Ian Foster

Pete A steer on a supplier for those anti rattle shims please. I'm using wire clips at the moment, but they are fairly robust and I think restrict the pads a bit. Ian

Pete Do you know a supplier for shims to fit 16P calipers.

When I had a standard mechanical fan, I used to use it when turning the engine to check/adjust the tappets. (you might want to wear a glove to protect your hands as the fan blades are quite sharp). Alternatively you could try tightening the fan belt so you can use the alternator pulley as previously suggested. Now that I have just and electric fan, I use a spanner on the crank bolt.

Irrespective of the type of valve, I think they all must be susceptible to dirt/rust, which is inevitable with our bare metal steel fuel tanks. A good clean and 20mins in the ultrasonic cleaner has always worked for me to clean standard float valves. I always pump a bit of fuel through before refitting the valves, which should flush out any trapped crud. Ian

Do not discount a blockage in the fuel line...ask me how I know!

It is possible that the cam was installed incorrectly. The check procedure will show if it is out. Ref Pete's question above, is this a new or longstanding issue? Ian

I run 27 front and 24 rear on my Mk2 GT6, on the basis that there is more load being carried on the front axle. Tyres seem to wearing evenly and the steering (even with with my 12" wheel) is quite manageable. Ian

Roger Can you please take a video looking into the mouth of the carbs, so we can see what the slides are doing. I have a Huco on my GT6. Good bit of kit. I can clearly hear the pump filling the float chambers before a first start. After yours has conked, when you turn the ignition back on does the pump run to fill the bowls? Ian

Pete What specifically was exiting about it? Ian

Tricky thing springs! Ian

Iain The photo shows the shorter spring has a tighter pitch. Is that relevant? Ian

+1 Ian

That is my understanding also. So a 1" deep cap fitted into a nominal 3/4" deep radiator neck, would be opening at a higher pressure than intended. Ian

Didn't know that. I suppose this is an option, but it might be better to use a 7lb cap on a 13lb system, as the additional compression would increase the effective spring rate. Ian

Iain Radiator neck is 19.05mm deep from top surface to lower sealing surface. The cap (7lb) is 20.2mm between the two seal surfaces. My spare 13lb cap is 19.4mm. Ian

Iain Sorry, could you clarify please. My early post covered neck and cap depths. Ian

Kevin That's interesting, but a bit worrying that you have had to distort the cap to get it to work. I'm not sure the system will pressurize properly like that. The metal ring of my 13lb cap has a diameter of 38.05mm above the lower seal. The inside of the neck is 40.8mm, so just over 1mm of clearance all round. Ian

Iain That does sound odd! I have just popped the rad cap off to check mine. Radiator neck 19.05mm, cap (7lb) 20.2mm. My spare 13lb cap is 19.4mm. There are witness marks on both seals on the cap indicating they are making contact with the neck. For info, water was being held in the overflow pipe and released down into the overflow bottle as soon as I opened the cap. Water level was right up to/just over the level of the lower sealing surface of the radiator. Perhaps Kevin might like to check his as well. Ian

This is the concerning bit, which leads me to still suspect the cap. Photo attached of my top hose, which definitely has a fabric reinforcement (probably supplied by Canleys). Kevin, I have a used but serviceable 13lb radiator cap going spare if you would like it. Ian

On that basis the radiator cap or overflow pipe is not allowing excess coolant to be expelled into the expansion bottle. If the pipe is clear, then it must be the radiator cap. At design pressure the lower section of the radiator cap is supposed to lift off the lower sealing surface in the radiator neck and coolant flows via the space between the upper and lower seals into the overflow pipe to the expansion bottle. Have you tried different caps? Ian

Lobros are a marvel of engineering and should give a long service life as long as the boots have been intact. My axle conversion uses 95mm Lobros off a Volvo 340 and had already had a life before being built into the Jones/Bowler CV axle conversion. I understand that new ones are often quite stiff and you can pay extra for new 'motorsport spec' units which have been disassembled and polished internally with a Dremel and fine sanding drum. It will be interesting to hear what CDD say, particularly as yours are OK on one side. Ian

Hi Kevin Slightly disappointing news, but at least you know that all is well on the head gasket front. I would certainly suggest running with the heater on hot for quite a long time after a refill, to make sure there is proper circulation and allow any trapped air to work its way out. I suspect you do still have air in the system. You mentioned you had elevated the front and managed to get some more air out. Was that with the engine running. In your original post you said you had fitted a new radiator. It might be worth measuring from the top of the neck to the shelf of the lower seal, just to make sure that it hasn't been built wrongly. It does sound as though you might have rather flimsy hoses and this might be more of an issue on the Mk3 with the 13lb/sqin cap compared to the Mk1/2 with a 7lb/sqin cap. A standard top hose from Canleys or the TSSC shop should be fine though, without the expense of going to silicon. The overflow pipe should be fine as the clear plastic, just make sure you have a half decent fit and/or hose clamp onto the radiator neck. If it is kinked near the top cut that bit off. 3/4 depth into the overflow bottle should be fine. My cold level in the bottle is at 1/2 depth, rising by approx 50mm when fully hot. Keep at it and good luck. I'm sorry that I am not closer to Cheshire! Ian

That's excellent news. Hopefully you can enjoy the rest of the season. Ian

Kevin Remember that you will have to re-torque the head after about 500 miles. Ian

Kevin Looks as though the issue has been identified with respect to HG clamping. Head off and gasket change is probably the only logical step at this stage. IIRC stud threads should be lightly oiled prior to installing nuts and torqueing up. Best to torque-up in stages. From your original post I'm not sure the head has been off before in your ownership, so at least you'll have the change for a good de-coke and polish up. At least you will have some advice to follow on the cooling system refill. Please keep us posted re progress and results. Ian