Looking for a spitfire

[chris.eg]

On 25/11/2018 at 20:13, Pete Lewis said:

If youre flushing a good dose of cheap washing soda will shift a lot of crud run it hot for a good while and flush fully 

Is this better than a special flushing product? Or just a cheaper option? If I go that route, roughly how much should I use?

[Pete Lewis]

Yes  its cheap  yes it works  about a mug or two  full is what ive used over the years

There a number of threads on here and soda worked well on most 

Dont leave it in for a week it will dissolve alloy , 

Needs to be hot to disolve the crystals and work on the crud

Flush well including a hose on the heater inlet

Pete

 

[Mat]

On 26/11/2018 at 13:24, chris.eg said:

 

The thing that is definitely not working is the lever at the bottom end of the cable which controls direction. It's attached to the bottom of a box (which I assume contains the heater matrix) in the drivers footwell. If anyone can take one, a picture of how that's supposed to look would be really helpful as I hope I can repair it somehow rather than replacing.

Here is my mk3 GT6 one (I think they are the same?) Hope this helps

 

Mat

 

[dougbgt6]

Mat, Wow! That's rusty! Hope you managed to save it.

Chris, 

washing soda is better and cheaper than "special" cleaners. I used it, left it in for 3-4 days, did 50 miles. It left what you can see inside the radiator very shiny and a lot of crud came out when I flushed.  I wouldn't worry about dissolving the alloy, what alloy there is in the cooling system is quite robust, not intricate and will take a mild attack of washing soda. 

Doug

[Clive]

I have the same "broken lug" issue on my spifire. No idea why, it is not at all stiff/seized. And annoyingly it was OK when I built the car. I have a replacement heater unit, but it is a real faff of a job. As a "temporary" bodge I have cable tied it together, and 18 months on I see no requirement to do anything else.

Re flushing, especially a car with unknown coolant history, I would do the following:

1.get a garden hose, with the end cut square (important) and hopefully a tap with decent water pressure.
2. disconnect one end of all the hoses you can get to, rad cap off
3. Undo the block drain plug, located under the manifolds, near the back of the engine.
4. Let all the water drain out. If nothing comes out the block drain, poke bits of wire or suchlike until it does flow out.
5 use the hose to flush in every place a hose was attached to, and both ways (if that makes sense) so the heater, flush both ways several times. Flush the heater valve both ways, the pipe under the manifolds etc etc and also press the hose up against the block drain to flush that too. And the connections at the thermostat housing. And the rad.

Keep doing that until no more rubbish come out. You will get wet. Your hands will get cold this time of year (break out the marigolds?)

THEN chuck in the rad flush stuff of your choice (I use speedflush..... personal preference, probably no better than soda) and when happy it has had the right amount of time to "do the business" drain via the rad bottom hose, flush thoroughly, and even fill with water, run to temp and drain again. Make sure all is leak free and fill with 30% blue antifreeze. 

If heater still not working, it has a blocked matrix and that is just about impossible to unblock (it is a bypass matrix) but usually they are OK. Likewise check the heater valve is working OK.

 

Sounds complex, but a hour of so with the hose works wonders. For the car. Not you.

 

[Mat]

9 hours ago, dougbgt6 said:

Mat, Wow! That's rusty! Hope you managed to save it.

Yes I did save it, it was only surface rust, nothing was seized! just needed a rub down and a paint

[chris.eg]

3 hours ago, clive said:

I have the same "broken lug" issue on my spifire. No idea why, it is not at all stiff/seized. And annoyingly it was OK when I built the car. I have a replacement heater unit, but it is a real faff of a job. As a "temporary" bodge I have cable tied it together, and 18 months on I see no requirement to do anything else.

The flap on mine moves extremely easily too, so no idea really why it's snapped off (although now I think about it, I haven't checked the passenger side flap so perhaps that's the issue)

Re the flushing procedure you mentioned, I'll give that a go and check the heater valve to see if that's the problem. While it's drained I'll take the thermostat out to check that too. Is it possibe to test the temperature sender in hot water with a multimeter? My gauge has still never reached half...

[Colin Lindsay]

14 hours ago, dougbgt6 said:

It left what you can see inside the radiator very shiny

Should be good for concours, then..  

Chris, if your gauge is about a third along, that's correct and where I like mine to be. Half is slightly hotter than I'd prefer and anything above half gets me worried. They don't call them worry gauges for nothing.

[Clive]

Probably better off buying a cheap infra red thermometer. I got one for a couple of quid off fleabay, and tested it on a boiling kettle. Was accurate enough (a couple of degrees out I think, but that could have been accurate being I tested the outside of the kettle)

 

 

[chris.eg]

49 minutes ago, Colin Lindsay said:

Chris, if your gauge is about a third along, that's correct and where I like mine to be.

 

48 minutes ago, clive said:

Probably better off buying a cheap infra red thermometer.

In that case I'll probably just flush it thoroughly, check the heater valve and look into getting one of those thermometers for peace of mind

I'm struggling to find a supply of washing soda that is significantly cheaper than Speedflush from Halfords so may just go with that.

