left above the drainage tap, but then again, this would be a
guess.
I do not want to start removing the head before I have this information as
I
will need to complete the job in one day. The car is my everyday driver
and
I can not afford to have it off the road any longer than needs be.

There is always a chance that the head gasket might be leaking I suppose.
Although, the car is not blowing out smoke. I did a vacuum pressure test
which did not show anything untoward.
You know, for every gallon of gasoline you use, 1/3 is spit out as
heat from the tailpipe, 1/3 is carried out as heat in the radiator, and 1/3
goes for power -- IF the engine is tuned correctly. If there is a problem
with... read more