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RESPECT for keeping an 81 Metro together this long in The Yook. I'm guessing you are not in salty Scotland.
Did you do any special rust proofing?
Assuming no broken belts (IF this happened the belt remains will likely be AWOL but you will have empty pulleys), or large leaks when cold (top it up and see what comes out) which is what I would guess, you can probably test the electric cooling fan (prime suspect IMO) by jumpering it directly to the battery,
If you connect it up backwards, thats the way it will go, so you'll know.
(If you do have leaks they may have been caused by overheating due to another fault, such as fan failure, which will have to fixed after the leaks have been)
Your mention of "heavy traffic" is a clue to fan failure (due to lack of forward motion induced air flow through the radiator) and a contraindication for belt/waterpump failure, which would be less ameliorated by forward motion.
IF your fan is OK, next suspect on my list would be the temperature sensor, which likely powers on the fan via a relay. The sensor itself, the relay, or the connecting wires (the latter likely buried in a wiring loom) could all be at fault.
You can probably bench test the sensor with very hot water and a multimeter, though its fiddly and carries a risk of scalding yourself.
Bench testing the relay, not so bad.
Wires are just a continuity test, but if bust, a break in the loom can be hard to find. I've run a bypass wire in this situation but this is not best practice.
As an emergency workaround you can get the car drivable by wiring the fan always on, but you have to remember to disconnect it or it'll flatten the battery.
IIRC I did this with a 2L DOHC Sierra by replacing the temperature sensor with a fuse (which fitted) and it was only on when the ignition was, which was nice.
On the Skywing I wired its supply via an old power cord which I ran back into the cab, shorting the plug pins together with an aluminium bike footpeg, which also acted as a heat sink.
Good luck
Edited by edlithgow on 15/02/2023 at 02:48
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