Drain Plug

[Peter Bates]

Draining the cooling system on my Vitesse 2L

But which is the engine drain plug?

Is it the one at the top that requires an allen key or the one below that requires a spanner?

And what is the other one?

[Pete Lewis]

youre on the wrong side ofthe engine those are all to to with oil supply  the top is in the oil galery the large nut is the pressure relief  valve 

you need to look on the other side of the block towards the rear under the exhaust and just above the starter motor  on the 6 cylinder engine 

depends on age but can be a tap or a hex headed plug 

Pete

 

[Peter Bates]

Whoops.

Thanks Pete.

Found it

[Dick Twitchen]

And if it has not been used lately, which looks likely, be gently with it so it does not shear off.

Dick

[Pete Lewis]

as these get clogged by rusty sand and grot i would remove /uncrew the tap body and have a good poke around with some stiff wire 

very common you open tap or remove the plug and you dont get any coolant escape 

if it works add a short tube to stop it running all over the starter  or a bit of tin foil to deflect it 

 

Pete

[Peter Bates]

Thanks for your suggestions Dick & Pete.

[Peter Bates]

.Last weekend I went for a run out. Normally the temperature gauge reaches 1/2 way and stays there. This time it started to rise upto 3/4. Nothing serious but took it easy. Having stopped for an hour or two I set off on the return journey. The temperature gauge only reached 1/4.

And the heater has never worked since I bought it in 2014

So I thought it time to have a look

Having located and removed the tap and body almost nothing came out. Have poked around with wire but without much success. Have managed to get a black gooey dribble but that is all

Having read various threads on this forum decided to proceed with other recommendations.

The pipe that runs along the top of the manifold had a bit of a blockage but nothing major

The heater valve was completely blocked with a pinky gunge.

Ran a hose through the heater both ways and it seems clear

Ran Holts Speedflush through and have now tried Pete's washing soda (this is in at the moment)

I have taken the car for several runs of around 10 miles but whatever I do the temperature gauge doesn't get past 1/4 and the heater still doesn't work.

The hoses don't feel particularly hot

Have disconnected the top heater hose with engine running and water is coming out.

Disconnected the bottom heater hose and again water is coming out (not very warm)

I am confused.

If there was a problem I would expect the engine to overheat not underheat.

Haven't looked at thermostat on the basis that after a long run it should be fully open anyway and if it wasn't it would be overheating.

[Pete Lewis]

the fact its not really getting up to any temperature suggests the thermostat is failed 

get a 82C  and replace , dont  bother with testing as when boiling and egg it wont really  test it 

get a cheap   stick  thermometer from the chemist  stick it in the filler cap see what you really have 

but hoses not feeling hot   has to be the only controlling feature ...the Thermostat

and keep poking around in the drain port  , it will clear .......eventually 

Pete

[NonMember]

As Pete says, that sounds like the thermostat stuck open. In this weather it'll take more than ten miles to get properly warm with the stat wide open. In fact, leaving it to idle for ten minutes will get it hotter than driving it, if the stat is open.

[Peter Bates]

OK. Sounds like a new thermostat then.

What about radiator cap?

Mine is 7lbs which agrees with the handbook I have and a Haynes manual but I am sure I have read on one of these threads that it should be 13 lbs

[Guest]

Peter,

The Mk2 Vitesse uses a 13lbs cap.

Regards.

Richard.

[johny]

According to my workshop manual only the MK3 GT6 had the higher pressure cap, all Vitesses 7lb. Anyway all the higher rating means is that you can overheat your engine more before the cap lifts....

[Peter Bates]

That clears that up then 🙂 

Might as well try a 13lb as ordering a thermostat & gasket

[johny]

You wont be the first🤗

[thescrapman]

Did you check the bypass pipe behind the manifold?

[Guest]

51 minutes ago, johny said:

According to my workshop manual only the MK3 GT6 had the higher pressure cap, all Vitesses 7lb.

That's interesting, johny.

I have to say I thought the late model Vitesse and the GT6 Mk3 shared the 13lbs cap; whereas the earlier model Vitesse was certainly 7lbs. I'm all for dropping to a lower cap pressure but I'm intrigued why the late Vitesse is linked to a 13lbs cap.

[Iain T]

1 hour ago, johny said:

all Vitesses 7lb

I'm sure my Mk2 Vitesse is 13lbs.

[Pete Lewis]

more cap release pressure .....all this does is raise the boiling point and if designed to run at 7lb to up this to13lbs  is of no significance to the operational temperature of the engine 

thats down to what Stat is fitted 

any gauge inaccuracy is down to wrong/duff senders, defective voltage stabilisers  or a failed gauge  .

never mix senders of stabilised and non stabilised systems 

and are your rad /hoses able to withstand double their designed PSI without being over pressured 

Pete

 

 

[johny]

It wouldnt surprise me if different editions of manual had different values as I think in the end Triumph realised these cars could easily reach the limit of cooling capacity so went to higher rated caps to allow the engine to run hotter without boiling over. Maybe engine oils had improved to withstand the higher temperatures but the main problems I found were the low tickover and excessive pinking which happened well before my 7lb cap lifted. 

Best to ensure the cooling is sufficient so as to never need the higher pressure cap....

[Casper]

Quote

and are your rad /hoses able to withstand double their designed PSI without being over pressured 

My understanding, gained from another board I used to frequent (with some very knowledgeable contributors), was that caps were increased to 13lb when the quality of the hoses was improved.

C.

[PeteH]

The Only Reference to differing Pressure Caps, (Haynes) "Early models 7psi, Later Models 13psi". No reasoning given for the change nor any actual "cut off" date or commision numbers?

Water Quality may also be a factor. Hard water will precipitate calcium above a certain temperature, (40C rings a bell?) and that is not affected by (most) water Treatments/Glycol`s. Deposits act as Thermal insulators, and restrict flow. On big Marine Diesels we carried out water quality testing almost Daily.

Pete

[DanMi]

my understanding is the early cars used cloth covered hoses and this changed allowing the slightly higher pressure. In reality it will have very little effect. If it boils over with a 7lb cap there is a problem, replacing it with a higher 13lb cap will only mask the underlying issue. As it is remaining cool, thermostat is the likely culprit and a good flush with a hose to get the heater working.

[PeteH]

8 hours ago, DanMi said:

my understanding is the early cars used cloth covered hoses and this changed allowing the slightly higher pressure. In reality it will have very little effect. If it boils over with a 7lb cap there is a problem, replacing it with a higher 13lb cap will only mask the underlying issue. As it is remaining cool, thermostat is the likely culprit and a good flush with a hose to get the heater working.

Quite a few vehicles will airlock the heater matrix after a full drain down, Often the routing of the hose(s) and location of matrix, is the root of the issue, I recollect one car A Ford?, used to airlock for a pastime, got over it by disconecting an heater hose and conecting it to the tap!. (hose-pipe), then reconecting, messy but it worked, assuming the heater matrix is clear, might be worth a try?.

Pete

[Peter Bates]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

At the moment I have put washing soda in (as per one of Pete Lewis' threads) will leave it for a day or two before draining and flushing again. By which time, hopefully, the new thermostat will have arrived.

[68vitesse]

Have run my Mk1 2L Vitesse for years with a 13lb cap only trouble their poor quality.

Regards

Paul