>Is the radiator supposed to always be full or is it proper for there to be
a
>little emptiness to make up for the expansion of hot water? Is the
overflow
>supposed to somehow get sucked back into the radiator?
>
>Thanks
>David Lee
Dave
Modern cooling systems (including the TR6) with an overflow recovery
system use a radiator cap with two sealing gaskets. The first gasket
seals the throat and provides a preasure seal allowing the system to
build up pressure. The "plug" is spring loaded and when the pressure
overcomes the spring the plug will allow coolant to flow into the
recovery bottle. This plug also has a check valve that will break
vacuum as the system cools down.
The Second seal is just under the cap and seals off the overflow tube
connection from atmosphere. This seal ensures that when the
pressure relief action takes place the coolant is routed to the recovery
reservoir and when the vacuum breaking action takes place coolant is
drawn from the reservoir (This is why the tube must extent down to
near the bottom of the reservoir).
If the second seal is leaking (or if the tubing is leaking) there might
be evidenceof a coolant leak but the first symptom is air is sucked
into the radiator instead of coolant. A properly functioning cap and
recovery system will eventually purge all air out of the cooling system.
Sorry for the long winded answer but the system is more invloved
than one might expect.
Dave Massey
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