The tap is a cone with a hole thru it that fits into a cone shaped body.
The moving cone has a projection at the bottom that goes thru the body
and is held by a clip. On my car, the clip rusted thru and gave out.
Pressure on the cone ejected it out the top, followed by the coolant.
Fortunately I was autocrossing at the time. Course observers flagged me
down before overheating, and we were able to track the fluid trail back
to the missing part. I wired that back in place to get home. I hate to
think of what would have happened if it had failed out on a drive
somewhere.
I ordered a new valve, but it wasn't machined well and leaked. The
bronze-bronze clearance has to be very close. I rebuilt the old one and
put it back. Been fine since then (4-5 years ago). As others have
noted, the valve is relatively easy to remove. Pull it out and check it
thoroughly. Your clip might be loosening up, giving excessive play to
the valve. The fact that the handle (which is integral with the cone)
is loose suggests this might be the case. I sometimes have to take
pliers to move mine.
Alan
>
>
> I ran into a problem after draining the engine coolant out of my '66
> TR-4A. The tap on the side of the engine block turned easily, but no fluid
> came out, so I went after the opening with a paperclip and dislodged
> whatever had blocked the flow. However, now the tap won't close
> effectively. The handle is loose, and in the closed position fluid must be
> dripping out when the car is running, as I am losing coolant every time I
> drive. Once or twice there was a puddle of coolant below the tap and the
> starter case is also stained.
> This is very different than the tap on my TR-3A, which I can barely
> move. Has anyone else run into this problem? Is the tap rebuildable?
> (The part is out of stock at Moss and TRF.) Were you able to get it off
> the block? It looks like it would be difficult to get a wrench onto. It
> would be a major bummer if it were stuck or if I stripped the threads
> trying to get it out.
> Thanks for the help.
> John Cowan
>
>
--
Alan T. Crane
2312 Warren Court
Silver Spring, MD 20910
tel: (301) 589-3502
fax: (301-589-3503
acrane@crosslink.net
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