Leaking Cooling System - Spitfire 1500

[DaveMitchell]

Hello,

 

last summer after a very slow hot drive on the M25 my radiator over boiled as I arrived at my destination.   On further investigation I found the fuse housing had melted on my kenlow fan, and it was no longer working.  following morning I topped up the radiator and i noticed steam escaping the radiator core once warm, and the fan did not respond despite new fuse, and housing.  I decided to flush the system with a rad weld cleaner before using rad weld to try and resolve the leak a couple of months later and refit my old mechanical fan.  The car has been stranded at my parents, so I'm tinkering with it once ever 3 months at the moment.  Anyhow, I ran the car yesterday, and after 10 minutes or so, just before I was about to switch it off to drain the cleaner, I noticed coolant escaping from the weephole under the water pump.  i'm certain the car was not over heating at this point, anyway I switched it off immediately.  I didn't see any steam from the core this time.  And it wasn't steam, but water from the weep hole.

 

What do people suggest I do next?

 

Dave.

[Pete Lewis]

its the pump seal thats failed   quite common on cars that stand unused

you may find a bearing and seal kit , but new pump its looking likely 

 

and some of them dont seem to last too well 

 

Pete

[JohnD]

Dave,

I'm afraid that in the circumstances you mention just replacing the fuse is not an adequate 'repair'.

A fuse will never overheat, not to melt the housing as it will blow, cut the current and prevent overheating - that is what they are designed for!

And Kenlowes draw a lot of current, some up to 15A, so what was the fuse and wire rating?

See: http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/Product.do?method=view&n=1848&g=244241&p=98867&c=215&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Base&utm_campaign=Fans%20&%20Fan%20Kits&gclid=CKGgoYy55LwCFQKWtAodYHMAvQ&source=aw&awc=6538_1460386329_b4da85447b4e0d3918f4490380450356  Click on "Fan Size Chart"

In the day, MGs with Kenlowes were recommend to have a circuit breaker, not a fuse.

 

I fear something else melted the housing and I suggest that is your first problem, which I can't help with without at least a picture of the parts in relation to each other.

The fan motor may be faulty- try a multimeter across it.   No continuity or a very high resistance means a burnt-out fan motor. 

Or try connecting it directly to the battery - if it turns, you have eliminated fan motor failure.

 

Water pumps have that weep hole to tell you that the seal had failed.    There's no repair, it's a new pump, I'm afraid.

It could be that the engine overheating was the last straw, as I don't think it would be the primary cause.

 

Hope you can get sorted!

John

[DaveMitchell]

Thanks for the advice both. Much appreciated.