Z320 Posted March 5 Report Share Posted March 5 Hi Malcolm, sorry me again because of my poor English, just to be clear: you refilled 2 liters at all - or several times 2 liters? Ciao, Marco Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trumpy3 Posted March 6 Report Share Posted March 6 Mmmmmm. Sounds like head gasket. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Z320 Posted March 6 Report Share Posted March 6 2 hours ago, Trumpy3 said: Mmmmmm. Sounds like head gasket. Hi, why, please? Could you explain, this could be a benefit for all of us. Ciao, Marco Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bigmalcy Posted March 6 Author Report Share Posted March 6 On 3/5/2024 at 8:31 PM, Z320 said: Hi Malcolm, sorry me again because of my poor English, just to be clear: you refilled 2 liters at all - or several times 2 liters? Ciao, Marco several times 2 litres. the very strange thing now is that, since that journey where I lost so much coolant, I have been unable to detect any coolant loss whatsoever - the car appears to be running absolutely fine, sitting at the normal temp and no sign of any drips or losses anywhere. No sign of oil in water or vice versa, no exhaust smoke. The night that I had the coolant loss, it was soaking the whole front of the engine bay, but because it was dark I could not see where it was coming from. I could be wrong, but I don't think it's a head gasket. Very strange... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Motorsport Mickey Posted March 6 Report Share Posted March 6 So we need to diagnose and fix a problem that you don't currently have ? that's a tall order. Stop trying to mend it until it breaks. I think an airlock partially caused by your byepass blockage. Retorque the head, refer to how to undo and do up the nuts as posted previously above, order of undoing the head nuts as per diagram in you workshop manual, refer to your copy, and then use the same diagram to retorque the head up. Then drive it until it stops. Mick Richards Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ecosse Posted March 6 Report Share Posted March 6 I had a similar occurrence about 40-years ago with my 3. The problem reoccurred a few weeks later, only on this occasion the problem persisted which meant a detailed search for the cause. Upon removal of the water pump I discovered that the impeller was loose on the drive shaft, but with a bit of jiggling the impeller could be made to 'catch' on the drive shaft so my assumption was that on the first occasion after becoming detached from the drive shaft the impeller somehow caught on the drive shaft thus restoring the water pump to working condition. Last year I had a similar situation with my 7 in that the temperature gauge was showing the engine running very hot, but with no obvious leaks but requiring copious amounts of water to keep the system topped up, the cause was that the water pump had seized solid. Cliff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andy Moltu Posted March 6 Report Share Posted March 6 One thing to consider is that if you have to keep topping up your water it must be going somewhere. An air lock, failed thermostat or seized water bump will boil the coolant and force it past the radiator cap. It must have a leak or being forced past the radiator cap. If it’s not the latter and no visible leak then the water must be going internally not the cylinder bores, exhaust or sump. When head gaskets fail between the water jacket and cylinder bores, exhaust gasses tend to get forced into the coolant when the engine is running, causing coolant to be forced out and overheating. There tends to be tell tale bubbling if you start the car with the rad cap off. There are kits that allow you to confirm it’s exhaust gas by bubbling through test fluid. If it’s going into the sump, the oil will resemble mayonnaise. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted March 6 Report Share Posted March 6 You do only fill so you can just see the water at the very bottom of the rad neck I take it? Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Z320 Posted March 6 Report Share Posted March 6 27 minutes ago, stuart said: You do only fill so you can just see the water at the very bottom of the rad neck I take it? Stuart. That was also my thought (let enough air in the rad), but by overfilling the rad it is not possible to loose 2 liter of coolant? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ianc Posted March 6 Report Share Posted March 6 Loss of that volume suggests a leak somewhere lower than the top of thr radiator. A pinhole in a hose or a loose Jubilee clip ? Ian Cornish Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted March 6 Report Share Posted March 6 19 minutes ago, Z320 said: That was also my thought (let enough air in the rad), but by overfilling the rad it is not possible to loose 2 liter of coolant? On a sidescreen rad if you fill it right up to the neck it will throw out at least a litre as the extension part of the rad that has the filler acts as an expansion tank. Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Z320 Posted March 6 Report Share Posted March 6 (edited) If a loss of 1 liter is possible this can be realized at night next to the street being 2 liter…..? Edited March 6 by Z320 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bigmalcy Posted March 7 Author Report Share Posted March 7 18 hours ago, Motorsport Mickey said: So we need to diagnose and fix a problem that you don't currently have ? that's a tall order. Stop trying to mend it until it breaks. I think an airlock partially caused by your byepass blockage. Retorque the head, refer to how to undo and do up the nuts as posted previously above, order of undoing the head nuts as per diagram in you workshop manual, refer to your copy, and then use the same diagram to retorque the head up. Then drive it until it stops. Mick Richards more like hypothesize on what may have caused the original leak... but yes, now that it seems to have disappeared, I'll just drive it until it happens again, or not, as the case may be. Based on it being something transient, I think maybe an airlock, or faulty pump as suggested by a few. Below is my Service Manual extract - 100-105lbs... sound about right? Is the undoing sequence the opposite of the tightening sequence (i.e. 10 to 1)? 