350i rad hoses top and bottom.

[mrzigazaga]

Hi Peeps...Just wondering...I might have to change my rad as there was a small leak earlier for the first time..Maybe time to fit the alloy rad with twin kenlowes..But first I'm going to see if its the clips that are loose as there is some limescale on the fittings top and bottom and some under them..If it is just a case of loose clips then I'm going to flush and replace the coolant and change the hoses as i want to also fit a temperature faucet switch to control the fan as i only have a manual override switch at the moment....So i was looking at the top and bottom radiator hoses as suggested on the "Wedge parts " page..Obviously they are cut and the joiners/Swan neck put in..But just reiterate are they the right ones?....

Thanks...Ziga

[adam quantrill]

If you go on the Wiki History you can find out who added the part numbers with a bit of trial and error:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=128...

however the wierd thing is that I added this one!

I musta found it in an article around May time and stuck it in there - so the hunt is on if you want confirmation....

Mind you fleabay item 121421425355 looks promising and only a tenner.

[mrzigazaga]

Thanks Adam...I did find that part with that number..I take it the steel joiner is cut in about where the label is?..I have a new bit as the old is pretty rusty but will need to also put the thermo faucet in the hot side of the system...I was thinking of matching the top hose with some silicone and HT painting the swan neck...Cheers...Ziga

[mrzigazaga]

Well the leak has magically stopped...Well i say leak it was only about an egg cup after cooling down..Its done it twice now and one was after around a 40 mile trip and the other was after i warmed it up the other day and turned it off..I have used it since and there is no sign of anything...Has anyone else had this...Im a bit worried now about going too far in case the rad does give out..Normally if the rad is going it will go...
Im trying to get all the bits that i need as i might just change it for the alloy one i bought at the fest...Now do the hoses listed on the "Wedge part" page fit minus the splicing for the swan neck and O/S steel joiner?...Cheers..Ziga

[GV]

mrzigazaga said:

Hi Peeps...Just wondering...I might have to change my rad as there was a small leak earlier for the first time..Maybe time to fit the alloy rad with twin kenlowes..But first I'm going to see if its the clips that are loose as there is some limescale on the fittings top and bottom and some under them..If it is just a case of loose clips then I'm going to flush and replace the coolant and change the hoses as i want to also fit a temperature faucet switch to control the fan as i only have a manual override switch at the moment....So i was looking at the top and bottom radiator hoses as suggested on the "Wedge parts " page..Obviously they are cut and the joiners/Swan neck put in..But just reiterate are they the right ones?....

Thanks...Ziga

IMO an alloy rad is not needed with 2 fans. You will save some serious money if you invest in a re-core. Also I found the reconfiguring of the plumbling works brilliantly - I will dig out the post and whack it up here later.

[adam quantrill]

Where do you think it's leaking from - the corner of the rad, or an elbow maybe?

I have had small rad weeps from the corner that took many months to slowly get worse.

But if it's the joining elbow that could snap off without warning. Take some liquid metal and a few large jubilee clips in your boot just in case. I had an elbow snap off, liquid metalled it back on at the roadside, and it lasted another week or two before I could replace the rad.

[mrzigazaga]

adam quantrill said:

Where do you think it's leaking from - the corner of the rad, or an elbow maybe?

I have had small rad weeps from the corner that took many months to slowly get worse.

But if it's the joining elbow that could snap off without warning. Take some liquid metal and a few large jubilee clips in your boot just in case. I had an elbow snap off, liquid metalled it back on at the roadside, and it lasted another week or two before I could replace the rad.

Hi Adam....Not sure is the honest answer...As i said it was just an egg cup full and its only happened twice and not since....I have checked the outlets and fittings and they are as dry as a bone even though there is some limescale on them, Both corners looked a bit sweaty so it could be in the middle somewhere...
I have this rad and hopefully it will fit...Its the one i bought from the fest that was in the Silver machine...Cheddars old car.

Upside down.


The right way up...


As you can see the O/S outlet is not angled and there is no top overflow which means i will have to blank something off.

I would of felt better getting the old one recored which i might still do and then sell this one....Cheers...Ziga

[GV]

GV said:

Here we go....I have been running with the setup below with a Merc E Class W126 header tank with great results thus far. Admittedly I need to tidy up the arrangement in terms of cosmetics but it does work well. The extract below is from Hatter's post on the same subject a couple of years back...

Update time... I've now plumbed both my 350i and the SEAC to what I think they should be; both cars have been running all summer without overheating or spitting coolant out; and I have effective heat and demisting on demand.

Basically I've done three things, centred around the expansion tank:
1) Changed the 'de-gas' system - ie the engine and radiator vent lines
2) Rerouted the plenum heater outlet pipe
3) Put a 'tee-piece' in the radiator bottom hose.

The de-gas system; note the blocked off middle connection on the expansion tank. The highest point on the radiator and the highest point on the engine (the swan neck) are now connected to the highest point on the expansion tank:



The plenum heater outlet is connected to the heater return pipe on the water pump inlet, as it is on the SD1 - and NOT the expansion tank middle connection.


And the bottom pipe on the expansion tank (the 5/8 diameter one) is connected to a tee-piece in the radiator bottom hose, replacing the original bottom hose 'straight' section.


With TVR's set up, the plenum heater outlet pumped coolant into the expansion tank, resulting in air being forced into the swan neck and then through the rad into the engine- so the expansion tank was always full and the engine (and heater) always had air in it... not clever! With the set up I now have, the engine and heater are always full of coolant and there's always air in the top of the expansion tank, where it should be.


