Back in the fold..... Spanners out already....
Discussion
I've missed having a cerbera. Ah, the bleeding knuckles and smell of unburnt fuel on my clothes. Heaven.
So. I'll do a proper post anon to show my new toy in all its splendour. Its a beaut. (2001, 1 owner, 10k miles, reflex purple / stone interior).... But first, I need to do some reconditioning work to get this back up to safe&secure condition.
It's running a bit hot for my liking and has a small coolant leak. Any advice or pointers to guides appreciated!!
The coolant leak is at the front end. It's slow dripping on the drive. How the hell do you tell whether it's a pipe fitting or the rad itself? Any tricks for diagnosing where a tiny leak is coming from? It's very hard to see in there, but I can see the inside of the front bumper is moist/wet & can see drips underneath the splitter.
Assuming I need a new rad, which do you recommend these days? Tvr car parts have like 4 variants. Most confused. What are the differences?
So wanting to sort cooling once and for all &
After speaking to jools (top lad), I plan on;
-Fixing leak (probably new radiator) £0-400
-Replacing ECU temp sensor £20
-My coolant pipes are super rusty around temp tube/sensor, so I'm thinking of some stainless rails from act (racetech have them cheaper at the mo) - unless I can get cheaper elesewhere? £200
New thermostat.... Or should I keep mine? If I could get a good OEM one I'd probably swap, but I've read lots of conflicting advice - who's do we recommend now? £40
Jools short induction & ecu/fan chip £350
So that's a grand before I've done any miles. D'OH.
Also Fuel pipe replacement. Any how to guides /recommendation of what I should buy? I plan on this not burning to the ground....
Finally, was wondering if I should check valve shims as it's not been done for a few years /1k miles. Bit nervous about doing this for some reason, don't suppose anyone is near cambridge done this before and can help?
The car is a one off IMO, can't be many like this around and it needs a little love to get it 100%. Drives great, just want to sort it's fundamentals before using it anger. Plan to get to jools later in year for proper remap, but he's busy busy.
She'll be a beast when done! Amazing how much more usable it feels than my old
4.2, interior much much better with the tuscan seats IMO.
I'm a lucky boy!!
Yeyeyyeeyy. New cerbera back in town
So. I'll do a proper post anon to show my new toy in all its splendour. Its a beaut. (2001, 1 owner, 10k miles, reflex purple / stone interior).... But first, I need to do some reconditioning work to get this back up to safe&secure condition.
It's running a bit hot for my liking and has a small coolant leak. Any advice or pointers to guides appreciated!!
The coolant leak is at the front end. It's slow dripping on the drive. How the hell do you tell whether it's a pipe fitting or the rad itself? Any tricks for diagnosing where a tiny leak is coming from? It's very hard to see in there, but I can see the inside of the front bumper is moist/wet & can see drips underneath the splitter.
Assuming I need a new rad, which do you recommend these days? Tvr car parts have like 4 variants. Most confused. What are the differences?
So wanting to sort cooling once and for all &
After speaking to jools (top lad), I plan on;
-Fixing leak (probably new radiator) £0-400
-Replacing ECU temp sensor £20
-My coolant pipes are super rusty around temp tube/sensor, so I'm thinking of some stainless rails from act (racetech have them cheaper at the mo) - unless I can get cheaper elesewhere? £200
New thermostat.... Or should I keep mine? If I could get a good OEM one I'd probably swap, but I've read lots of conflicting advice - who's do we recommend now? £40
Jools short induction & ecu/fan chip £350
So that's a grand before I've done any miles. D'OH.
Also Fuel pipe replacement. Any how to guides /recommendation of what I should buy? I plan on this not burning to the ground....
Finally, was wondering if I should check valve shims as it's not been done for a few years /1k miles. Bit nervous about doing this for some reason, don't suppose anyone is near cambridge done this before and can help?
The car is a one off IMO, can't be many like this around and it needs a little love to get it 100%. Drives great, just want to sort it's fundamentals before using it anger. Plan to get to jools later in year for proper remap, but he's busy busy.
