> Thanks for the quick reply. Its late here and will be attacking it again
> tomorrow but thought I'd send back a few responses.
Sorry for the long delay Jason, I have to get off the computer some time !
> The fill point is indeed at the highest spot, but I have heard the
> thermostat mentioned as a problem before. Do I drill the hole just
> straight through the thermostat? not the thermostat housing, correct?
It depends a bit on the type of thermostat, but for the most common type,
there will be a more-or-less flat plate that carries the works. That plate
is what you want to drill ... again, only if the valve fits air-tight.
Quality thermostats will have a crimp or gap in the edge of the valve, to
pass air (and a small amount of water). Drilling a (larger) hole won't hurt
anything, but may make the engine take longer to warm up.
> Its a cross flow or horizontal radiator and it fills from the top. I
> suspect it must have an air lock because this morning the top corner was
> warm, the rest cold.
That's not likely to be an air lock ... after all, air rises to the top.
However, if the warm corner was also the inlet (from the thermostat
housing), then it would be normal for only it to be warm before the engine
has reached operating temperature. As I mentioned, a closed thermostat
should flow only a tiny amount of water, and what you're seeing is how far
the water flows before it's cooled.
> So I flushed it. Then it was heating evenly. Then,
> after messing with it some more only the top was getting hot.
This could mean the lower part is partially clogged, but instead I suspect
the engine had cooled off, meaning the thermostat was partially closed, and
there was only limited water circulation. Did you check the temp gauge
reading ?
> Thanks for confirming the water tap issue. I understand its drilled
> through but the actual outlet comes off at a right angle from the main
> shaft, and is smaller than the main hole. Does this sound right or is it
> just straight through?
I'm not sure I follow you here. The hole itself goes straight into the
water jacket, there are no turns. However ISTR the water jacket isn't very
wide at that point, maybe only 3/8" between the bottom of the hole and the
opposite side of the jacket. It's been awhile since I looked at a TR6 motor
and I gave away the one that was in my garage.
> So am I right in thinking this IS where the water tap is
Not all cars had a tap installed by the factory. On later TR6 for example,
the factory only installed a (cheaper) plug and the book said to remove the
plug to drain the cylinder block. But AFAIK they were all drilled for a
plug or tap. If it was deliberately not drilled, then you would just see a
flat top boss. But mistakes do happen, so there is a (very slight) chance
that you've got a factory defect.
If digging and picking at the gunk doesn't clear up the hole enough to get
some water through, you could try removing the thermostat housing, and then
screwing a fitting into the drain hole and applying air pressure to it.
That will sometimes knock the gunk loose enough to get some water to flow.
The block will take a good deal of pressure, and removing the thermostat
housing will ensure that the pressure is not applied to the radiator (which
won't take much pressure). Probably best to disconnect the heater lines
too, for the same reason.
Randall
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