Where's my water going now?

[Jon Tilson]

What effect does squeezing the top hose with the pressure cap off have? I would expect the air lock if any to be expelled into the expansion tank and liquid to be drawn back. The level in the tap should then drop.<br>
<br>
You could have some debris acting as a one way valve in the pipe to the expansion tank? Or maybe the rubber hose is collapsing internally leading to the same effect.<br>
<br>
Jonners

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[Leeds Sprint]

Jonners <br>
<br>
Thanks for your continued help on this topic.<br>
<br>
Squeezing the hose with the expansion bottle filler cap does push out some air, but I do not then get any large quantities of water flowing back into the system. <br>
<br>
I will have a check to ensure that I do not have the one-way water flow situation you describe, with a partially blocked expansion bottle hose.<br>
<br>
Could it be possible that I am developing an air lock that is isolated somwhere else in the cooling system, instead of the big radiator pipes? I presume the Triumph engeneers back in the 1970's designed this problem out, otherwise we would have loads of identical air-lock problems on Triumph cooling systems. <br>
<br>
I will be attending our TDC annual meeting this Sunday. If I can't resolve things prior to then, would someone be able to take a look at my cooling system to identify if there is a possible solution?<br>
<br>
Kind Thanks<br>
<br>
Chris

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[Sprint36]

Sounds like pulling the hose off and blowing both ways down it would be a good idea. And the small hose from the rad to the thermostat cover, and through the cover, just to check that they will all allow flow both ways.<br>
<br>
David

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[Leeds Sprint]

Good thinking David. I'll do that. I'll be surprised if it's a blocked hose though, cause I have flushed the cooling system 3 times in the past 6 months due to all the water pump and thermostat issues I have encountered. But, you never know, it always seems to be the simple things that cause the biggest problems.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Chris

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[Jon Tilson]

the slant 4 dollies do trap quite a bit of air if completely emptied, particularly the heater matrix and bits around the inlet manifold. Old and collapsed hoses can make it a bit fiddly to get it all right. Do you get a reasonably good heat output from the heater? This is a good indicator of airlocks and dropping levels. In fact Ive learned through hard experience that the heater is better as a warning device than the temp guage.<br>
That said it should be possible to get a degree of stability with good hoses, heater working and a few sqeezes of hoses to get the air out with the odd running of the engine until the stat opens. <br>
Jonners

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[alun n]

Do you have a top flow expansion bottle or a bottom flow expansion bottle; they moved the pipe entry point to allow water to flow back into the system upon contraction; earlier cars had the hose at the top so it was purely storage of excess, once it was there it stayed there; neither were particularly efficient, but at least the early one was supposed t prevent siphoning...

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[Leeds Sprint]

I am getting good heat output from the heater. And I take your point about the funtioning of the heater being a good indicator of water loss. I have previously noticed a loss in heating associated with a lack of water in the system.<br>
<br>
The inlet manifold was removed to replace the water pump a couple of months ago. This time-scale may correspond to the difficulties I have had with my non-empting expansion bottle, but I can't be sure. <br>
<br>
None of my hoses are brand new, but none of them are miss-shapened or colapsed in any way.<br>
<br>
On a recent occasion where I had an overheating episode related to water loss, I made some attempts to address the air-lock issue. I made several 5-10 minute journeys toppng of the inlet above the thermostat in betewen each stop. Each time with the heater valve fully open. I was able to put in almost 1.5 litres of water over the course of a day or two! Since then I have continued to struggle to get water to flow back into the cooling system from the overflow bottle.<br>
<br>
Chris

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[Jon Tilson]

the old black painted brass top entry expansion bottles have the pipe going down to the lower reaches of the bottle so they do suck back correctly. What happens is the soldered joint where pipe goes into bottle gives out and they dont hold pressure. Otherwise they are superior except you cant see the level, cos the prssure cap seals better than on the placcy ones.<br>
<br>
Not often I get to put Alun DollyMeister right....chalk one up to me there then.<!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :hat --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/pimp.gif ALT=":hat"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br>
<br>
Jonners

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[Leeds Sprint]

Ive got a see-through plastic expansion bottle with a hose at the bottom. So theoretically the water should get sucked back down into the system. Unfortunatly the water just seems to get stuck there. Ill check the hoses again.<br>
<br>
Chris<br>
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[Jon Tilson]

Ive worked out whats wrong....<br>
You have a loose hose connection or pin hole leak in a hose somehwere. Your engine heats up...water goes to the bottle...your engine cools down and sucks air back in through the pin hole....<br>
Result is ever decreasing quantity of water in the engine and increasing quantity in the bottle. Find the pin hole and fix.<br>
<br>
Squeeze the hoses on a cold engine. See if you can hear a small hissing sound somewhere. It will be at a high point so water doesnt leak out.<br>
<br>
Jonners

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[Leeds Sprint]

I'm finding that the water in my system is under considerable preasure even when cold. Before leaving work, I took the cap off to see if any water would get sucked back into the engine and about a litre of cold water erupted out from under the loosened cap.<br>
<br>
Does the strength of the spring under the radiator cap have any affect on my problem? The cap that my garage gave me has 7lbs stamped on it. Could this be preventing the escape of excess air or water, thereby trapping water in the overflow.<br>
<br>
I topped the water up under the thermostat again just before leaving work just now and drove the 15 miles home to find that the expansion bottle is full to brimming, but the overflow hose is bone dry. I don't actually think I'm blowing any water out my overflow.<br>
<br>
Is it Okay for me to fill the water under the thermostat. Or am I supposed to leave a bit of air in there? The top of the thermostat cap is higher than the cold line on the bottle. Should the water I put in the engine be the same level as the cold line on the expansion bottle.?<br>
<br>
I have had a squezee and a listen and I cant hear any air leaks, but I noticed that the hoses on my heater are a bit tatty looking. Maybe I'm getting air sucked in there.<br>
<br>
Chris

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[Carsreunited]

I thought the Sprint was supposed to have a 15lb cap? Only going from memory, I'm sure someone else will confirm.<br>
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[MaddMart]

Close Scott...13lb

<p>Martin<br>
<br>
<!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.dolomitesprint.com/" target="top">www.dolomitesprint.com</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--></p><i></i>

[alun n]

There should be no pressure on the water when its cold...<!--EZCODE EMOTICON START : --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/ohwell.gif ALT=":"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br>
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[Leeds Sprint]

Wierd. I wonder why I'm getting so much preasure in water when its cold? It really is quite a lot of presure. I got totally soaked with cold water while trying to remove the overflow cap.<br>
<br>
How does the presure escape on a car with a properly functioning system?<br>
<br>
Chris

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