I have also found that it's much better to switch the fan in manually when the car comes to a standstill rather than wait for the radiator mounted otter switch to activate the fan. I believe the rad mounted otter switch is too far away from the engine and is too slow to react; when Rover/MG fitted electric fans they put the sensor (otter switch equivalent) onto the thermostat cover, ie right on top of the engine.

I've done what I think is right, feel free to shoot me down with 'TVR knew what they were doing' flames but I know that my cars now run much better than they did before so I'm happy! I looked at lots of cars at the fest and there were many variations on the plumbing theme; one thing I did find interesting though was that early cars (Mr Tank's) were plumbed in a similar way that I have now done mine - I'm not sure why TVR moved away from that. My suspicion is that the electric fan set up on the 350s didn't work very well; my solution of mimicing a viscous fan by manually switching in the fan when the car is at a standstill probably wouldn't have been acceptable to buyers of new TVRs back in the day...

[Jack Valiant]

Mark i have given you a few pointers fella .... also just check its coolant, as a couple of years ago `i thought `i had a leak and it was where `i had washed the car and the water was dribbling out the light pods onto the rad then the floor... so find said pool ... dip your digit in and test for taste!

[mrzigazaga]

Andy....Thanks for the info....
Chris...Its definitely coolant mate, When i warmed it up the other day it was a dry day..I don't wash my car...So the egg cup full was definitely from the rad...Somewhere!..I checked all the clips and felt around the connections and none of that was faulty...It just seems to be a very small amount and a bit sporadic ...There is no over heating and no steam which is really weird..I think i would be better getting the old one recored and selling on the alloy one...

No-one has answered my question as regards to the rad pipes being the right ones yet?.....Cheers...Ziga

[mrzigazaga]

Hi Peeps...Here is my Wedges cooling system layout...The alloy rad is missing the top O/S outlet that is going to the bottom of the expansion tank via a reducer..So will have to be re-routed but I'm not sure how?..Any ideas please...Thanks...Ziga

[adam quantrill]

Get a t piece made up that you can put in the bottom rad hose, with a quite small diameter T off that you can attach that pipe to.

You could make your own with copper plumbing adapters - something like ebay item 301237304831 and then because the 15mm pipe is too big, solder in a 15mm x 10mm or 15mm x 8mm reducer. E.g. fleabay item 230788196712 on a short length of 15mm copper pipe.

You just need a blowtorch and some solder to make these up - don't set fire to your house though!

[mrzigazaga]

Thanks Adam...I do have some reducers with the solder ring on but my thinking was to perhaps run the bottom outlet of the expansion tank to the water pump where the right hand outlet on the expansion tank is now and then blank off the left hand expansion tank top inlet?....The swan neck will be the highest pout to relieve any trapped air...Would this work?...

[celcius]

Hi mate
Dont worry
We will get it sorted?:-)

[mrzigazaga]

Hi Peeps...Well i had a measure up of the alloy rad against mine and it looks like its not going to fit!...Mine is 27" long (Core only) and 15.5" high...The side mountings are 5" from the top...The alloy one is 25" long (Core only) and 12" high, The side mounting is 6" from the top...I have tried to find out what the alloy one was from but had no reply so i can't even sell it to offset the cost of having mine recored.
Looks like my Wedge will be not going anywhere soon!.....

[gmw9666]

mrzigazaga said:

Hi Peeps...Well i had a measure up of the alloy rad against mine and it looks like its not going to fit!...Mine is 27" long (Core only) and 15.5" high...The side mountings are 5" from the top...The alloy one is 25" long (Core only) and 12" high, The side mounting is 6" from the top...I have tried to find out what the alloy one was from but had no reply so i can't even sell it to offset the cost of having mine recored.
Looks like my Wedge will be not going anywhere soon!.....

Here is Chedder's original post when he put it in the silver wedge = http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

And Below are some pics I got from Chedders Photobucket alblum when I bought the car

You can see in the picture it is angled with the top edge pointing towards the front of the car


Original Rad


Alloy Rad






from memory the brackets held it / attached it to the inside of the headlamp pods

[mrzigazaga]

Wow...Thanks Glen...Thats shed some light on it...By the looks of it there would be some major fabbing to make fit...Not something i want to do...I think its a case of trying to sell it and getting mine refurbed..I have been quoted £249 + VAT from the usual guy that i use..Extortionate comes to mind...Berkshire rads quoted me £180 but i would have to take it to them and collect...Its a shame i dont know what car the alloy one is for as it would help me sell it...But at this moment in time its scrap!...I might see if the guy i normally use will take it in part ex...Cheers...Ziga

[gmw9666]

mrzigazaga said:

Wow...Thanks Glen...Thats shed some light on it...By the looks of it there would be some major fabbing to make fit...Not something i want to do...I think its a case of trying to sell it and getting mine refurbed..I have been quoted £249 + VAT from the usual guy that i use..Extortionate comes to mind...Berkshire rads quoted me £180 but i would have to take it to them and collect...Its a shame i dont know what car the alloy one is for as it would help me sell it...But at this moment in time its scrap!...I might see if the guy i normally use will take it in part ex...Cheers...Ziga

Reading chedders thread it looks like a cossy rad......Leigh commented on it so perhaps give him a tinkle?

You could always remove the fans and sell those separately, those kenlowes are expensive, then see if your man will px as you say??? http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-RA1095

Edited by gmw9666 on Wednesday 1st October 10:30

[mrzigazaga]

gmw9666 said:

Reading chedders thread it looks like a cossy rad......

Bang on mate....

Thing is they are either in the £200 bracket or the £1,000..Mine looks like the latter but i doubt it...But with the fans its got to be worth £150....All day long.

Cheers for the info mate....Ziga