Hi
I bought a Stag Mk1 in the summer which is running extremely well. I drove it home some 150 miles through the Dartford tunnel in the afternoon - hot weather, lots of creeping forward and stopping. I was very worried about it overheating but it seemed fine. I say this to indicate that the cooling system does seem to be efficient enough for UK use. However over the months since, I noticed that when I topped up the rad (old type with pressure cap on top) after a run, the coolant level is always at the bottom of the filler pipe. I thought there must be a leak somewhere. This weekend I filled up again to just under the cap and ran it till it was up to temp. I could see coolant being pushed into the expansion bottle, but there was a small puddle of liquid in the Vee of the engine in front of the distributor, when I mopped it up it reappeared after a couple of minutes. I reasoned possibly a leak from a heater hose, or a core plug or a dodgy intake manifold gasket. I think I'll need to dismantle and find it for sure but would prefer to do this in the winter. What do other experts think about trying a radweld solution for the summer? would I be drummed out of the club for such a disgraceful thought? More seriously, would it impede the cooling sufficiently to be a threat to the engine? Again, I reason, if it is leaking then the pressure should be down which itself should impede the cooling. it does seem to be dragging the overflow coolant back as the expansion bottle stays the same level.
I would be grateful to hear the experience of others who have used something like radweld, if you are brave enough to admit it.
I bought a Stag Mk1 in the summer which is running extremely well. I drove it home some 150 miles through the Dartford tunnel in the afternoon - hot weather, lots of creeping forward and stopping. I was very worried about it overheating but it seemed fine. I say this to indicate that the cooling system does seem to be efficient enough for UK use. However over the months since, I noticed that when I topped up the rad (old type with pressure cap on top) after a run, the coolant level is always at the bottom of the filler pipe. I thought there must be a leak somewhere. This weekend I filled up again to just under the cap and ran it till it was up to temp. I could see coolant being pushed into the expansion bottle, but there was a small puddle of liquid in the Vee of the engine in front of the distributor, when I mopped it up it reappeared after a couple of minutes. I reasoned possibly a leak from a heater hose, or a core plug or a dodgy intake manifold gasket. I think I'll need to dismantle and find it for sure but would prefer to do this in the winter. What do other experts think about trying a radweld solution for the summer? would I be drummed out of the club for such a disgraceful thought? More seriously, would it impede the cooling sufficiently to be a threat to the engine? Again, I reason, if it is leaking then the pressure should be down which itself should impede the cooling. it does seem to be dragging the overflow coolant back as the expansion bottle stays the same level.
I would be grateful to hear the experience of others who have used something like radweld, if you are brave enough to admit it.
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