She'll be a beast when done! Amazing how much more usable it feels than my old
4.2, interior much much better with the tuscan seats IMO.
I'm a lucky boy!!
Yeyeyyeeyy. New cerbera back in town
Pressure testing kit to help locate the leak and makes bleeding the system alot easier.
Radtec aluminium rad has helped in reducing the temps on my car, also with the cooling chip
Can't beat a trip to see joolz.
I know Facebook isn't to everyone's taste but you get a lot more attention on the Cerbera page than pistonheads these days.
The annual cerbfest next week is a great laugh with a bunch of like minded nutters.
If you need any stainless steel parts then look me up on Facebook. Unfortunately not doing the coolant rails, but plenty of other bits.
Coolant pipes worth doing. Overpriced for what they are but peace of mind.
Radtec aluminium rad has helped in reducing the temps on my car, also with the cooling chip
Can't beat a trip to see joolz.
I know Facebook isn't to everyone's taste but you get a lot more attention on the Cerbera page than pistonheads these days.
The annual cerbfest next week is a great laugh with a bunch of like minded nutters.
If you need any stainless steel parts then look me up on Facebook. Unfortunately not doing the coolant rails, but plenty of other bits.
Coolant pipes worth doing. Overpriced for what they are but peace of mind.
Congrats and welcome back. Just been through the fun of replacing the coolant hoses myself with the ACT S/S front pipes and a silicon hose kit from Ebay, a chap called John on the Cerb facebook group.
My rad was a PITA as it had a straight exit at the bottom as I think the ally ones may do, fitting the hose to that is tricky and if you buy the silicon set and have this type of bottom exit you need to get a different bottom hose with the angle the rad is missing.
Use Mikalor clamps instead of Jubilee's, I didn't and it's taken a while to get all the joints leak free, I am changing to mikalors now.
Replace the expansion tank and cap, less than £30 and easy to see the coolant level. Definitely change the thermostat if you are changing the hoses and metal pipes and be careful with the capillary bulb, mine snapped the hard line and I had to get it sent away for repair, replacing that in the dash is a crappy job as well.
The last couple of threads of mine cover this if you search.
My rad was a PITA as it had a straight exit at the bottom as I think the ally ones may do, fitting the hose to that is tricky and if you buy the silicon set and have this type of bottom exit you need to get a different bottom hose with the angle the rad is missing.
Use Mikalor clamps instead of Jubilee's, I didn't and it's taken a while to get all the joints leak free, I am changing to mikalors now.
Replace the expansion tank and cap, less than £30 and easy to see the coolant level. Definitely change the thermostat if you are changing the hoses and metal pipes and be careful with the capillary bulb, mine snapped the hard line and I had to get it sent away for repair, replacing that in the dash is a crappy job as well.
The last couple of threads of mine cover this if you search.
Welcome back
Alloy rad works a treat for me. Make sure the fan connections are clean on the plugs. I was running 90 degrees in the heat in traffic last weekend (joolz ecu mod aslo)
You can pressurise the system to check for leaks.
ACT stainless Coolnet pipes went on mine around 10 years ago and still look mint. Highly recommended. probably worth doing all the coolent pipes with the silicon set at the same time.
Tuscan seats - you say that now - wait until you have a long journey, the old seats are much more comfortable
Fuel pipes - check the fitment around the fuel filter, there's something special about them regarding availability/size - cant remember which.
Mine were all done (or mostly all done) during body off rebuild. as it was easier to run
Alloy rad works a treat for me. Make sure the fan connections are clean on the plugs. I was running 90 degrees in the heat in traffic last weekend (joolz ecu mod aslo)
You can pressurise the system to check for leaks.
ACT stainless Coolnet pipes went on mine around 10 years ago and still look mint. Highly recommended. probably worth doing all the coolent pipes with the silicon set at the same time.
Tuscan seats - you say that now - wait until you have a long journey, the old seats are much more comfortable
Fuel pipes - check the fitment around the fuel filter, there's something special about them regarding availability/size - cant remember which.
