Gurgling sound

[coetzeeh]

I'm a bit baffled by the symptoms on my car, and have searched previous threads - I still need some advice please.

A few months ago I asked a local garage to do some pre winter work on my Griff 500. I also asked them to flush & refill the cooling system as I became aware of a gurgling noise sometimes(not always) after switching off. Bear in mind they often service RV8 (Seen Chims, Griff and Morgan V8's serviced).

The gurgling noise has not gone away. I checked the swirl pot today and it was virtually full (it needed maybe 100ml to top up). The pipe running from the top of the engine to the swirl pot does not feel as if it is full of water (is this normal?).

The level in the reservoir (with the blue screw top) varies. It could be full, half or sometimes empty (I then fill it tp the weld - about half way).

I am feeling uneasy - dont want to cook the heads.. all temp indications are normal. Car sits at 65/70 deg in cruise - in traffic it will slowly creep to 90 deg, the fans kick in and the temps come down.

And yet, when I switch off the car, I hear this bloody gurgling noise as if there is air in the system. How do I get rid of the air please?

Thanks in advance
Henk

[jester7]

Sounds like there is a a small leak somewhere. I had a similar problem when i first got my Griff. I could nt find the leak any where. Was only when i had someone in the car revving it (putting the water system under pressure) that i found it. Steve Heath sells an adaptor that you fit inline on the water system, then use a pump to pressurize it. An easy way to find leaks!!! If you do have dodgy hoses, good investment is silicon hoses and stainless water pipes. I know ACT sells them?? Cheers Ian

[Wildfire]

Have you tried bleeding the water system? With the controls set to hot. My S3 used to do this until I did. You should find the bleed scre on the top corner of the Rad. IIRC it varies as to which corner it's on.

[spend]

Not sure if this applies but on my pre-serp Chim (heater matrix in same place isnt it?) I used to notice this until I found that a drain / refill seems to work better with the nose up in the air (did a drain/refill during oil service). I just drive up on ramps now if I need to top up - I just assume getting the rad bleed nearer to level with the filler and heater matrix makes it easier.

Dave

[DarkMatter]

spend said:

I just drive up on ramps now

Sorry to go off topic, but you can drive your Griff up onto ramps? Are they some sort of low profile/long run-up ramps?
I can't even get a Vauxhall Corsa onto my ramps. I'm sure I once saw some ramps that fold flat to get the car onto, and then could be raised via a screw thread.

[spend]

Its a Chim, but if you are serious you will go to your local timber yard, come back with a load of 8x2 and start slicing it up to make your own ramps / runways :- you need them to get the jack under any way - just take it a step further & make some more - they are quite useful to have around.

Dave

[DarkMatter]

Thanks Dave - sounds like a good suggestion, and maybe a good topic for a new thread. btw, I had in mind a ramp for my Griff, as well as the Corsa/Mini/Audi in the family.

[spend]

DarkMatter said:

Thanks Dave - sounds like a good suggestion, and maybe a good topic for a new thread. btw, I had in mind a ramp for my Griff, as well as the Corsa/Mini/Audi in the family.

Its hidden somewhere in the deep dark vaults of the ph search bin :-)

Dave

[bluebottle]

Off topic still, but I don't have any problem with driving my Griff onto my old Halfords ramps(admittedly very old ramps from my student days)

[spend]

You obviously need to fit a splitter then :-)

[jeffsy]

Back on topic ...I had the same noises with my previous engine - both occasionally when stopped but usually when I undid the blue reservoir top. It was as if the liquid or air was reverberating back through the system. Despite bleeding and mentioning it when it was in for servicing it didnt stop.

Worth getting checked out thoroighly as look what happened to my engine!!

Doesnt happen now with the new set up

[coetzeeh]

Thanks for all the replies.

I've run the car up to temp on three occasions now, and checked the swirl pot after the engine cooled down (cold). I managed to get about 100ml of water in every time, and on the last run I did not hear the gurgling.

I will continue to check both swirl pot and expansion tank after every run (the weather has turned shaite now)

My car is due for service at Tower View in the next month or two - I'm sure Mark will solve the problem.

Now the gurling noise has been replaced by a chirping tensioner......grrrrrrr - perhaps I'm just being paranoid...