Expelling excess cooling water
Discussion
Hi all -
further to my post last week, I'm now pretty sure that the leaking fluid is water - I've had a similar experience again today.
I've read a lot of people's posts about the cooling system expelling excess water due to being overfilled and I wondered whether anyone could describe this phenomenon to me or put my mind at rest by telling me whether what is descibed below could be put down to this.
I've got an early model T350 without an expansion tank so all filling / measuring is done via the tall aluminium cylinder (does this have a technical name?). The spray pattern of water appears to centre on this cylinder - reaching about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way back along the drivers wing and leaving water on top of the radiators (mine lie flat - not sure if this is typical). There seems to have been a small but appreciable drop in the fluid level (around 10mm) since the last time I measured it.
On both occasions where I have noticed steam from the car, I have spent some time in city traffic at low speeds so the system would have been at an elevated temperature for some time - is it normal for the 'excess' water to be expelled at this time?
Also, as I reversed up to park the car, I got a 'water sensor error' (15 I think?) - does this shed any light on the situation?
Thanks in advance for any replies.
Mark
further to my post last week, I'm now pretty sure that the leaking fluid is water - I've had a similar experience again today.
I've read a lot of people's posts about the cooling system expelling excess water due to being overfilled and I wondered whether anyone could describe this phenomenon to me or put my mind at rest by telling me whether what is descibed below could be put down to this.
I've got an early model T350 without an expansion tank so all filling / measuring is done via the tall aluminium cylinder (does this have a technical name?). The spray pattern of water appears to centre on this cylinder - reaching about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way back along the drivers wing and leaving water on top of the radiators (mine lie flat - not sure if this is typical). There seems to have been a small but appreciable drop in the fluid level (around 10mm) since the last time I measured it.
On both occasions where I have noticed steam from the car, I have spent some time in city traffic at low speeds so the system would have been at an elevated temperature for some time - is it normal for the 'excess' water to be expelled at this time?
Also, as I reversed up to park the car, I got a 'water sensor error' (15 I think?) - does this shed any light on the situation?
Thanks in advance for any replies.
Mark
tail slide said:
Yes this is what they do when overfilled.. probably nothing more than that.
But you didn't say what level you're running at, most like to run at roughly 100mm from top & chuck water out from the blue cap until it's down to that.
Thanks for the reply. The level in mine was around 15mm below the upper hose connection - it's now slightly lower - perhaps 25mm so I guess it's around the 100mm mark that you mentioned. The only thing that is worrying me was that no more water/coolant has been added and it has only recently started spitting water - but as I said both occasions were in town at low speeds for long periods of time so the temperature would have been higher than normal for longer so perhaps that's why.But you didn't say what level you're running at, most like to run at roughly 100mm from top & chuck water out from the blue cap until it's down to that.
I'll keep an eye on the water level over the next few days.
Anyone got a view on the 'Water Sensor' error - I'm slightly paranoid at the moment - can I chalk it off the the usual random / occasional error message or does it need more investigation?
Cheers all,
Mark
Hey mate...
I wouldn't worry about it as most T350s find it's best water level which seems to be half an inch below the pipe which sits about half way up the main swirl pot. If I top it up even a fraction above this pipe I get steam and some water spat out. Once it settles I never need to top it up for Months.
Cheers
I wouldn't worry about it as most T350s find it's best water level which seems to be half an inch below the pipe which sits about half way up the main swirl pot. If I top it up even a fraction above this pipe I get steam and some water spat out. Once it settles I never need to top it up for Months.
Cheers
OK - done some more poking around today - I'm now convinced that this is not 'normal' behaviour - when I checked tonight the swirl pot was nearly empty 
I guess it's a trip to the local indy to see what they can find - anything I can check myself? I can see the hose connector running between the top of the engine and the top of the swirl pot, but the rest of the hoses just seem to disappear.
With the fluid level in the swirl pot so low, am I risking an airlock by just topping up? Or can I do this?
The local indy is only a few miles from me - might I be better getting them to come and pick it up on a truck?
Cheers,
Mark
I guess it's a trip to the local indy to see what they can find - anything I can check myself? I can see the hose connector running between the top of the engine and the top of the swirl pot, but the rest of the hoses just seem to disappear.
With the fluid level in the swirl pot so low, am I risking an airlock by just topping up? Or can I do this?
The local indy is only a few miles from me - might I be better getting them to come and pick it up on a truck?
Cheers,
Mark
Hi Mark, sorry to hear that. You've obviously got a coolant loss somewhere, at the very least.
I guess I should give a little info here & for anyone else who comes across this, as I've had various issues over last year as we worked through range of mods & probs connected with the track-spec engine.
So, top it up to 100mm below cap, then should be fine to drive say 50m like that. Watch temp guage and sit in traffic as little as poss. After one particular long-distance overheating trauma I found that the cooling system works with least heat going into it at at 50-70mph, ideally.
You may hear a little 'chuff' sound occasionally, which is the pressure cap venting. Don't be tempted to undo it and check while hot, it'll make it overheat more afterwards as it releases the pressure and allows bubbles to form inside the engine. As long as temp stays below 105C keep going, if hits 105 you'll probably see steam and have to stop for half an hour, but this is MOST unlikely as what you've described so far suggests just a small pressure leak somewhere.
There's a whole range of possibilities that would be pointless to guess at, I'm sure your Indie will work through by simple checks of pipe connections, pinhole leak in rad, then if no result, pressure testing to 30psi, acid testing for gas in coolant etc.
I guess I should give a little info here & for anyone else who comes across this, as I've had various issues over last year as we worked through range of mods & probs connected with the track-spec engine.
So, top it up to 100mm below cap, then should be fine to drive say 50m like that. Watch temp guage and sit in traffic as little as poss. After one particular long-distance overheating trauma I found that the cooling system works with least heat going into it at at 50-70mph, ideally.
You may hear a little 'chuff' sound occasionally, which is the pressure cap venting. Don't be tempted to undo it and check while hot, it'll make it overheat more afterwards as it releases the pressure and allows bubbles to form inside the engine. As long as temp stays below 105C keep going, if hits 105 you'll probably see steam and have to stop for half an hour, but this is MOST unlikely as what you've described so far suggests just a small pressure leak somewhere.
There's a whole range of possibilities that would be pointless to guess at, I'm sure your Indie will work through by simple checks of pipe connections, pinhole leak in rad, then if no result, pressure testing to 30psi, acid testing for gas in coolant etc.
) of a ride on a low-loader!
Cheers for your kind words guys.
Balance of probabilities was that it was going to be something simple but not being able to get under the car makes stuff like this more difficult to deal with.
Coupled with a healthy dose of new(ish) owner and TVR paranoia and it starts to get a bit worrying!
Anyway - all's well that ends well!
Balance of probabilities was that it was going to be something simple but not being able to get under the car makes stuff like this more difficult to deal with.
Coupled with a healthy dose of new(ish) owner and TVR paranoia and it starts to get a bit worrying!
Anyway - all's well that ends well!
Dave_M said:
Mark, I was sorry to hear of your woes, but it's good news it wasn't anything expensive. Good to hear your back on the road.
Hope the meal went well last night.
Cheers Dave - hoping to use the car as much as possible over the winter - didn't realise how not being able to use it for 5 days would make me miss it so much!Hope the meal went well last night.
Meal was lovely thanks - was a nice end to a couple of years of stress and hard work - not least on the part of Gemma's mum.
Hope to catch up again soon!
Edited by darkmark07 on Saturday 4th October 18:06
Gassing Station | Tamora, T350 & Sagaris | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff