Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello all,

I'm looking for Ethylene Glycol antifreeze or Glygerine type antifreeze (not an Alcohol base) for my 918 side valve MM Series. I did a little search here in Cyprus but I can't find any. Is there a place I can buy it from the UK?

I found this coolant is it good to use?

thanx.

I'm surprised you can't find it in Cyprus, Ethylene Glycol is sold as "all year round" antifreeze as it doesn't evaporate the way Methanol does in summer. Lots of places in the UK should sell it, try looking for "summer coolant" but make sure it's not already diluted as you'll already be paying enough for postage! I presume you want it for the anti-corrosion properties rather than freeze protection.

Virtually ALL anti freeze in UK is Glycol. But I'm amazed you need anti freeze in Cyprus??

bmcecosse wrote:Virtually ALL anti freeze in UK is Glycol. But I'm amazed you need anti freeze in Cyprus??

If it's up in the Troodos mountains then he will need it-they have ski slopes up there.
Regards
Declan

I seem to recall that anti freeze and water cools better than water alone, also it contains rust inhibitors.

Do you know anyone in the army out there, MT will have it

For Minors you need an old fashioned product like "Bluecol". Should be available mail order.

Someone remind me why to avoid this new 5 year type antifreeze, I seem to think there was a downside?

There is, modern anti-freeze manages to seep past gaskets and hoses, and sometimes reacts with older materials. In theory it "shouldn't", but I rely on practical experience - one engine perpetually leaked with modern, swapped to Bluecol and never lost a drop.

Ok thanks, I might have to get round to replacing mine if that's the case!

Hi Everyone, I am new here.... Just bought my first Minor last week and I have noticed the heater is leaking onto the parcel shelf, when I bought the car the owner said they had topped up the water and antifreeze as it was needed, could the type of antifreeze he used have caused the leak? could simply draining the system and changing to the above antfreeze cure the leak?

Many Thanks
Rick[frame][/frame]

Even if you used the 'wrong' type of antifreeze it would not cause a leak right away. You need to see exactly where the leak is first, it may just be a hose clip needing tightening. Adding antifreeze to water in a system can sometimes highlight a leak that previously wasn't apparent.

Hello all,

I copied this from the FBHVC's website:-

Recently problems have been reported concerning the use of antifreeze mixtures using organic acid technology (OAT). OAT was introduced in the mid-1990s and the products are biodegradable, recyclable and do not contain either silicates or phosphates and are designed to be longer lasting. However these products do seem to cause problems in older engines; over and above the ability of antifreeze to find the smallest crevice and leak, OAT antifreezes have been accused of destroying seals and gaskets and causing a great deal of damage in ‘old’ engines. For this reason the manufacturers do not recommend their use in historic vehicles. These products are usually coloured red, pink or orange.

So it seems prudent to stick to the older 'Blue' antifreeze, the two types do not mix either and apparently form a sort of jelly?

Alec

Thanks for that, would be interesting to know why seals and gaskets are not troubled in modern engines, on the face of it a seal is a seal, and a gasket is a gasket. I can only imagine the material has changed, but that being the case, the 'new' material would now be universal. Or maybe not. What am I missing?

Hello Les,

yes materials have changed and a lot of our cars are using theolder materials. Incidentally this also applies to petrol and the soon to be implemented 10% ethanol in petrol will affect cars of 10 years of age, not to mention 50 years old?

Alec

How easy are the heaters to strip down? are there any particular areas that fail that can be repaired easily?

Is it a round - or rectangular heater ? You 'may ' be able to find the leak and solder it up - but usually once they go, a new core (certainly for the rect one) is the way forward.

It is a round heater, i will strip it down, to find the leak, could I use the same method as looking for a puncture on a bike? that is to fill it with clean water and see where it leaks?

If it cannot be repaired, is it difficult to source a replacement?

Or run a little air through it while holding it in a bucket of water. DO NOT pressurise it by more than say 4 psi!!

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all your help regarding the heater, I think I have now sorted the leak, I decided to try some form of leak sealing product rather than strip down the heater first and used K Seal (http://www.kalimex.co.uk/index.html). The product gets good reviews and it seems to have done the trick, as per the instructions I added the stuff, took her for a good run to get the engine up to temp and the leak has now stopped, (the leak was coming out of the bottom of the heater). The manufacturer claims that the repair is permanant so only time will tell!!!

Maybe its a repair that may help others who suffer the same problem.