Mine were all done (or mostly all done) during body off rebuild. as it was easier to run
Just my thrupenny worth.....
Had owned my '01 Cerb [SNAP !!] for 3 years and had taken it for loadsa services - no probs
BUT
it wasn't until I took it to Jools for a remap & coolchip installation did he notice
(on the run aroun town to make sure all was OK before the Rolling Road)
that the thermostat was permanently open !
I though that they always ran at 70 Degrees
I visited S & D as part of CerbFest '17 and managed to break my rad driving up a contorted car park ramp. Fortunately S & D contacted ACT and they faxed an alloy replacement over for me.
( for £500 !!)
When the delivery truck arrived, I took the package from the driver and said
"Hold on a minute, this can't be mine !" The driver duly chacked and confirmed that it was so I opened the box, Michael.
I couldn't believe how light the new rad was - Amazin !!
As Mags has already said, make sure that the lower feed pipe on the rad is angled away from the main rad core otherwise expand your expletive vocab
Lastly, there is a 'Y'-piece which connects the water rails with the header overflow pipe.
It's right at the back of the block (almost over he Big Fuse).
The standard fitting is plastic and frequently splits to leave owners fuming !
Replace it with a Brass One
All the Best
Had owned my '01 Cerb [SNAP !!] for 3 years and had taken it for loadsa services - no probs
BUT
it wasn't until I took it to Jools for a remap & coolchip installation did he notice
(on the run aroun town to make sure all was OK before the Rolling Road)
that the thermostat was permanently open !
I though that they always ran at 70 Degrees
I visited S & D as part of CerbFest '17 and managed to break my rad driving up a contorted car park ramp. Fortunately S & D contacted ACT and they faxed an alloy replacement over for me.
( for £500 !!)
When the delivery truck arrived, I took the package from the driver and said
"Hold on a minute, this can't be mine !" The driver duly chacked and confirmed that it was so I opened the box, Michael.
I couldn't believe how light the new rad was - Amazin !!
As Mags has already said, make sure that the lower feed pipe on the rad is angled away from the main rad core otherwise expand your expletive vocab
Lastly, there is a 'Y'-piece which connects the water rails with the header overflow pipe.
It's right at the back of the block (almost over he Big Fuse).
The standard fitting is plastic and frequently splits to leave owners fuming !
Replace it with a Brass One
All the Best
Y piece
https://tvr-parts.com/tvr-parts/part-details/tvr-k...
probably avaialbe elsewhere but replace it as eventually the plastic one does crack and leak
Also if you're having the rad out - worth checking the air con rad?
https://tvr-parts.com/tvr-parts/part-details/tvr-k...
probably avaialbe elsewhere but replace it as eventually the plastic one does crack and leak
Also if you're having the rad out - worth checking the air con rad?
Thanks all for both the kind wishes and suggestions.
I've managed to get my Whirlwind kit & cooling chip ordered from Jools - that should be in-hand for the weekend.
Need to fix radiator now, it's actually proving hard to find one (apparently there are two versions on the v8 cerb, the change is due to the small pins on the bottom - need to investigate tonight!). Hoping either TVR Power or Racetech can help.
RE: Coolant pipes, Jools (&Mike from Racetech) thought changing the coolant pipes is a high risk activity due to capillary tube; I'm liable to damage the temp sender bulb, when I remove it and I'll regret it. So I think I'll probably take their advice and just paint over the rust to seal it - changing the pipes seems like taking a risk that is only for vanity and has limited relability benefit. Also, silicone hoses sound like a pain to bed -in. I'm going to leave what I've got, they seem water tight and in pretty good condition to me. I think I'll just regret going too mad here, I want to drive the thing, not make hoses pretty So long as I've rock solid cooling, and it's protected, I'm happy. This is all hidden under F panel anyway!
I've managed to get my Whirlwind kit & cooling chip ordered from Jools - that should be in-hand for the weekend.
Need to fix radiator now, it's actually proving hard to find one (apparently there are two versions on the v8 cerb, the change is due to the small pins on the bottom - need to investigate tonight!). Hoping either TVR Power or Racetech can help.