[Pete Lewis]

I last got soda from tesco .           https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/285047163?sc_cmp=ppc*GHS+-+Grocery+-+New*PX+|+Shopping+GSC+|+All+Products*Household*PRODUCT_GROUP285047163*&ds_rl=1116019&ds_rl=1116322&ds_rl=1116019&gclid=Cj0KCQiA3IPgBRCAARIsABb-iGJCjLHaCa9CX85R8a4rw_zq52stC1gD58k5ewTypdCdjj5s0jVPhnAaAmsHEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

if you check the thermostat  dont boil it like an eg,  a slow gradual increase in temperature and keep the water stirring the figure marked is the start of opening ,not easy to see if the water is bubbling  on warranty we had a special tank with a stirrer and it raisd the temp in 1/10 degC increments  they are quite finicky and if in doubt just replace.

as for the sender JohnD  plotted some resistance/temp/voltage results but for what they cost just replace it  for a £5 its not worth messing around . there is only one sender  GTR108 for stabilised gauges 

there are the two stat setting i dont see fab number to confirm when they changed but generally these were introduce as emissions took hold so later cars like the 1500

GTS104 is 82c

GTS 106  is   88c   fitting this will raise the needle position for normal running   

[dougbgt6]

 I get my soda from Waitrose, reassuringly expensive.

https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/dp-soda-crystals/713196-448023-448024

Doug

[Clive]

 I thought 88 was winter, and 82 summer.

My toledo heater is more of  a "warmer", at the moment. Had it on my old herald. Solution is to blank some of the rad off (1/3rd worked on my herald)

Not sure why it works, OK obvious when the stat opens, but maybe enough water leaks past a closed stat to stop the engine getting hot? Pete may have some insight. Meanwhile I really ought to break out the bacofoil before it disappears on a turkey.

 

[chris.eg]

Found some soda, so I'll give that a go perhaps tomorrow. The heater is not really working at all so I think there's more of a problem than the engine just not running particularly hot. I'll have a good look at the heater valve when I drain the coolant as I suspect that at the moment...

In other news, the car has been starting fine lately (perhaps the warmer weather) but I'm thinking there are probably a few questionable bits of wiring on the car...

[Anglefire]

1 minute ago, chris.eg said:

probably a few questionable bits of wiring on the car...

That's a given 😂

Its ok though, because you can still get repair kits.

 

[chris.eg]

4 minutes ago, Anglefire said:

Its ok though, because you can still get repair kits.

I thought it was supposed to be purple? 

[dougbgt6]

Purple Haze! Cool!

Doug

[chris.eg]

I couldn't get any water to come out of the drain plug on the block (assuming of course that I got the right bolt...) I flushed everything else with a hose until clean water was coming out and have refilled with water and washing soda. It only took about 4 pints though, presumably because there was a fair bit of water still left in the block 😕 Hopefully if I leave the soda in for a bit it'll unblock things some more and water will drain from the block...The colour of the water that came out of the heater was something to behold! However, it's still not working When the engine is warm the hose going into the heater (via the valve) gets warm but the one form the heater back to the manifold and engine stays cool. I don't understand this as water was flowing freely through the heater with the hose.

Other things I need to do are to replace the distributor cap (I think) as the contacts inside look very pitted and horrible. Also, worryingly, the engine mounts look desperately in need of replacement.

 

[KevinR]

18 hours ago, Anglefire said:

That's a given 😂

Its ok though, because you can still get repair kits.

 

The replacement smoke on its own is no good without the rest of the kit for putting it back into the wiring harness.  

The ultra rare Churchill 18G548BS special service tool required is pictured here. http://www3.telus.net/bc_triumph_registry/smoke.htm

[Anglefire]

Mine leaked from that bolt that you have non coming out of - it is a common block point as it has little flow. Poke with a bit of wire might shift some of the crud.

Change the cap - don't cost a lot but get a decent one.

Engine mounts shouldn't be hard to change (I replaced mine when I put the new engine in.) just need to lift the engine up and remove and replace - though the chances are there is something in the way.

[JohnD]

Chris,

You have the right bolt!   And it is often/usually blocked if it hasn't been cleared.

It's intentionally the lowest part of the water jacket, and was filled with sand when the blcok was cast.     I have celared these holes tha were still full of sand!

Nothing will clear it, except probing, with a small, sharp point, best from above AND below, but possible just from below  if you don't want the head off.

Now is the time to do it!

John

[dougbgt6]

Chris,

it's a common fault that the drain plug won't drain. A thin blade screwdriver can be useful to dig the crude out. However, this doesn't always work. It's easiest done with the head off, but this is a big step to take to fix what actually is a minor problem. The drain plug is in a side reservoir off the main water jacket which doesn't effect cooling if blocked. All that you loose is the ability to drain through the plug which is a nuisance, but not a disaster. The crude can be rust debris, but could also be sand left over from when the block was cast, this is more difficult to shift. 

Doug

[Pete Lewis]

the lack of heater could be there is no thermostat fitted, so the bypass and heater feeds never work, 

the bypass is via the tube under the manifold ( often blocked) and this is part of the heater return .

the dizzy cap doent look that bad , any white deposits on the terminals will pick off witha small screwdriver

many replacement  copy aftermarket caps dont fit the base , as yours is a lucas use  the distributor doctor , his fit or look for new old stock at a auto sales 

Pete

 

[chris.eg]

So when I come to draining the water and washing soda out (speaking of which, will it be ok in there for a week, not doing much mileage?) I should just give the drain hole another good poke. Is the hole supposed to be fairly deep, or do I need a bent bit of wire to like around sideways? 

If I take the thermostat housing off to look, will I be able to reuse the gasket, or do I need one to hand to replace? I'm planning on ordering a service kit and engine mount from Rimmers anyway, so guess I may as well get a gasket too. 

[Pete Lewis]

yes a poke around with a bent bit of wire coat hanger etc., its not deep as the cyl wall is just inside .so its a bent and struggle operation 

yes get a new gasket , most are past there best , not good to re use,  the top hsg, may benefit from a sand on a flat plate to clean its face

clean out the groove in the pump hsg. the stat sits in this  with gasket over the top .

a week will be ok left  in soak .

Pete