Where's my water going now?

[Leeds Sprint]

Hello All<br>
<br>
Having successfully stopped the torrent of a water leak, by refurbishing the water pump, I am a bit dismayed to see that my 1850 is still loosing water.<br>
<br>
There are no visable leaks anywhere that I can see coming from the engine, and there is no evidence of water in the oil either.<br>
<br>
Any suggestions?<br>
<br>
Chris<br>
<br>


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[Jon Tilson]

Chances are the expansion bottle cap isnt sealing. <br>
<br>
Failing that have a close look under the inlet manifold. It can come out there and just evaporate.<br>
<br>
Heater matrix or valve?<br>
<br>
Keep looking. You will find it...<br>
<br>
Jonners

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[Leeds Sprint]

I'm loosing about 1 litre every 200 miles. <br>
<br>
Expansion bottle seal looks good. <br>
<br>
Any chance it could be my head gasket? As I mentioned previously, the oil does not show any signs of water, but I don't want to risk damage to my engine. <br>
<br>
Could water be getting into bits of the engine that it shouldn't be without any indication in the condition of the oil? <br>
<br>
Chris

<p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p206.ezboard.com/bthetriumphdolo ... ckinson</A> at: 6/9/06 1:53 pm<br></i>

[george]

if you cant see an external leak it's got to be going somewhere so it's must be internal but you'd have indications of this if it's going into the bores with misfires etc and if it's mixing with the oil the indications would be there for you to see check when you dip the oil check for water droplets on the dipstick (might not have emulsfied as yet) but thats a lot of water loss<br>
check under the ex manifold in manifold for staining on the block a good indication of water loss and it dissapears as you drive along so might not be visable as a leak whilst you stationary only when it's realy under pressure<br>
check also freeze plugs they can rust out

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[Jon Tilson]

a hairline crack in your head.<br>
Do you get any bubbles in the expansion tank when the engine is running at idle? Do you have the see thru plastic type?<br>
<br>
There is a core plug at the back so if thats gone, water will come out on the gearbox bellhousing joint.<br>
<br>
I hope its isnt bad...<br>
<br>
If you are getting 35 mpg and it runs nicely its unlikely you have a major fault here. Is there steam in the exhaust?<br>
<br>
Jonners

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[Leeds Sprint]

No stream i the exhaust. But Ill check on the way home from work today to make sure.<br>
<br>
I am getting bubbles rising into my expasion tank though.<br>
<br>
Chris

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[Jon Tilson]

you have a small blow on the head gasket.<br>
<br>
In the past I have been lucky with a couple of cars and got away with retorquing the head bolts and studs.<br>
This has to be done in the order of the workshop manual. I can never remember off the top of my head despite doing loads of them...george will know.<br>
<br>
If this doesnt cure it then you will have to do the head gasket. Its an okay job as long as the head studs aren't siezed in the head, which is unfortunatley quite common.<br>
<br>
Jonners

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[dollysteve]

Why is it that the 1850 seems to suffer with seized head studs yet the Sprint not so, bloody frustrating.

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[Leeds Sprint]

I forgot to add.<br>
<br>
My 1850 does have a oil presure guage. It reads about 20psi at idle and about 30psi at motorway speed. Possibly this low oil pressure adds further credibility to the blown head gasket theory.<br>
<br>
Anyway...... I think I need to have my garage have a look at this problem. <br>
<br>
I'll keep you all posted.<br>
<br>
Chris

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[alun n]

On the Sprint they are nicely covered up and well oiled.<br>
<br>
Chris, pre-armed is pre-warned; the factory book states that head off and refit should be between 2.5 and 3 hours labour depending on the task at hand! (If you are taking it back to the last lot that is?)<br>
<br>
The bubbles are fairly conclusive - do the hoses pressurise? Though having had the pump done recently the other place to look is the water by pass tube betwixt manifold and pump cover - a leak from here often gets blown by the fan so its not perceived as such...

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[Jon Tilson]

damn lies and guages...<br>
If it was really down to 30 at motorway speeds I'd expect it to be accompanied by startup death rattle and noisy big end bearings under load at higher revs.<br>
In which case with a blown head gasket I'd start looking for a good low mileage TR7 engine to replace it.<br>
<br>
As yours does good mpg and seems to go quite well otherwise I'd suggest the guage is stuffed. The 20 psi idle is quiet respectable. I'd retighten the head bolts and see if the bubbles stop before going any further.<br>
<br>
Jonners <br>


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[Leeds Sprint]

<br>
<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>The bubbles are fairly conclusive - do the hoses pressurise? <hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br>
<br>
I am getting good pressure in the hoses. There are no leaks from hoses that I can identify. <br>
<br>
Does the fact that there is quite alot of preasure release when removing the overflow fill cap after the car has been sitting for several hours indicate anything? Maybe I added to much water in my attempts to make sure I'm keeping things cool, but when I removed the fill cap before driving home from work today, there was quite a lot of escaping cold water.<br>
<br>
<br>
<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>If it was really down to 30 at motorway speeds I'd expect it to be accompanied by startup death rattle and noisy big end bearings under load at higher revs.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br>
<br>
Uh oh.... I am getting a bit of a rattle before oil presure builds at start up! This could be terminal.<br>
<br>
I am still getting good fuel economy, and good power from the engine though. And again there really is no evidence of water in the oil, or of any smoke coming from the exhaust. <br>
<br>
I have to admit, I am a bit worried about having my garage try and do an engine swap after it took them 6 hours to refurbish the water pump.<br>
<br>
Yikes! my poor car.<br>
<br>
Chris

<p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p206.ezboard.com/bthetriumphdolo ... ckinson</A> at: 6/9/06 6:15 pm<br></i>

[george]

tighten all the studs/nuts first then do bolts working out from the center of the head

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[2F45T4U]

Engine swaps are a piece of p1ss <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :b --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/tongue.gif ALT=":b"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br>
<br>
I suffer from the leaking water, the rattly start up, pressurised hoses and an oil leak. I'm going to rebuild it next summer most probably.<br>
<br>
It cost me an evenings factory pay and runs supprisingly well! Goes as well as my mates dynod @ 119hp rover 214 and will get to 110mph on the level. If it was treated with respect it would last years. ahh the joys of the 2 litre 8 valve <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :D --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/happy.gif ALT=":D"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END-->

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[Carsreunited]

Why would anyone want to dyno a Rover 214? Is he nuts? I also can't see it making more power than a 1.8k so I'd take that with a pinch of salt.<br>
<br>
Edit for Adam: I don't want to hijack the thread but yes the 16v 1.4k makes 104bhp, 8v 75bhp. Putting a bigger throttle body might increase throttle response and yield maybe 4 bhp. The 16v 1.4 is already very stressed as standard and would need proper headwork to get the figures he is talking about. If he has the paperwork, get the at the wheels figure as I bet the rolling losses have been over estimated just to provide an 'impress your mates' figure.<br>
<br>


<p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p206.ezboard.com/bthetriumphdolo ... eunited</A> at: 7/9/06 9:39 am<br></i>