Back to Normal--Water problem

[LLAngus]

well, Mom is home and doing as well as can be expected. She came through surgery in great shape BUT was smoking the next day. I can't do anything so I'll just carry on.

I have a continual problem with my 73 BGT. I am lossing water through the overflow tube attached to the radiator. I had to change the water pump when I got the car and I now am wondering if the pump was from a 3 main engine and id the problem? No water in oil, no oil in water, car runs great, no water out tail pipe. I have not done a bleed down compression check to see if the head gasket is bad and allowing compression to leak into the water system. I have changed the head and it was magnafluxed. No cracks. No visible water outside the engine. New radiator cap in the correct poundage. Any suggestions????

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[tony barnhill]

Drop by your radiator shop & have them pressure test your system - it'll show where there are leaks or blockages.

 

[jlaird]

Wonders about the condition of the radiator cap??

 

[tony barnhill]

[ QUOTE ]
New radiator cap in the correct poundage.

[/ QUOTE ]

 

[jlaird]

Darn if I would not check it again, like put the old one back on.

With cap off and engine running you just might see a bit of air (bubbles) if that is the problem.

 

[Rob_Edwards]

How much are you losing? If it's just a little, you might just be trying to keep it too full. There has to be a little expansion space at the top of radiator tank. If there's not (because there's too much water), the radiator will burp out water until there is enough space. In other words, the car decides what "full" is, not the owner! ;-)

 

[LLAngus]

I did take it to the shop and have it pressure tested. No leaks. The amount of water is substantial, not just the car adjusting. When I stop there is water on the frame and comming out of the overflow tube. I will try the old cap. I wanted to know if the wrong water pump maybe causing the problem.

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[jlaird]

Another dumb question. Does it stop doing it and how low is the level at that time?

Does the engine run hot?

 

[shorn]

You might consider installing an overflow tank. A plastic overflow tank at Autozone is only about $10-$12. Then when the radiator burps out the water, usually when you shut the engine off, it flows into the overflow tank. As the water cools and the pressure in the radiator is reduced, the water in the tank is siphoned back into the radiator. Check the Austin Healey forum and search for more info on this.

 

[jlaird]

Now there is another excellent idea.

 

[LLAngus]

Engine is not overheating unless the water gets too low. I check every other day and top off.

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[tony barnhill]

[ QUOTE ]
Engine is not overheating unless the water gets too low.

[/ QUOTE ]

Where is that point? Don't know that I would "top it off" but would keep it at that point where its happy....if it continually goes below that point, you've got a leak in the system somewhere.

 

[LLAngus]

Tony

The only leak I can find is the overflow tube. It gets hot if the water gets below the fins in the radiator by about 4". In other words the water has to be down substantially. There are no other leaks. What would make the water push out the overflow?

 

[jlaird]

Only thing I can think is that the pressure cap is wrong. What are you useing and what is it supose to be, can be tested on the stove.

 

[Rob_Edwards]

Even at atmospheric pressure (i.e. no cap at all) it shouldn't pump out that much unless it's boiling or something is displacing the water (like combustion gases through a blown head gasket). I certainly hope it's not the latter!

You're sure the ONLY place it's coming out is through the overflow?

 

[tony barnhill]

When was the last time you had the engine back flushed?

 

[kennypinkerton]

Is there a drain under the heater core? Could the core be leaking? (the one in my LTD is, and leavs no trace under the car.)