• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

Arrrgh! [AKA Good Night Turned Bad]

Share this page

Aldwyn

Aldwyn

Jedi Warrior
Offline
I am really starting to feel like a British car owner!

60 degrees out, clear sky... I put the top down, and jut out to Staples for a printer cartridge in the 6. After about a mile, I noticed wispy white smoke coming from the hood. Yikes! I look down at temp gauge and it's buried on "H". YIKES!!!

I drive the next mile to Staples, and park her. White smoke begins to billow out from the sides of the hood. Arrrgh! Man, I hope this is not a blown head gasket!

Pop the hood... smoke everywhere, and... water. Woot! Good sign... might not be the head gasket after all. Water is spritzing from the water valve, and I can hear steam escaping like a tea kettle just about to start screaming (or maybe that was me who was just about to start screaming).

I open up the valve via the pull handle inside the car (thank goodness too, as more water and steam went shooting!) decreasing the pressure from the cooling system. I am loosing a lot of coolant from the valve.

Standing there in the parking lot with my hood open, and steam/smoke/water pouring out of the engine compartment, being stared at by other shoppers, I couldn't help but to hear the line go though my head:

"The parts you see falling off this car are made with the finest British craftsmanship."

I left the hood open while I shopped to let the engine cool down... and debated: Call AAA and tow it? or take the chance and drive it back the 2 miles home.

After half an hour of cool down time, I drove her home, and ordered a water valve, two new hoses, adapter, trunnion, etc...

So, to make a long story short (TO LATE NOW!), any gotchas I should know about on replacing these things? Or is it as straightforward as it looks?

Thanks!
Aldwyn
 
Straightforward as it looks. The valve is known to fail but new ones as the old ones have a pretty long life. On the other hand they are like smart bullets, they know when to break causing the most problems. My heater valve has been in for more than 20 years and APPEARS to be fine; after reading you adventure, I will order one for a spare because I know it will let go at the most inopportune time.
 
Don't forget to use a sealant on the threads before installing the new valve.
If the new valve is overly stiff, you can shoot some lubricant into it to loosen it up. Otherwise, it may not shut off entirely with the cable and you will have to physically close it every time.
 
Yeah, it's a straightforward replacement.

I had the same thing happen to me on a car I was test driving. Not cool. The experience reminded me that I needed to be looking at the gauges all the time.

With new parts, you probably won't need to carry spares. Having said that, I do. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Thanks guys! I am still bummed I wont be able to drive her today in the nice weather! Ah,well...

Cinneagh, was that you and your baby blue TR4 that I was talking to at the TRAC tech session last weekend?
 
Aldwyn, I didn't go to the Tech Session, but James Meechie (sp?) is the only one in TRAC that has a light blue (is it correct to say Powder Blue if it's a TR4?) that I know of. James is the one who schedules all the Tech Sessions.

The attached photo is of James' TR4 at the TRAC Picnic.
 

Attachments

  • 277621-JamesTR4.jpg
    277621-JamesTR4.jpg
    80.8 KB · Views: 133
[ QUOTE ]
Straightforward as it looks. The valve is known to fail but new ones as the old ones have a pretty long life. On the other hand they are like smart bullets, they know when to break causing the most problems. My heater valve has been in for more than 20 years and APPEARS to be fine; after reading you adventure, I will order one for a spare because I know it will let go at the most inopportune time.

[/ QUOTE ]

The aftermarket valves are worthless, but that is all that is available. I am on my 3rd one. They are all made by the same manufacturer, probably County, which is Indian.


Bill
 
Arrrgh! Don't tell me that, Bill! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

It's a bummer to put on a new part and turn around in a year and have to put on another one, too... or worse, have it blow up on you when you are miles from home!
 
Well, I got the thing in. I had to pull the old one off using the force of a hammer, though! And the new one (and its adapter) did not thread all of the way down (though I suspect I would need a hammer to get them on that tight!).

Seems to be in tight, but I can see threads on each part. The old one I took off... no threads.

No water is streaming out of the thing, though! yay!

Doug, you are right... and even with some silicone sprayed on both openings... it's still sticky! Hopefully it will loosen up over the winter, so the heat wont be on come summer. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Again, thanks for the help, guys!
 
I thought about getting a standard ball valve from the plumbing dept at lowes, I am not sure if its 3/8 or 1/2 inch and using that for the heater valve,since I keep the heat on in the winter and off in the summer
 
Ok, while I am bringing up old threads... might as well do this one, too!

