Please don't blame me for 'flogging a dead horse' but I'd just like to let you
know how I came about deciding to add the coolant overflow tank. My TD is an
early 52 (TD10855), i.e., before temperature gauges were standard equipment. To
have an idea of what was going on in the coolant department I drilled a hole in
a radiator cap and installed a Motometer, as did many before me. After a while
I discovered a funny thing about the Motometer, it becomes very inaccurate,
indeed almost useless, when its tube is not immersed in coolant. This led me to
a never ending battle to keep topping up the radiator.
Shortly thereafter, I had Rick Smith install set of 4.3 gears in the
differential and I set off on a trip from home (Plymouth, Mass.) to Abingdon
Spares in Walpole NH. When I got to Gerry's I discovered that the louvers of the
bonnet and the tops of the fenders were a mess from coolant. At decent cruising
speeds the outlet of the overflow pipe is in a low pressure area that leads
through the engine compartment and the louvers. This led to the decision to
find a way for best of both worlds, no coolant loss and no mess. That's what
led me to the MGB overflow tank.
BTW, I have since installed a combo gauge, but I've kept the overflow
tank. Last month's trip to Rochester was accomplished without losing a single
drop of coolant. IMHO, the coolant loss through the overflow tube is do to the
location of the top of the tube relative to the flow of coolant into the
radiator from the water pump and has nothing to do with hard braking.
Wiedemeyer wrote:
> Or......why not use the KISS method. Don't fill the radiator so full and
> then it won't leak out when the water expands. They never leaked when they
> were new, so the problem is either too much water in the radiator or
> something's wrong in the engine or radiator causing it to run too hot,
> neither of which should be fixed by using an overflow bottle.
>
> Bob
>
> >Scott,
> >
> >If you want to keep the radiator full and not have coolant on your garage
> >floor, an overflow bottle works great. The best appearance option (and
> >perhaps most expensive) is a stainless overflow tube that is sold at hot
> rod
> >and speed shops. It can be mounted vertically near the radiator. Another
> >approach is an MGB or Fiat surge tank. I have even seen tanks that are
> made
> >up from 2-1/2 inch PVC pipe. Although not the prettiest, a plastic
> >container sold at auto parts stores will work if you can find room to mount
> >it.
> >
> >When you replace your battery, consider installing an Optima brand. It is
> >somewhat expensive, but provides excellent cranking capacity and takes up
> >less space. This will allow the bottle to neatly fit in the vacant area in
> >the battery compartment.
> >
> >When adding an overflow bottle to a TF (pressurized), install a second
> >rubber gasket in the radiator cap to allow the fluid to be sucked back in
> >when things cool. The gasket measures 2" o.d. and 5/8" i. d.
> >
> >Ben
> >54 TF 1500
> >
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: Scott Allen <scottinarl@hotmail.com>
> >To: <mg-t@autox.team.net>
> >Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2000 6:33 PM
> >Subject: How much Coolant?
> >
> >
> >>
> >> All,
> >>
> >> So I got my water pump back from Joe Curto and have installed it. I also
> >> went ahead and restricted the bypass. All seems to be in order, and
> >there's
> >> no leaks, (hooray!).
> >>
> >> I filled up the system with a 50-50 mixture. Cranked the engine over,
> and
> >> then topped her off, so I know it was at the correct capacity. Per the
> >> manual it says to fill it to 1/2" from the overflow tube.
> >>
> >> To make a long story short I drove to and from work today and when I got
> >> home I checked the coolant level and it was about 1/2" above the core.
> >> After double-checking there's no leaks and there's no cooant getting into
> >> the engine. I topped the coolant off again and observed the car as it
> ran
> >> and it looks like I'm losing it through the overflow tube.
> >>
> >> While I can expect some fluid loss as it heats up and expands I think
> that
> >> the amount I'm losing is excessive. So what gives? Anyone have an idea
> >on
> >> this one?
> >>
> >> Any help appreciated,
> >>
> >> -Scott
> >>
> >> '52 TD
> >> _________________________________________________________________________
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
--
Bud Krueger
http://home.ici.net/~bkrueger/
52TD
77MGB
|