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If it ain't broke, don't fix it......

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I went ahead and pulled my radiator out so I could get to the sway bar bolts on the skid plate (right underneath the radiator). Installed complete new sway bar, reinstalled radiator, hooked everything back up....and now my car overheats wildly. What the hey? I filled the rad up with the car off, cranked and expected to see the level in the rad drop so I could add more. Instead, coolant came gushing out of the filler cap...maybe a pint...then it stopped and I was able to watch the level drop (when the thermostat opened). Sealed it up and took it for a spin. It gets way hot, going into an area on the temp gauge that it never has been before.

What did I do? And what can I do to fix this. Can't be the thermostat because the electric fan cools it down. Do I have one gigantic air bubble somewhere in my cooling system. I am at wits end. And very, very tired.
 
Bill
Take the thermostat housing off the engine and then fill the system. This makes sure the engine is full. Then a little fluid will be required after start up, but you will not have an airlock in the car.
Good Luck. I know you can do this
Dave
 
Bill,

Make sure that you open the heater valve all the way to allow that air to escape as well.
 
Well there you go, Bill. A whole mess of woe
has befallen you.

Ya coulda popped that skid plate and sway bar off
in 10-15 minutes following my instructions. But
shoot, I ain't no auto mechanic.

My goodness I am glad I did not attempt the
radiator removal method. I hope it works out for
you and you don't have to spend too much time getting
things back into working order.

d
 
Hopefully these fellers are right and it's just an airlock...

But it could be that rust and gunk have broken loose when you removed/replaced the radiator, and is stopping you up. If getting the air out of the system doesn't help, try some detergent to see if that will help break anything up in there!
 
One step forward, one step back, one step forward. Good luck and ain't it great to own a British car.
 
Bill,

I think there is also a coolant drain plug on the
passenger side of the engine block. Look there and
if there is a plug; pull that plug out and see if
any air "burps" out for you.

But I might be wrong since my block is a TR250.
It's worth a look see.

d
 
Dale,

While on paper the idea may sound good, you do not want to open anything on the bottom, because it will cause more issues. Trying to put a plug back in with A/F running down your arm is not a lot of fun either.

Dave has the right idea about taking the thermostat out and just letting it run with the heater valve wide open and eventually, that will allow it to bleed itself out.
 
I leave the cap off when first starting and fill the radiator and keep the radiator topped off while it runs for a few minutes. After that I just keep the reservoir bottle half or better filled.
Mine has always bled itself after a few times running.

But, on the bright side, Bill actually has something to fix now! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/jester.gif Sorry Bill, just could not resist! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif
 
Hey Paul!!

That's a funny for sure, I can just picture it!! Ha, ha..

Nah, I meant pull the plug with the engine off and
the coolant under simple atmospheric / head pressure
to see if a air bubble might burp out there. You
can stick a little piece of wire in that hole and
wiggle it around also. Might be a clog there?

My original plug was a rounded stick of wood pounded
into the hole. I replaced it with threaded steel figuring
the wood might not be Triumph factory original.

d
 
Tinster said:
My original plug was a rounded stick of wood pounded
into the hole. I replaced it with threaded steel figuring
the wood might not be Triumph factory original.

d
Click to expand...
Dale, that was a Morgan part.
Jeff
 
/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/lol.gif /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/lol.gif
 
Dale, if you don't pull the housing and the thermostat, the internal block cooling passages will not be under atmospheric pressure.

Tom, thank you for noting that the radiator cap should be left off. I was thinking it as I was going along but neglected to add that line to my comments and it makes the job a lot faster.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]My original plug was a rounded stick of wood pounded
into the hole. I replaced it with threaded steel figuring
the wood might not be Triumph factory original.

d [/QUOTE]


Dale,

Now I understand why you had the optional bracket under the front of the car. The wooden plug that you removed was one of the first rare prototype block heaters developed by Lucas in conjunction with Triumph engineering.

The bracket was made to attach the butane torch, which in turn heated the plug, which heated the coolant, all while you stayed inside nice and warm, having your coffee. Unfortunately, the engineers came to the conclusion that the life cycle of these wooden plugs would not be as long as one would hope for and work soon began on a more robust metal/electric combination that you still see today.

So I hope that you kept the plug, because as you can see, it would indeed be quite rare and very valuable with the factory mounting bracket.

I hope that this helps clear any further confusion about the bracket as well as the original Lucas block heaters.
 
Ah, wood!


Wait until you get ready to replace/reseal the front crank seal. Wood shims used on a lot of 6 engines. Dunno if your 250 motor has them or not.
 
FYI:

Whenever I re-fill a cooling system, I "burp" it by squeezing the upper hose. Several times with cap off. Run the car a bit and try again a few times.

And....if the engine is warm, do not add cold water (or antifreeze) unless the motor is running. Adding cold water to a hot engine that isn't running can crack the block or warp a head. If it's running, add coolant slowly and it's no problem.
 
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