johny

My original cap has a small hole in it next to the grommet hole to do as you say Colin. Maybe the repros dont have this and just possibly the grommet seals well enough to allow a vacuum to be pulled on engine cooling.....

Sorry couldnt resist the title as have just fitted one of these to my Vitesse for 7 quid. I find it a big improvement at 51mm in diameter cos its so much easier to grip and avoid poor changes. I know the purists probably wont like it (even I might do something about the number of speeds shown) but I think anything that gives my gearbox an easier life is a good idea...

Think Paul had the audacity to introduced the two items in his original post😲 Unfortunately we dont seem to have had any comments on mine, Dave's or John's suggested causes.....

if its real dirty like mine was you cant see the level☹️

How did it come up Doug?

That is surprising! Mines a repro and been fine but then it never gets hot enough to deform - did you have a major engine overheating incident?

the good news is that any air getting in still has to pass through the filters👍 Think the cap to the overflow bottle was originally aluminium....

yes theres certainly a lot of 'dire warnings' floating around these days😱

probably how Id do it, thanks

That sounds like a pretty good life span. What procedure do you use for the fluid change overs and do you replace all seals?

I think what we need is some first hand info. Can anyone who's actually changed over to silicone without replacing all the system seals give us some feedback please?

Cant see a problem with them not mixing but I have seen (expensive) recommendations to flush the system with silicone fluid before the final fill so as to minimise the amount of mineral oil contamination. Not heard of seals giving problems and wonder if there isnt some vested interest from a few companies in this field.....

dont think theres an inherent problem having silicone and mineral oil mixed but of course you would be missing out on the advantages concerning moisture retention and paint damage....

hmmm if its that much of a problem there should be very prominent warnings on the containers of silicone.....

wont any liquid do that though if its got air in it and then is subjected to a vacuum?

apparently it depends on the ABS system but some can definitely use silicone fluid so it comes down again to the manufacturer deciding to design their vehicles to use it or not.....

as we all know moisture can and does regularly precipitate out of the atmosphere without being near anything hydroscopic but yes we're talking about miniscule amounts in a brake system. However Ive never understood why the main car manufacturers have never supplied their vehicles with silicone from new.... With non synthetic engine oil my engine, which runs pretty well, comes out black n smelly so I wouldnt want to leave a synthetic in there any longer.

Hi, couple of points: I believe moisture can get into our systems via the breather hole on the master cylinder. This allows air (and any moisture it holds) in as the fluid level goes down due to operation of the pedal or even liquid volume change due to temperature. Fully synthetic oil is great except that it needing less frequent oil changes doesnt allow for the greater rate of contamination due to poor combustion in older engines....

Yes theyre the ones to adjust Paula. Shouldnt need much and if you do both by the same amount carb air flow balance should be unaffected. Check that the gap is maintained to the choke fast idle cam and also that the dash pots have oil (if not the pistons can fall too rapidly and cause the engine to stall).

well 'recovering' is not so easy unless youre a driving god but at least you can see what the limits are and how easy it is to lose control while learning to respect those conditions demand and avoid panicking.....

On the contrary Shaun, I think everybody should get out on snow and ice in a safe place as its great practice. Far better to experience what its like, how easy it is to lose control and what you can try n do about it before it happens on the road....

I dont recall the job as being too difficult but do remember the sharp edges in the door internals......

you can get the original workshop manuals free on line (well I found mine no problem) and they show just about everything...

hi, yes thats what you need and it goes right along the door from the front edge past the quarter light frame to the back edge in one piece. The clips are a bit awkward to fit cos they go with the open bit pointing up and have to be pushed into place from underneath so that they clip together the door skin lip (inside the window slot) and the lower edge of the seal strip. Its best done with a strip of thin steel bent into a right angle and then used to hook under each clip in turn and pulled upwards. Canleys are a lot cheaper for the seal strip and they come with the clips.......

I personally think our engines are so low tuned (unless modified of course) and so crude (ditto) that just about anything this side of cooking oil will do! I reckon more important is the correct grade and regularly changes but it can make you feel good to put in the expensive stuff.....