I replaced the water valve (BTW, even with silicon spray, it still wont close completely!), and the only issue is that I can not get either the adapter or valve to screw all the way down... so while they have thread tape on them, they are not screwed all the way down. I figured that would be no big deal, but maybe I am wrong.

I took the TR out for the first time today since I replaced it. I was mainly checking the alternator (see my other thread) to see if my voltage would drop as I drove her, as well as to fill the tank since it was half empty, and we are about to see our last driving day.

I drove her for a couple of miles, no fuss no muss.

I pull into the driveway, and look down at the temp gague. Where she is normally slightly more then halfway up the gauge on a regular day, it was slightly higher... and climbing... quickly. I tested the battery (again, see other thread /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif ) and then shut her off. When I shut her off, she was almost at H (and was still moving up).

I check the seal of the water valve, and where the adapter hits the engine block. There was a small drop of coolant on the block below the adapter, and also some tiny drops (like from a splash) on the hose below it. But there was not a lot of coolant around other then that.

Could this issue be due to me not getting the air bubble out of the cooling system? It hit me that I never did that because I started working on the alternator/battery issue.

If not that, what else should I be looking for that may cause my temp gauge to rise like that, suddenly? BTW, the bottle is still half full. I have a hose and bottle on order just in case...

Thanks!
Aldwyn
 
Not sure but there's always a chance of an air bubble. Maybe your thermostat failed from the prior overheat or there is blockage somewhere from some piece of debris that broke off after the big flush. If there was any left was the original antifreeze mix real dirty looking? If so then it may be a piece of junk.
 
Old anti-freeze looked good. Almost new, even.

When I filled up the radiator, though, there was a lot of scale... so if some broke free, I suppose it could have gotten cought in the line someplace.

I just replaced the thermo and temp sender in October (because the temp wasnt rising enough!), but I suppose it could have broken again.
 
I have had an internal avalanche of rust, large enough to choke down the water pump making the belt squeal. Initially, I thought the wp bearing had failed but as I worked the pulley back and forth, it freed up and I purged the system using a COOLENT CLEANER and then purged the system out many times with fresh water. After adding the good kind of antifreeze, I put a can of "water pump lubricant" in the coolant as it acts as a rust inhibitor. I bet you have RUST, not air as your gremlin.
 
Ok, so I should flush the cooling system with cleaner?

How do I go about doing that? I would assume just flushing the radiator isnt good enough, and that the whole system needs flushing... but what exit should I use since I wouldnt be using the one at the bottom of the radiator?

Thanks!
 
Did you have any rust on the heater control valve? If it was clean as a pin, maybe you don't have rust in the block. Rust in the block is not as apparent as the scale in the radiator unless you screw off the block side plug and no water comes out because it is plugged with rust. The bottom radiator drain is the radiator hose. How have you been draining the coolant if you did not use the bottom radiator hose for a drain? The IAT antifreeze is the most common, sometime missed stated as permanent, antifreeze I see on the market and it has a 3 year rating. No chemistry major here but the antifreeze does not stay stable and the pH change can cause erosion and even a chemical galvanic action like thing occurs and eats the hose and metal that contacts the coolant (inside out). The later OAT type antifreeze has something that reduces this effect, but I, without scientific proof, feel the water pump lubricant that also inhibit rust works better than antifreeze alone for rust prevention. If you just run water through the radiator, I bet there will be about as much scale on it as before the bath. There are several brands and types of flush on the market, and I am sure you can get some opinions on it here at BCF. I use one with enough power to leave the brass a brass color in the radiator. I also flush several times to be sure I get the stuff out of the heater and the rest of the system. Be /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
My radiator blew up the 2nd day we owned the TR6.
When I removed it.. all kinds of rusted crud came out.

When I installed the new radiator, I tried to get out as
much rust as possible by using a COOLENT SYSTEM
CLEANER (two times) and then flushed the system with clean
water many times. Finally I added a quality antifreeze, ran
the car around the block a few times and dumped out the new
anitfreeze.

Flushed the engine with clean water once again and drained
it. Then I put in the final antifreeze along with a can of
water pump lubricant compound because, as stated, it acts
as a rust inhibitor.

Take the time to do things correctly and you will never
regret it.

best of luck,

Tinster /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif
 
Back
Top