I replaced a lot of components in the cooling system a few weeks ago and the car has behaved incredibly well. Until this morning.
I drove to the garage which is about 6 miles away, temps & pressures normal, nothing to worry about at all.
Then, after opening up the garage and moving the car inside I notice water on the floor at the front. It was leaking from the bottom hose connection to the radiator. Now, I'd had a bit of weepage here after I fitted the new radiator and hoses but thought at the time that I'd not tightened the Jubilee clip properly. The clip was tightened and the car has done about 600 miles since - it wasn't losing coolant and the temperature was good even in slow traffic.
So, what was wrong? Faulty radiator? Faulty hose? I now suspect neither. Having taken the radiator out of the car and examined the bottom hose connection, I found that the Jubilee clip was gripping at an angle across the bump on the radiator spigot. Yes, it was good and tight, but because it was gripping on an uneven surface it allowed water to flow past if the pressure got up a bit. This is a MkII cooling system running at 20psi. I haven't put it back together yet but I'll be making sure that Jubilee clip is gripping in all the right places when I do.
If we manage the Calne Classic Car Run in a fortnight's time I'll know it's fixed!!
Richard
I drove to the garage which is about 6 miles away, temps & pressures normal, nothing to worry about at all.
Then, after opening up the garage and moving the car inside I notice water on the floor at the front. It was leaking from the bottom hose connection to the radiator. Now, I'd had a bit of weepage here after I fitted the new radiator and hoses but thought at the time that I'd not tightened the Jubilee clip properly. The clip was tightened and the car has done about 600 miles since - it wasn't losing coolant and the temperature was good even in slow traffic.
So, what was wrong? Faulty radiator? Faulty hose? I now suspect neither. Having taken the radiator out of the car and examined the bottom hose connection, I found that the Jubilee clip was gripping at an angle across the bump on the radiator spigot. Yes, it was good and tight, but because it was gripping on an uneven surface it allowed water to flow past if the pressure got up a bit. This is a MkII cooling system running at 20psi. I haven't put it back together yet but I'll be making sure that Jubilee clip is gripping in all the right places when I do.
If we manage the Calne Classic Car Run in a fortnight's time I'll know it's fixed!!
Richard
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