Avoneer
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| posted on 6/3/05 at 08:33 PM |
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Cooling system
Hi,
Is it normal for the coolant in the expansion tank to rise to near the top when it gets warm and then when the fan comes on, to go back to about 3/4
full very quickly.
Does this every time about every 5 minutes.
Does this sound like the system is working fine.
Used to have the fan on all the time and now it's on a thermo switch, didn't know the water expanded and cooled down so much and so
quickly.
It's a sealed system by the way.
Pat...
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Northy
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| posted on 6/3/05 at 08:43 PM |
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Is it all back in one piece then fella?
Graham
Website under construction. Help greatfully received as I don't really know what I'm doing! 
"If a man says something in the woods and there are no women there, is he still wrong?"
Built 2L 8 Valve Vx Powered Avon
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Avoneer
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| posted on 6/3/05 at 08:54 PM |
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Yep, up and running like Daley Thompson. Just got to finish tidying her up and then its up for sale and on with something to put the blade engine in
that's sat quietly in the corner of my garage.
Pat...
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However a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.
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Northy
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| posted on 6/3/05 at 08:57 PM |
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Graham
Website under construction. Help greatfully received as I don't really know what I'm doing!
"If a man says something in the woods and there are no women there, is he still wrong?"
Built 2L 8 Valve Vx Powered Avon
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chrism
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| posted on 6/3/05 at 08:58 PM |
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Sounds like you might have some air trapped in the cooling system.
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A little hard work never killed anyone, but why take the risk!
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Avoneer
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| posted on 6/3/05 at 09:06 PM |
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So could be a pocket of air expanding and contracting?
Squeezed all the hoses and no difference and the temp reads fine (sender on head). Idles at around 85-90 and gets to 100 before cooling down with the
fan back to 85-90.
Pat...
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However a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.
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chrism
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| posted on 6/3/05 at 09:12 PM |
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Is the Rad Cap rated at the same pressure as the one fitted to the original engine. If its lower this could be allowing the expansion. I know it does
usually expand but not sure how much it normally does.
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A little hard work never killed anyone, but why take the risk!
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clbarclay
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| posted on 6/3/05 at 09:23 PM |
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Could be air traped some where like at the back of the block?
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Avoneer
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| posted on 6/3/05 at 09:55 PM |
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I don't know, that's why I posted!
How can I check?
I have a bleed screw on my polo rad and left it out until boiling water poored out and then pluged it.
Pat...
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clbarclay
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| posted on 6/3/05 at 09:59 PM |
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Presuming the top pipe for the water is at the front of the block, the front of the block needs to be raised, allowing air to float up and out of the
block.
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Avoneer
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| posted on 6/3/05 at 10:45 PM |
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What do you mean be the top pipe?
Cheers,
Pat...
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Avoneer
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| posted on 6/3/05 at 10:48 PM |
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Mine is plumbed like this.
The small pipe from the top of the themostat to the top of the expansion tank is the highest bit of the system and I though this was to push any
excess air out of the system and into the top of the expansion tank.
Maybe I should just jack the front of the car up a lot and let it run some.
Pat...
[Edited on 6/3/05 by Avoneer]
 
Rescued attachment plumbing.gif
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clbarclay
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| posted on 6/3/05 at 11:11 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Avoneer
What do you mean be the top pipe?
Cheers,
Pat...
Ah, theres that pipe into the head.
(pauses to skratch head)
Am I right gessing that the engine is a x-flow?
not sure quite what the plubing is inside the block/head. I am yet to pull mine apart.
Where abouts does the pipe from the bottom of the header tank join onto the radiator?
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Avoneer
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| posted on 6/3/05 at 11:24 PM |
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No, it's a Pinto with polo rad.
The diagram shows three oultlets on the rad. It only has two, but the large bottom rad hose has a t in it and a smaller diameter pipe comes from this
t to the bottom of the expansion tank.
Pat...
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clbarclay
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| posted on 6/3/05 at 11:43 PM |
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I get the feeling that this problem is outside my expertise.
My gues is given the plumbing set up there shouldn't be to much, if anything at all wrong with the system.
My one last quirey is that the thermostat is OK, though experiance says that a broken thermostate is more dramatic (then again that was on a simpler
system with the thermostate at the top block not the bottom).
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Avoneer
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| posted on 6/3/05 at 11:52 PM |
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The stat is at the top, just looks odd in the pic.
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clbarclay
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| posted on 7/3/05 at 12:13 AM |
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Having thorughly confused my self and then realised/rememberd that the water pump draws in water from the rad, I can only say this.
Check all there is to check, if the termostate works, which at a gues it probably does, then the water level changes may just be a fact of the
electric fan cooling system.
If the engine doesn't over heat, then live with it (keeping an eye on it), and unless someone else knows better then it probably isnt anything
to worry about.
[Edited on 7/3/05 by clbarclay]
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Peteff
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| posted on 7/3/05 at 12:35 AM |
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I've got a simpler expansion tank on my pinto using a Mk2 Escort radiator and it pushes about 1/2 pint of water into the tank when it's
hot and draws it back when it cools. When I have air trapped in it it tends to push water out and generally make a mess. If it's not overheating
I would put the bonnet back on and stop looking at it.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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Avoneer
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| posted on 7/3/05 at 12:49 AM |
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Thanks Pete.
That's the Locost answer I was looking for and I will now concentrate on something else (until steam envelopes the car).
Pat...
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However a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.
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DarrenW
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| posted on 7/3/05 at 09:56 AM |
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I dont see that you have a problem here. I have had a BMW before where if i filled the expansion tank slightly too full over the nexrt week the system
blew the overfill out of the tank and it settled at its normal operating level. This indicates that some systems push water into the exp tank when
required - this is of course why it is called an expansion tank. A mate of mine works on nothing else but LandRovers and has experienced the same
several times. Not Pintos or Avons i know - but it shows that several vehicles share this phenomena.
If you are sure the temp gauge works ok and the fan cuts in correctly to control the temp then i would guess theres nothing to worry about. You might
have just made one of those observations that most people dont see. i cant see where the air would be trapped in a Pinto. Do you have heated inlet
manifold? This is higher or as high as the water jacket - maybe try cracking the joint there to see if there is air.
One small point - i was told to put the small pipe from the radiator cap 'bypass' (is this correct name??) to the bottom of the expansion
tank. Reason - when hot water goes to the tank and level rises, when cooling the water gets pulled from the bottom of the tank and no air gets sucked
back into system. It looks like your system might already do this by being piped differently. The problem we have is that there are so many rad / exp
tank combinations that can work and all seem to have different connections. Im copying the Mac#1 method of plumbing when the time comes as i at least
know it works for them.
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alan wheeldon
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| posted on 9/3/05 at 08:41 PM |
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you have plumbed your pipes in right.
It does sound like you have some air in the system still though, (not much mind you) jack the front of your car up as far as you can, (pintos need to
be angled slightly in my experience) run the engine for about 5 mins with the expansion cap off.
This should hopefully cure it
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rusty nuts
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| posted on 9/3/05 at 08:48 PM |
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Some pinto engines had a small pipe coming from thermostat housing, some had blanking caps on , If yours has one , with engine stopped take off cap
and top up coolant level until all air is bled from pipe then refit cap. This should bleed all air from engine without any getting trapped behind
thermostat. Some engines had this pipe connected to header tank I.I.R.C. also some expansion is norma lwhen engine gets hotter.
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