Bill Eastman wrote:
>
<very big snip>
> On another note, the A has never topped 200F since it followed me home but
> I have noticed that it burps a lot of antifreeze out before it stabilizes.
> In fact it looses so much that you can't see any in the filler neck. Like
> I said it doesn't leak or use antifreeze once it stabilizes but it drives
> me nuts to open the radiator and see no fluid. I run it that way for a few
> weeks then I worry and fill it up again. It then spits the stuff out the
> first few drives until it gets back down to "normal." I tell you it's like
> feeding a 1 year old. Freeway driving seems to make it go down faster than
> backroad cruising. Any thoughts? Should I just install a catch tank and
> be done with it? Should I lick the antifreeze on the ground until I no
> longer care? Any input would be appreciated.
>
> Regards,
> Bill Eastman
> 61 MGA out enjoying the first 70F sunny day of the year
Bill,
This problem is identical to that which I had in my TD. Once I installed
the 4.3 rear end gears and could roll along on the interstates at 60-65 without
problems I discovered that upon arrival at my destination the front fenders and
bonnet louvers were a mess. It turns out that the end of the overflow pipe on a
TD is in a low pressure area that flows up into the engine compartment and out
through the louvers on the sides of the bonnet. Along with the usual loss of
the top 2" of the coolant, I had a mess to clean up.
The solution was suggested by Skip Kelsey and it works great. I obtained a
radiator overflow tank from a late MGB and mounted it on the battery hold-down
bracket of the TD. This is directly behind the head. I then connected some
5/16" tubing from the end of the overflow pipe to the input of the overflow
tank. I also connected another piece from the outlet of the overflow tank to
just below the firewall. Now the coolant that I used to lose goes into the tank
and then later returns to the radiator. I use a zero-pressure cap on the tank.
(The TD wasn't designed for a pressurized coolant system.)
You might give this a try. Jim Merz, from this list, has also installed
this in his TD. As I recall, I paid $20 for the used tank.
Bud Krueger
52TD
77MGB (haven't started work on it yet)
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