The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Hi Mike , Well done, I think you are on the right track. Right now I wouldn't be worrying too much about air bubbles in the water; I reckon this is probably just residual trapped air being driven out of the cooling system. This should settle down .
Can you see if the heater runs nice and hot next time you fire it up. I reckon this is a good way of telling that all the air is out of the cooling system.
And while you are there can you get a strobe light on the crank pulley and check the timing at idle.
Then when the engine is up to temperature can you get a Colourtune on each carb and set the mixture. That way if it starts getting hot again you'll know its not retarded ignition or running too weak.
I was quite interested in the temperature readings from that I.R. thermometer. I would have expected the thermostat outlet elbow to be running hotter that the top of the rad. From the thermostat outlet all the way down to the rad I would expect the water temperature to be falling. I'm not a scientist but maybe Jonners could advise with his background ? Are there limitations on what an I.R. thermometer can read off a surface ?
Keep going, you'll get there ,
Cheers for now, Tony TDC 0091.

Tony

Thanks for the positive support, it has been a long slog but i don't feel i am quite there yet. There may still be bacon butties and coffee on offer yet if i can't nail this one soon.

I ran it again today for about 5 minutes. It took half a cup of water in the thermostat housing and the header tank also seemed a bit lower so it may have drawn a bit more in from there as well. I have squeezed pipes, and for a while if i put pressure on the top large hose and pushed it lower, i did get some air out and the level dropped slightly before i topped up.

I will try the heater and think last time it was running hot it was hot from the heater as well but will check to make sure.

I am not 100% confident to run it longer with just the laser reader so i will get a new pipe and sender for the guage in the next week or so and try it again. At least i should know that gauge will be accurate then as well.

It was a joy to hear it running again and i am praying i can actually have it on the road to enjoy some good weather driving.

Well here i am again , still with it off the road but making a bit of progress.

I have set up the timing again with thanks to Martin's instructions and she starts better and revs ok. The car has a new temp guage fitted now along with a new sender. The can did not run as hot so quickly as before. However it did start to creep up a bit the longer it sat on the drive. No bubbles in the expansion tank for the first few monutes but as the engine got up to 85 deg i could see a few bubbles starting to rise in the expansion tank. Kenlowe kicked in ok and as i played with the timing light and airflow gizmo on the 45's it started to creep to 95 deg. Rad was hot and all pipes.

No MOT at the moment or tax so i can't really run it on the road. I could try booking a slot but last time i did this it cooked at the MOT station as it was hot when i arrived and just got hotter on idle whilst they did their checks.

Are the bubbles a sign of head gasket issues still ?. I have re-torqued once after it last ran.

The only way you'll know for certain whether those bubbles are a result of HGF would be to have the expansion tank checked for exhaust gases while the bubbles are visible. Most garages have suitable sniffers that attach, via a fitting that replaces the cap, to the top of the tank. If there are no Hydrocarbons present when the bubbles are appearing, then the HG's not failing, at least not between a combustion chamber and the water jacket - far and away the most likely way in which slant HGF would manifest itself.

Forgot to add.

The crankcase breather ( push on filter type) is also throwing out a white vapour as the engine gets warmer.

Could this be too much pressure building up and releasing ?

White vapour could indicate a blown H/G but allow it to run for a bit because it might be condensation which will clear.
After a blown H/G your exhaust will have water in it and that too will puff white smoke until its dry.
However if your hoses are soft before you start your engine and hard when you do

JPB wrote:The only way you'll know for certain whether those bubbles are a result of HGF would be to have the expansion tank checked for exhaust gases while the bubbles are visible. Most garages have suitable sniffers that attach, via a fitting that replaces the cap, to the top of the tank. If there are no Hydrocarbons present when the bubbles are appearing, then the HG's not failing, at least not between a combustion chamber and the water jacket - far and away the most likely way in which slant HGF would manifest itself.

Sealy tools sell fluid based kit(fluid changes blue to yellow if hydrocarbons present) for £65.00,UK tools do a cheaper kit for £37.00, if you get as far as a mot test the exhaust probe can be waved over the expansion bottle without cap and might detect hydrocarbons.

I will have to try and get hold of a tester. Let me know if anyone has one they can loan out please. If not i will have to get one but the time and money i have spent on this car is racking up.

Head was skimmed before , pressure tested and new gaskets, bolts & studs.

I must be on the 4th head gasket now, as every time i have pulled it apart again i have been paranoid about putting a used one back so i have blown ( excuse the pun) a load on gaskets alone. I know Payen are supposed to be the best but is there another alternative. Anything uprated for competition use ? Although the most mine will see , if ever , is another track day.

Sorry to hear you getting so much trouble,my 1500auto gave similar problem after blowing manifold gasket also timing was off,got those sorted and put pure
coolant in cured problem good luck, Dollyby2

Mike, rather than buying your own sniffer kit, taking the car into a garage and having them test it could be the more cost-effective alternative, especially as it's the sort of thing that tends to be needed only a couple of times; once to confirm that a HG's goosed and again to check that it's not still leaking after you've sorted the problem.
Most garages will charge very little as the test takes literally a couple of minutes and doesn't tie up any lift space.

Speak nicely and a garage may lend you their kit, as my local garage did to me last year. I left them a crisp £50 note as a deposit, which they returned once I gave them back the kit.

I can't get the car to a garage with no tax or MOT so i will have to try and borrow one from a willing member who has one or see if they will take a deposit on loaning one from a garage.

I can't see alternatives from the standard gaskets and i used the same supplier MadMart uses which seems to be a good supply yet i still seem to have a leak ( but yet to be proven ). If proven , do i use yet another gasket, this will be the 3rd as i 1st used a gasket of unknown, but new origin. What is the thought of some form of gasket sealant as well. I hate the thought of it but i am getting to that stage now. If i try another standard one as there is no supply of upgraded gaskets , where can i get a Payen from ?

I wonder; could the face of the block be distorted?

I had been considering this myself but it's also a replacement block in good nick it would seem from Tinweevil.

Replacement block
Skimmed head
Pressure tested
Re-con water pump
Re-cored rad
New head studs and bolts
New head gasket
New hoses
New thermostat
New temperture gauge
New Kenlow fan , set to kick in at 85 deg

This is all rather odd isn't it. I wonder (again); although the head has been pressure tested, would a crack necessarily show on the bench, or would it, if it were fine and clean, only open enough to allow its effect to be seen once the head has warmed up?