johny Posted December 9, 2018 Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 That should do it nicely. That plus a rag around the trunnion to catch the oil as it is squeezed out of the top seal and youre away for another 1000 miles or so..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waynebaby Posted December 9, 2018 Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 The oil also seems to go in more easily if you jack the front wheels up in the air to take the weight off the trunnion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted December 9, 2018 Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 thats right, the manuals do suggest you jack when troiling oinons takes the load off the threads helps let air out and oil in when refilling pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.eg Posted December 10, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 I've ordered a big syringe to oil the trunnions this weekend. GL4 oil is correct for this? However, getting the water pump done so I can put antifreeze in is my first priority. I'm going to give that a go on Friday, but before I do, does anyone have any final suggestions to unblock the block drain hole or get the heater working? I've probed about in the drain hole with wire etc. Whatever I poke in goes about 1 1/2 inches and stops. Can't seem to find any passage sideways/upwards. I guess that'll have to wait till I need to take the head off for some reason (hopefully not too soon...) but the heater is rather frustrating. I think the car is running at the correct temperature as I can touch the top of the radiator for a couple of seconds. I wouldn't call any of the pipes hot, but all are fairly similar including the heater pipes. I'm rather at a loss... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted December 10, 2018 Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 Yes, EP90 GL4 is the stuff to use. I had an engine in a 2500S where that drain channel was completely blocked solid, and couldn't even be cleared from above with the head off. It never showed any hint of problems with cooling and, being a 2500S, had a very good heater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted December 11, 2018 Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 On the lack of heated ....Did you check the small bypass metal tube is actually clear ?? Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daverclasper Posted December 11, 2018 Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 Iv'e always found the top rad hose to be pretty hot when running at normal temp. Is your heater return hose at least warm when the valve is open (apparently even when there is some flow through the matrix, it can still be partially blocked and not generating enough heat though). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.eg Posted December 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 1 hour ago, Pete Lewis said: Did you check the small bypass metal tube is actually clear ?? Pretty sure I checked all pipes but I'll check again before filling with antifreeze. Would that explain the heater never working if it was blocked? 33 minutes ago, daverclasper said: Is your heater return hose at least warm when the valve is open (apparently even when there is some flow through the matrix, it can still be partially blocked and not generating enough heat though). The hoses all feel quite a similar temperature. When the system was drained I attached a hose to the heater valve (open) and water came out of the other heater hose (along with a load of nastiness...) since water is presumably circulating through the heater, I don't really understand why it's not working :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted December 11, 2018 Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 You need a good volume to get the output a small flow will over cool the incoming , and give no output If the pipe or its adaptor into the back of the pump is blocked you get poor flow to the heater and theres no bypass when the stats shut So the pump cant circulate till the stat starts to open then you get fast local heating up but still no heater Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.eg Posted December 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 Ok. I'll check that pipe very carefully then. Presumably if water flows freely through the heater matrix there isn't much else that can be wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted December 11, 2018 Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 Its a classic......they have a knack of when you find the fault it wont cure the problem !!! Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.eg Posted December 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2018 In going to do the water pump today. Should there be a grease nipple in this here? On the old pump the hole is empty and was fitted facing downwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Posted December 14, 2018 Report Share Posted December 14, 2018 Hi Chris the hole should be at the bottom and left clear - if water comes out it means the pump has failed - there is no lubrication on replacement pumps - the originals pumps had a grease nipple . Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Posted December 14, 2018 Report Share Posted December 14, 2018 Ditto Paul. It’s a weep hole. Pumps are maintenance free I think generally if it needs attention, noisy, rattle, leeking from anything other than gaskets it need replacing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted December 14, 2018 Report Share Posted December 14, 2018 Having gone through major drift about sprouts , personal plumbing the comments about holes, weeping and bottoms get me even more worried Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.eg Posted December 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2018 I took the spitfire to see a mechanic friend today. We got it up on his lift to have a really good look underneath, which looks pretty good (better than I was expecting actually). There is surface rust over most of the chassis under flaking underseal, but nothing rotten. He checked the timing with his strobe and it was rather more advanced than it ought to be so set it to 10 degrees BTDC. He also said the reason the heater wasn't working was that the water was passing through the return under the manifolds much more easily than the heater matrix which seems logical. So, he clamped that hose shut and that made the heater work. Now I have a clearer picture in my mind of how the water circulates I don't really see how the heater was supposed to work when new. Why would the water ever flow through the heater matrix instead of the bypass return? Anyway, for now, as long as the heater valve is open I assume I can leave that hose closed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted December 22, 2018 Report Share Posted December 22, 2018 39 minutes ago, chris.eg said: Now I have a clearer picture in my mind of how the water circulates I don't really see how the heater was supposed to work when new. Why would the water ever flow through the heater matrix instead of the bypass return? The bypass part has a restriction in it. If the heater matrix is clear and the valve is open (and also clear) then it's an easier path for the coolant than the bypass. There are three common reasons why the bypass would pass more than the heater: 1) the heater matrix and/or valve are (partially) blocked by silt and corrosion 2) the restriction in the bypass has rusted away or been drilled out by an ignorant PO 3) the ignorant PO has swapped the hoses so that the restricted pipe is now the heater Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.eg Posted December 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2018 7 minutes ago, NonMember said: 1) the heater matrix and/or valve are (partially) blocked by silt and corrosion 2) the restriction in the bypass has rusted away or been drilled out by an ignorant PO 3) the ignorant PO has swapped the hoses so that the restricted pipe is now the heater Ok. So is the restriction in the steel pipe under the manifold? On mine there is a steel T-shaped connection for the hoses near the back of the manifold. As far as I can remember the top connection is to the heater return, the side connection to the inlet manifold heating pipe and the bottom is connected by a rubber hose to the steel return under the manifold. Is that much correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted December 23, 2018 Report Share Posted December 23, 2018 There were a few different designs over the years. If you have a tee off the side of the return pipe under the manifold, which I think is what you're describing, then that side-branch should have a restricted hole into the main pipe, and should connect to the manifold. If you've got a separate T-piece connected by rubber hoses then it's possible the PO who fitted that was not aware of the need for a restriction. Photos would help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 Went through all this earlier in the year. After hosing out the muck from the system it turned out that the tee piece spliting the water flow between the heater and the return was in the wrong position. Make sure that the flow goes straight through the tee piece to the heater valve and that the side branch of the tee piece goes to the return. I always believed for years that water entering a tee piece splits equally... it doesn't. It does, of couse, take the path of least resistance, ie, straight through. When you have done that, check for an air lock in the highest point of the plumbing. Dealing with both of these fixed my heater. Thanks to Uncle Pete for the advice. You can find the full tale via this link https://forum.tssc.org.uk/topic/2623-back-to-collecting-repaint-stuff-nose-to-tail-1972-spitfire-mkiv-restoration-upgrades/?page=17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.eg Posted January 1, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2019 On 23/12/2018 at 09:17, NonMember said: There were a few different designs over the years. If you have a tee off the side of the return pipe under the manifold, which I think is what you're describing, then that side-branch should have a restricted hole into the main pipe, and should connect to the manifold. If you've got a separate T-piece connected by rubber hoses then it's possible the PO who fitted that was not aware of the need for a restriction. Photos would help! On 31/12/2018 at 18:58, Badwolf said: Went through all this earlier in the year. After hosing out the muck from the system it turned out that the tee piece spliting the water flow between the heater and the return was in the wrong position. Make sure that the flow goes straight through the tee piece to the heater valve and that the side branch of the tee piece goes to the return. I always believed for years that water entering a tee piece splits equally... it doesn't. It does, of couse, take the path of least resistance, ie, straight through. When you have done that, check for an air lock in the highest point of the plumbing. Dealing with both of these fixed my heater. Thanks to Uncle Pete for the advice. You can find the full tale via this link Thanks for the ideas. I'm away from the car for a couple of weeks, but then I'll take some pictures to post so someone can hopefully tell me if it's connected up properly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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