paulob1 Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 having seen all the threads on sarrys and the work involved i was just wondering and thinking about a few issues, 1. my second gear belt is on its last legs, I always start in 1st and get through second as quickly as possible to reduce the wear. she will need doing within the next 1000 miles, ie 10 years. 2. The fluid flywheel, i suppose i should renew what ever fails on this when the job is being done, what needs doing. 3. what else should be done at this stage...what can I renew that will reduce the risks of failure in the future... upgrades, I have been thinking about the engine cooling a lot and it seems to me that the whole shooting match is a bit crazy, has anyone tried fitting heavy duty electric fans, they offer better flow rates, moving more air around the engine and through the radiator, could they be fitted infront of the radiator, the combined effect would be more space infront of the engine, and better access and a cooler running saracen. I have a few spare B81's and was wondering about fitting a B81 instead of the B80...any advice.. finally note to myself buy loads of antifreeze to top up all vehicles, all 35 of them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oily Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 (edited) B81 = 6500cc, B80 = 5760cc.... so B81 would be even less stressed in saracen, due to it's obvious higher bhp figure, (depending on how heavy your right foot is of course! lol!). On the cooling fan note, you may have a point with the electric fans producing a higher air flow, but they'd more than likely be running all the time, due to a build up of heat, as the engine bay in a saracen is very restrictive as regards letting hot air out, the air from the rad leaves the engine bay by various tortuous routes, depending on what version/mk you have. 'Normal' Saracens, -air comes in through front grille, through rad, past engine, some escapes out through the engine access hatches, and some along the 'channels', below the drivers side vision blocks/hatches, and whats left is forced along, under the floor, around the petrol tank and out of the vent pipes at roof level either side of the top of the rear doors. During the developement of the saracen, it was discovered that in hot climates this air-flow direction effectively turned the hull into an oven, and very quickly became an uncomfortable place to be, when in a hot climate. To combat this, a Reverse-Flow Cooling (RFC) system was developed, by fitting the fans from I believe a Saladin, these had blades the opposite way round, and so sucked air in through the engine access hatches, and through the raised 'bee-hive' rear engine hatches, and the other under floor route, so sucking in cooler air from outside, effectively cooling the interior slightly, to a more bearable level for the crew. In doing this the air then was forced forwards through the rad, and out trough the grille,.... causing a huge cloud of dust/sand to blow up infront of the vehicle,... a problem solved by the fitting of a rubber and sheet metal shroud to deflect the flow of air down and to each side. Some owners have experienced overheating problems when running a RFC (reverse flow cooling) saracen with this shroud/cowling removed. All this kind of explains why no heaters were fitted to saracens, as they get hot/up to running temp very quickly.... a saracen on a road run in the depths of winter is a very cosy place to be, and I speak from experience!.... It may be possible to fit a pair of electric fans in front of the rad as a back-up, for when the engine is idling, ie, busy traffic, if you are brave enough to drive it in rush hour, through a town centre, (I did, and things get VERY warm!), especially the floor below and to the side of the GCP, due to the route of the exhaust downpipe....on a hot day, mine has suffered from heat/vapour block, in the fuel system, which I have overcome by leaving the engine access hatches open for a short while after parking up, following a longish road run.... the heat dissipates quicker as it can rise up,up and away... Good luck with yours, and hope you sort it soon,.... I'm about to put my engine back in mine, after having changed the fluid flywheel seals.... soooo many bolts to undo! ahhhh! good job I've labeled all of them!....:red: Edited October 31, 2011 by oily spelling, extra facts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oily Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 also, when you've got one apart this far, the oil hoses should be checked to make sure thy are still pliable and not perished, if they need replacing, don't go to Pirtek, as they'll charge about £280 for the lot!, generally they should be ok. It's worth changing all the drivebelts for new ones, not new, old stock,the twin fan belts, should be a matched pair, ideally.... and most important is the hydraulic pump drive belt, which I think is probably nigh on impossible to change without removing the rad and from grille at the very least, ... and if this belt snaps, you will need a whole pallet of Popeye's Spinach to steer the thing, and there will be virtually no braking assistance after a couple of pushes on the brake pedal.....:wow: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin craig Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 How about change to a spin on oil filter system, that's a serviceability upgrade in my book. R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulob1 Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 yes I would think the electric fans would work hard during slow traffic runs.... Just thoughts... lag the exhaust manifold and exhaust, will reduce engine bay temps a few degrees, improve exhaust temperatures and reduce noise and condensation. with the fans out, move the oil cooler to a more useful position so it gets cooling air from the air flow through the radiator. Fit temp guages to oil feed. Increase oil tank capacity.... Maybe even fit an additional radiator behind the first one to increase the water content and the amount of heat exchange area...all relatively simple tasks once i have to remove the engine... in the end I will likely do non of the above as my toys are not used a great deal on road at all...but its interesting to get peoples thoughts.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DINGODOUG Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 I've just seen this thread and there are some good ideas for improving the cooling. However you might want to think again about fitting the B81 which will produce even more heat to get rid of. Also you may need some specialist advice whether the gearbox/ fluid flywheel will take the additional power. The Stalwart had a beefy twin plate clutch and manual gearbox to handle the B81. Interestingly Alvis had a prototype Stalwart with an Alison semi-auto gearbox when I briefly worked there in the early seventies. Apparently it was the same gearbox as the FV432 and I often wondered if it would fit a Saracen? I have no idea how well it worked. Don't you just love all those rows of 7/16 unf bolts holding it all together inside? And that oil pipe at the back of the oil tank !Happy days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montie Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 The Saracen 88 upgrade on the cooling system will do it. Here are lots of them in South Africa. This is the fan set up. Drive system for the gilmer belt turning the fans. substantial radiator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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