Easier way to open/check water?
Discussion
Yes go to www.shpub.co.uk/tvrextras/tankcoversshop.html
Uses a 10mm allen key which is a lot easier.
>> Edited by shpub on Monday 6th March 07:01
Uses a 10mm allen key which is a lot easier.
>> Edited by shpub on Monday 6th March 07:01
You should have the swirl tank with the nut on the top (that you know about) and in addition another tank near the front wheel (driver's side) that has a big blue cap on it - this is the expansion tank.
However, if your car was built in the changeover period where they started fitting the expansion tank then it is possible you may not have one.
You can't really miss it if you do have one though.
>> Edited by JonRB on Tuesday 7th March 15:00
However, if your car was built in the changeover period where they started fitting the expansion tank then it is possible you may not have one.
You can't really miss it if you do have one though.
>> Edited by JonRB on Tuesday 7th March 15:00
JonRB said:
You should have the swirl tank with the nut on the top (that you know about) and in addition another tank near the front wheel (driver's side) that has a big blue cap on it - this is the expansion tank.
However, if your car was built in the changeover period where they started fitting the expansion tank then it is possible you may not have one.
You can't really miss it if you do have one though.
>> Edited by JonRB on Tuesday 7th March 15:00
Even if you have the earlier single tank, it still has the blue cap on it. Or so I thought.
Ian A.
[quote=JonRBI wouldn't know. I have the later model. 
Is this the same as the large VW/Audi-sourced pressure cap that is on the expansion tank of my car? Or is it a smaller / different sort?[/quote]
On the one's I've seen, the single tank systems have the same VW cap as the later models. They are just missing the brass nut.
Ian.
Is this the same as the large VW/Audi-sourced pressure cap that is on the expansion tank of my car? Or is it a smaller / different sort?[/quote]
On the one's I've seen, the single tank systems have the same VW cap as the later models. They are just missing the brass nut.
Ian.
Ok folks, we do have an expansion tank at the front of the engine bay with a blue "hand removable" cap. The manual says to fill the car from the header tank with the stupid metal cap.
If you fill from the expansion tank - how much water should be in it? There wasnt very much water in the expansion tank...
If you fill from the expansion tank - how much water should be in it? There wasnt very much water in the expansion tank...
It won't normally have very much in it, but to a casual glance 'almost empty' and 'actually empty' look very similar so checking the level here carries some risk. You should find that if you look into the top of the expansion tank and squeaze the top hose this will pump a small amount of water in and out of the expansion tank. Getting water pumped in shows that the swirl tank is full. You can also use this to gradually fill up the swirl tank from the expansion tank, because if there is air in the swirl tank it will blow air into the expansion tank and then suck back water. It's quite a slow process though, you would be better off filling via the swirl tank.
If the air volume is too small, it will blow a small quantity of water out when it gets hot. Once it's done this it should find its own level though. Overfilling is relatively safe - underfilling is the big danger. If you're in any doubt at all about the state of the cooling system, check that you have hot air coming out of the cabin heater. This shows that you have *some* coolant circulating, and if you are only driving gently you can get away with very little coolant circulation without destroying the engine.
The Griffs expansion tank is relatively empty - they are different and you will just have to learn what is the level it is happy with. If that's almost empty then you will just need to keep a check on it.
I would initially bleed the system as per the bible and then just top up via the header tank (with blue Audi/VW expansion cap). This way you'll no there is no air in the system - takes abut 10 minutes.
The header tank cap from Steve Heath is great and looks much neater than the brass thing that I could only remove with a crowbar previously.
FFG
I would initially bleed the system as per the bible and then just top up via the header tank (with blue Audi/VW expansion cap). This way you'll no there is no air in the system - takes abut 10 minutes.
The header tank cap from Steve Heath is great and looks much neater than the brass thing that I could only remove with a crowbar previously.
FFG
For topping up the coolant, checking the level of the expansion tank and adding a little that way is the way to do it.
However, if the level is particularly low and you are doing a more serious partial refill (as I was regularly doing when I had a coolant leak) then you will want to do the full procedure via the header tank.
However, if the level is particularly low and you are doing a more serious partial refill (as I was regularly doing when I had a coolant leak) then you will want to do the full procedure via the header tank.
JonRB said:Not the way I do it. This is a primed system so filling from somewhere so low down makes no sense to me. It's an expansion tank not a filling point. The top hose on the swirl pot is the highest point on the water system so that is where air will collect. Putting water in the expansion tank won't remove air from the swirl pot, it'll just sit in there and if there's too much water it'll spit it out. You have to replace the air with water and the only place you can do that is at the swirl pot.
For topping up the coolant, checking the level of the expansion tank and adding a little that way is the way to do it.
Run of the mill cars have their expansion tank mounted at the high point so that they can serve as a fill point too. That's not the case with our cars.
Oh and by the way air in this primed system is a bad thing. It finds its way to the pump and stops water circulation.
>> Edited by tvrbob on Saturday 11th March 19:53
Gassing Station | Chimaera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff