TVR water problem

[Litcoat]

Alright all, trying to sort out a problem on the Chimaera, sometimes the car uses all the water in the catch tank and sometimes it fills the tank to overflowing, it's got me baffled, bled the system through, replaced the thermostat, no water in the oil or blowing into a cylinder so head gaskets ok , top hat liners in the cylinders so that should be ok, anybody have an idea?

Cheers Mark

[HustleRussell]

Air lock. Drain and re-bleed.

[PRTVR]

Did you use the swirl pot to vent the system? I raised the front of the car on ramps to assist the venting of the system.

[Litcoat]

Thanks for the replies, it's that little high bit next to the swirl pot that's the problem, I'll try the ramps, do you have to drain it down and start again, I've just filled the system with anti freeze.

Cheers Mark

Yes, I bleed it via the swirl pot

Edited by Litcoat on Tuesday 6th June 22:44

[Classic Chim]

Ideally you want a container such as a big funnel and screw it into the swirl pot so you can overfill the system, Heater on hot
Bleed out rad and also undo the small hose that should protrude of the inlet manifold on the l/h side by the plenum until coolant runs freely. Nip both up, hopefully your funnel still has coolant in it and top up, run engine upto temp and after thermostat opens squeeze rad hoses and Rev engine up and down to aid pushing bubbles out keeping enough coolant in the funnel so it always stays higher then the engine. Fans should kick in and out. Remove funnel and spill hot coolant everywhere screw swirl pot bung in. Start with expansion bottle 1/3 full, don't get it to hot or it will boil over. When engine is fully cooled check expansion bottle, top up if necessary, run it again and hopefully temps and fans kick in and OUT a few times. Check expansion when cold and if it's bled properly the exp bottle level will stay consistent from now on.

[Litcoat]

Thanks for that

[Classic Chim]

if it helps someone
Take close inspection of both the O ring on the swirl pot bung and the fibre washer on the rad bleed screw, I had problems and mine kept drawing air into the system, replaced both these items and alls well.

[QBee]

Classic Chim said:

if it helps someone
Take close inspection of both the O ring on the swirl pot bung and the fibre washer on the rad bleed screw, I had problems and mine kept drawing air into the system, replaced both these items and alls well.

That's good news my friend - I was seriously worried you had fried the engine, or at the very least the head gaskets.

[Classic Chim]

QBee said:

That's good news my friend - I was seriously worried you had fried the engine, or at the very least the head gaskets.

My brass swirl pot bung had a crack in it so replaced that and the rad bleed fibre washer and no air since that day.

[Litcoat]

Good advice, I'll check/replace them both.

Cheers Mark

[Litcoat]

I think it might be more than an air lock, went through all the steps let her warm up kept it topped up then the header tank filled up and started overflowing as did the funnel and when I switched off the engine it was like a volcano boiling out. Any thoughts on the problem, could the water pump be knackered? Fans didn't kick in either

Cheers Mark

Edited by Litcoat on Friday 9th June 20:23

[Colin RedGriff]

Sounds like it got too hot and boiled over. If the fans didn't kick in you should check that out, try shorting out the otter switch connections, the fans should start up.

Water pump failure tends to be a seal failure and they start to leak rather than failing to circulate water. Dad your radiator get hot? Might be worth checking the thermostat has seized shut

[Litcoat]

It's a brand new thermostat, the fans were working fine earlier in the week, everything got hot

Edited by Litcoat on Friday 9th June 21:49

[N7GTX]

Did you start with the expansion tank approx 1/3rd full? And did you refit the cap before going through the procedure as Classic Chim suggested? The cap has to be on. Still sounds like a lot of trapped wind in the system.

Edited by N7GTX on Saturday 10th June 08:15

[Classic Chim]

Yes ^^^^^^ this. Sorry I didn't make that clear. Exp cap screwed on tight and 1/3 full when starting the process. As the system is not under pressure whilst doing this it will boil over eventually. Start again and within minutes your rad hoses should start to get hot,blip engine to over 4000 revs and any bubbles or air in the system should get forced to the top and into your funnel. This speeds up the process. If you bleed the rad and inlet bleed pipe properly there shouldn't be much air to expell.

Do check your fans are working first to check Otto switch operation. You want fans to kick in and out at least once and as long as no more air present that should do it.

[Classic Chim]

If your engine forcing gases into the coolant one way to assess it is once you've ran the engine up for sometime and then let it cool, stick your nose into the exp tank and smell it. If it smells of anything other than coolant you may have an issue. i replaced two year old coolant and it was as clear and clean as the new coolant going in. It smelt the same as the bottle of anti freeze.
Anything other than that smell needs investigating further. Simple test and hardly scientific but should tell you more.
If the system is getting pressurised via engine gases another little trick is leave the car at least 24 hrs before removing expansion cap and you might still Hear a hiss as you loosen cap. This can be a sign things are not well.
Don't panic yet. The car WILL boil over when bleeding / filing the system if your fans are not kicking in.
Determine if the fans are working before carrying on.
Goodluck.

[Loubaruch]

I had a similar problem many years ago on a Griffith. The cooling system is probably a bit different on the Chimera but maybe worth a look:

http://www.bertram-hill.com/griffith-cooling-syste...

[Litcoat]

Alright all, thanks for the continued help, I had the cap on second time I tried, shorted across the terminals for the fans and they work though I think the new thermostat might be a hotter one than was in originally as the car always ran cold and that's why the fans aren't kicking in. Back to the shed for the second round. Just thought on, which is the little pipe, is it the one that comes out under the coil

Cheers Mark

Edited by Litcoat on Saturday 10th June 17:52

[QBee]

Showed my wife your photo "ooh, that's your car". No, but it did give us a chance to discuss headlight upgrades.....

[Litcoat]

What are those seats you have? They look good, your wing mirrors are different, are your door buttons still in them, great looking cars aren't they