RE: Coolant pipes, Jools (&Mike from Racetech) thought changing the coolant pipes is a high risk activity due to capillary tube; I'm liable to damage the temp sender bulb, when I remove it and I'll regret it. So I think I'll probably take their advice and just paint over the rust to seal it - changing the pipes seems like taking a risk that is only for vanity and has limited relability benefit. Also, silicone hoses sound like a pain to bed -in. I'm going to leave what I've got, they seem water tight and in pretty good condition to me. I think I'll just regret going too mad here, I want to drive the thing, not make hoses pretty
So long as I've rock solid cooling, and it's protected, I'm happy. This is all hidden under F panel anyway!I would advise pin pointing the leak you have first. I had one similar and it was the coolant pipes in front of the engine that had rusted and were weeping, rad was fine.
I totally agree that removing the temp gauge bulb is nerve wracking but lots of penetrating oil over a week or so and gently rocking the fixing back and forth got it free but I do feel I was lucky.
I totally agree that removing the temp gauge bulb is nerve wracking but lots of penetrating oil over a week or so and gently rocking the fixing back and forth got it free but I do feel I was lucky.
SFTWend said:
Sounds like a fantastic example.
Where did you find it? I don't recall seeing it in the classifieds.
It was on ebay under TVR, no mention of cerbera.Where did you find it? I don't recall seeing it in the classifieds.
Only thing I don't like is the lights, but this is how it came in 2001 apparantly, its all PPF protected too.
I also would prefer silver tvr logo and de ginger side and indicator lights to match my tuscan, I'll probably get that done too, but I do like the originality. I'll defo keep all stock parts for sure!
gruffalo said:
I would advise pin pointing the leak you have first. I had one similar and it was the coolant pipes in front of the engine that had rusted and were weeping, rad was fine.
I totally agree that removing the temp gauge bulb is nerve wracking but lots of penetrating oil over a week or so and gently rocking the fixing back and forth got it free but I do feel I was lucky.
You are right, I need to be careful not to chase ghosts, but based on what I can see, I'm 80% sure it will be the rad. I'm going to jack it and check underneath to see if I change my mind. I totally agree that removing the temp gauge bulb is nerve wracking but lots of penetrating oil over a week or so and gently rocking the fixing back and forth got it free but I do feel I was lucky.
There is no liquid or witness on any pipework to/from rad that I can see, just a lot of dampness under the radiator and coolant dripping under the front bumper to floor. So it's either the rad or the hoses that go into the rad, it can't be anything further back than that, like the rails/pipes etc...
The more I think about it, the more I think I'm better to just leave the rest of the cooling system alone as it is. I'll tackle them if they start leaking, otherwise I fear I'm going to spend a lot of time and money refurbishing something that looks to be working fine to me.
I Think I should spend my time doing more important jobs like checking cam shimming and replacing fuel lines. I can always come back to water rails if I want in the future, there isn't any imperative to do it now. OK it's a new toy, but Keep it simple Stu, keep it simple....
stuthe
said:
said: RE: Coolant pipes, Jools (&Mike from Racetech) thought changing the coolant pipes is a high risk activity due to capillary tube; I'm liable to damage the temp sender bulb, when I remove it and I'll regret it. So I think I'll probably take their advice and just paint over the rust to seal it
erm ok, but it's not just a vanity thing. Mine rusted and had a pinprick hole in it, causing a water leak. Still looks like new 10 years on...A good way to locate a water leak (whether coolant or rain!) is to dry it all off and then strategically position pieces of coloured tissue (eg blue roll- freely available at any petrol station!) at suspected/likely points before pressurising the system/ running the engine to temperature/ going for a short run.
As it changes colour when wet, it will tell you where the leak emanates from, rather than where it all ends up, which you already know. Leaving it too long before checking will tell you nothing; you want to see the first beginnings of the leak(s).
As it changes colour when wet, it will tell you where the leak emanates from, rather than where it all ends up, which you already know. Leaving it too long before checking will tell you nothing; you want to see the first beginnings of the leak(s).
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