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TR2/3/3A TR3/4 Tstat Housing

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Geo Hahn

Geo Hahn

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The top radiator hose kept slipping off the big snout of the thermostat housing, not completely off mind you, just enough that in a high RPM bumpy left-hander it would squirt some coolant past the clamp.

Went to a longer hose (Moss now supplies the TR4 hose for TR2/3 applications) but still the hose crept forward then the squirting occurred.

The radiator is secure and the clamp wicked tight but the problem seemed to be that there is no lip on the fitting on the thermostat connection.

At the suggestion of a Healey owner I tried this: Used some of that super-silcone tape to build a lip. This is the tape that clings to itself and bonds overnight. I started with a narrow strip of tape to form the lip:

TstatHousing1.jpg


Then a wide strip over that to smooth the lip a bit:

TstatHousing2.jpg


Had to soak the hose in boiling water and stretch it over a bottle but then it went on fine:

TstatHousing3.jpg


Time will tell, but it looks like it is there to stay.
 
I'd be for a second band clamp, ON the area where the "tape" is.

JMHO.
 
That tape is great stuff. Carry it in my car for emergency repairs. The only concern is the upper temperature range is 212 degrees F continuous. Just be aware of it on hot days. Wouldn't want it slipping off and it getting caught up in the water pump or plugging a line.
 
I have had the bypass hose slide off. The place where it should be secured to the side of the thermostat hpusing is tapered on mine. The addition of antifreeze makes it all too slippery and the more I would tighten the hose clamp, it would want to slide down the taper till it leaked. So I filed a deep groove into the aluminium housing all around and this has held now for the past 10 or 12 years.

It it had ever slipped off again, I would take it to my neighbour who can MIG and TIG weld. I would ask him to weld on an aluminium bump all around like you did with the silicone tape.
 

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Yep, I've also had the bypass hose slip -- what I didn't mention above is that I added a 'ring' to that connection too:

TstatHousing4.jpg


Thoughtful of Triumph too make that snout not merely smooth but slightly tapered (perhaps it was easier to get out of the mould that way?).

Yes, a second clamp or a modern band clamp might help but I'm stubborn and want the look (and attendant limitations) of the single wire clamp.

The tape I used says it is rated to 500F.
 
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