16 hours ago, stuart said: You do only fill so you can just see the water at the very bottom of the rad neck I take it? yep. 18 hours ago, Ecosse said: I had a similar occurrence about 40-years ago with my 3. The problem reoccurred a few weeks later, only on this occasion the problem persisted which meant a detailed search for the cause. Upon removal of the water pump I discovered that the impeller was loose on the drive shaft, but with a bit of jiggling the impeller could be made to 'catch' on the drive shaft so my assumption was that on the first occasion after becoming detached from the drive shaft the impeller somehow caught on the drive shaft thus restoring the water pump to working condition. Last year I had a similar situation with my 7 in that the temperature gauge was showing the engine running very hot, but with no obvious leaks but requiring copious amounts of water to keep the system topped up, the cause was that the water pump had seized solid. Cliff Hi Cliff - you won't remember, but my father and I chatted to you back in the summer of 2012 at a Hill Climb event near the south end of the Forth Bridge... I forget the name. I still have some photos of your car from that event. My Dad and I were just about to embark on the rebuild of his car and I really fancied your car (and colour scheme). Interesting experiences you had with the water pump. Whatever was causing my overheating and coolant loss seems to have disappeared, but if it does come back, I may whip off the pump to have a look. Hopefully my clean and flush of the system will cure whatever it was. Thanks for the input! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Z320 Posted March 7 Report Share Posted March 7 (edited) IMO an air lock is the hope of desperation, the not explainable mystery, the ghost of helplessness. Despite of multiple and always careless refills of cooling systems I never had one. Edited March 7 by Z320 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ecosse Posted March 8 Report Share Posted March 8 Hi Malcolm, It is a small world. The event would have been the Bo'ness Hillclimb Revival and I think I can recall chatting to you and your dad, although the specifics of the conversation elude me. I am unsure as to what colour scheme my 3 was at that time as it was around that time I changed the colour to white, it may have been the last outing of my metalllic grey period. How did the rebuild of the car go, is it still around. I hope you can sort out your cooling issue, it never ceases to surprise me with what new issues TRs come up with when you think you have seen everything. Regards, Cliff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ian Vincent Posted March 8 Report Share Posted March 8 On 3/7/2024 at 6:40 AM, Z320 said: IMO an air lock is the hope of desperation, the not explainable mystery, the ghost of helplessness. Despite of multiple and always careless refills of cooling systems I never had one. I get them all the time. I used to worry that I’d blown my head gasket until I learned to run the engine with the radiator cap removed when re starting it after refilling the cooling system. Rgds Ian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Z320 Posted March 8 Report Share Posted March 8 (edited) Hi Ian, I'm sorry to hear that. There is indeed one thing to give attention by refilling: fill the coolant s...l...o...w...l...y in the rad to give it time to raise up in the engine. This only happens when the bleeding hole (or gap) in the thermostat lets the air out of the engine --> AND in the rad, from there out. If the coolant is filled in too fast it locks the gap between the coolant level (in the rad) and the lower end of the filler neck. If this happend the air can't get out. Slowly refilled I lock the rad cap, drive without worry and opened heater valve, check level later. Nothing more, never anx air lock. Ciao, Marco Edited March 10 by Z320 making full sentences and correct mistake in writing Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bigmalcy Posted March 9 Author Report Share Posted March 9 16 hours ago, Ecosse said: Hi Malcolm, It is a small world. The event would have been the Bo'ness Hillclimb Revival and I think I can recall chatting to you and your dad, although the specifics of the conversation elude me. I am unsure as to what colour scheme my 3 was at that time as it was around that time I changed the colour to white, it may have been the last outing of my metalllic grey period. How did the rebuild of the car go, is it still around. I hope you can sort out your cooling issue, it never ceases to surprise me with what new issues TRs come up with when you think you have seen everything. Regards, Cliff Hi Cliff - yes - Bo'ness it was. September 2012 judging by the photos I took. Your car was exactly as in your profile shot. I remember really liking the contrast between white body and black grille. My Dad's car was 'finished' in late 2014, then transported over to Aus in 2016. The photo below is of her in her temporary home at Batemans Bay NSW... she is normally in Melbourne and is still with me, suffering through the same neglect as befell her when my Dad decided to procreate all those years ago. History does repeat I suppose... to some extent. And yes - we never really finish learning, whether it's old cars or whatever else! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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