Message text written by Bill Pugh
>Obviously the Brits had not yet figured out that water, when heated,
expands and when inevitably cooled, un-expands (is that a word?).
Hence the notes in the owners manual to check your fluif levels
frequently. It was the same in 1957 with my TR3, but I chose to
follow scientific principles and install an overflow bottle. I have
not had occasion to check my water fluif level since (other than an
occasional glance at the overflow bottle).
So unless you are a Concours Purists, I can highly recommend this
modern addition. <G>
<
I highly doubt a scientifically advanced society such as the British Auto
Industry would have overlooked the principal of thermal expansion. I think
that we tend to overfill our radiators. If you have a look at the TR3
radiator you will see that the top tank (reservoir) is quite large. Add in
the volume of the filler neck there is quite a bit of room for volumetric
expansion of the coolant - as long as you don't insist on filling the
radiator right to the top when cold. This is typical of British radiators.
If you have ever seen the radiator from a big Healey you will see a quite
exagerated top tank. This is to allow enough room for the coolant to
expand into when hot but still keep the tubes and head full when cool.
Remember, the reservoir does no cooling - it is the tubes.
What has changed since then is our environmental awareness. It is no
longer appropriate to just fill the radiator with a toxic substance like
ethylene glycol and allow the excess to be discharged onto the ground.
This is reason enough to install a coolant recovery bottle. Also, this
bottle allows one to actually keep the reservoir right full AND provide a
quick visual check on coolant status since these bottle are almost
universally translucent. Also there is little motivation to keep the
recovery bottle full so there will likely be plenty of room for expansion.
Those who have made modifications for increased engine power production may
find that additional cooling system performance is also required but the
stock cooling system in good working condition is likely up to most
situations with a stock engine. To my knowledge, any TR has a better
cooling system than my 65 MGB had!
Cheers all
Dave
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