Water Loss

[Skelly65]

Gents,
I have come back from five days away to find Maggie (my 1962 two door) with hardly any water in the radiator I did a 60 mile run in her the day before I went away and she was fine. She has an aftermarket water heater attached to the bottom hose (although I dont use it) I cant see any marks around cylinder head or any brown staions anywhere aorund engine bay and the carpets and dash board are dry as a bone

Any ideas please guys

Thanks

Dave

[mogbob]

Dave
As the engine is "fine " it sounds as though you are looking for straight forward leak somewhere.

With the engine cold ....try feeling the hoses for cracks/ leaks, if nothing immediately obvious get hold of good
torch and go over the hoses and joints with a fine tooth comb.A small mirror might help.

Again if nothing obvious, top up the water and run the engine up to operating temperature.A jet of water/ steam
may give the game away, as to the source of the leak.
CARE re loose objects ties/ scarves as you lean over the fan belt area and keep your hands well away from the moving fan
blade.Replace any iffy hoses and refill with antifreeze mixture with the heater control in the open position.Good luck with the search.
Bob

[bmcecosse]

Just top it up - not right to the top - and run it. And see what happens over the next few days.

[katy]

Have you checked the oil level?

[Skelly65]

Thanks guys and yes oil level is fine Do you think I should remove this water heater thing and replace with normal bottom rad hose I have been told they are very rare by and old man down the road who used to be a mechanic!!
Thanks Again

Dave

[bmcecosse]

It'll be handy (if it works) in the winter - if you plan to use the car in winter ? Pretty much standard fitment in Canada and Scandinavian countries! If it's not leaking - leave it there.

[MarkyB]

What do you mean by "hardly any water in the radiator" ?
I assume you mean none visible with the rad cap off.
If the level has fallen quite a bit but water is still visible covering the top of the tubes then it's fine.
Water expands and gets pushed out of the overflow pipe.
It will only stay "full" if you don't run the engine.

[bmcecosse]

I have always run with a plastic bottle on the end of the overflow pipe - any water that escapes is sucked back in when the engine cools.

[Kevin]

If you cant see anything but keep losing water try putting a dye in the water so you can see the leak, how much water did you have to out in ?

[Skelly65]

Kevin,
Not sure to be honest used hose pipe from garage to fill her up again I would estimate maybe a pint of two!!

Cheers

Dave

[Kevin]

As mentined the correct water level is an 1" or so below the bottom of the radiator neck to allow for expansion, if possible what about taking a photo of the level and popping it up on here then we can comment if its normal or not and put your mind at rest.

[bmcecosse]

Stick a plastic bottle on the overflow pipe - and see if it catches anything. Problem is - if the water level is going down and nothing is coming out - it must be going IN........ i.e. suspect head gasket/cracked head that sort of thing. So - best to find out what's really happening before it gets any worse.

[linearaudio]

Stick a plastic bottle on the overflow pipe - and see if it catches anything. Problem is - if the water level is going down and nothing is coming out - it must be going IN........ i.e. suspect head gasket/cracked head that sort of thing. So - best to find out what's really happening before it gets any worse.

Just what I have been toying with, having played with the boys' 1100 for a while. The big thing to remember if you do that is to put the pressure cap on the plastic bottle, and the non pressure type on the radiator, otherwise the water expands past the pressure cap on the rad when hot OK, but cannot possibly get back into the radiator as it cools!! obviously needs a proper overflow pipe and clips, not just a pvc tube!
Nearly all 1100's I have ever idly lifted the rad cap from (it's a habit of mine!) have the caps on the wrong way!

AND nearly all Ransomes large grasscutters using that principle (and that ubiquitous BL header tank) have, despite warnings in the Ransomes safety instructions!

[bmcecosse]

Yes - the 1100 etc had that system - but mine is just an open top plastic bottle (2" water in the bottom) with the overflow pipe going in. Any water coming out is caught - and it IS sucked back in when the rad cools down.

[grumpydad]

how ?

[bmcecosse]

As it cools down - vacuum is created in the cooling system and the rad cap (maybe not all?) has a vacuum breaker valve that allows the water to be sucked back up the pipe. Works for me anyway!

[Skelly65]

Right have given her a run today (not had chance since last post ) and she is def losing water through the overflow ideas?? coudl it be water pump ? only thing I have done is service her and changed the fan belt!!

Any ideas please chaps!

Thanks

Dave

[bmcecosse]

Put the bottle on - and - try another rad cap as the first steps. Remember - the rad should not necessarily be full to the brim - should be a couple of inches down. If you fill the rad up - and leave the cap off - and leave it idling for a while - is there a steady stream of bubbles up through the water ???

[Skelly65]

It is a new rad cap I shall try running without cap on see what happens and try the bottle trick

Thanks Again

Dave

[bmcecosse]

Does the new cap have the correct length of 'neck' for the rad - in other words - does it seal on the rad ok ?