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Evening, Hope you can help me. I got my TR3A out today and checked the fluids. I could not see any water in the filler so topped it up till i could see it. Went out for a drive and then found water dripping on my legs. After googling the issue it appears that i have a problem with the heater pipes or core. (would this have been bought on by filling the header to much?)I removed the glove box and put my hand up and once the engine reached running temperature  i felt water by the pipes and running down the back of the heater. Is it best to try and remove the heater (how easy is it?) or fit a bypass pipe to avoid the heater altogether. If bypassing what size pipe would i need to buy. Sorry for all the questions but new to TR ownership. Thank you 

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It's a bit of a pain to get the heater out of a 3A because of the position up behind the dash but it is do-able. You may find though that the leak is just a split hose which is replaceable in-situ (except you can't easily see anything).

Given that you really only need the heater during the winter it might be as well to bypass it for now it and fix it properly during the layup. The pipe is 1/2 inch bore.

The leak will be nothing to do with filling the radiator, the pressure is set by the rad cap so it is independent of water level and it will just blow out excess water anyway. You really only need enough to cover the base of the filler neck to 1/4 inch or so.

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It is also difficult to refit with the amount of wires and limited space. My heater has never leaked but the bearings had wear and you need to allow extra time to fit it all back in. The hose connections in the cockpit can be found from some suppliers with a 90 degree bend which makes it easier. I have been working on my car daily this lockdown and one of the engine side small connectors split wIthout the engine being started for months. Good luck Richard 

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Good morning Richard?  and welcome to our forum.

To amalgamte the above advice, the simplest thing for you to do now, is to bypass the heater, and the easiest way to

do that is to disconnect the two pipes that go to it via the bulkhead plates, and simply join them together.

Use about 4 inch, (100 mm) standard domestic 1/2 inch copper pipe, and the two hose pipe clips you will have just removed,

The heater will take no harm, and once any residual water has dribbled from the bulkhead plates, you can forget about it until its time to plan the long term fix, I would concour, likely a winters' job, with possibly an upgraded heater to modern matrix etc.

Ask or search here for info.

You will need to bleed your cooling system on the car , to remove any airlocks now created,

Ask hear for detail if you need to!

John.

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