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16 More cooling tips Jim Gibson (Flamenco Red 2435) from Leicestershire adds some details to the current V8 cooling topic. (Jan 80) Just some more notes on the MGBGTV8 cooling system covering replacement expansion tanks and the steam pipe from the inlet manifold to the thermostat housing. Replacement expansion tank The brass expansion tank on my V8 had split at the seam - the horizontal seam where one half is folded over the other. Thinking this would be a tricky place to make a solder and not liking to think of the price of a new one (brass, remember), I visited a local car breaker and found a variety of shapes and sizes of tanks fitted to Leyland cars. For example, the Triumph Dolomite appears to have the same size of tank as the MGBGTV8. However if you are not worried about originality, or having a nicely polished tank, then some Leyland cars have a moulded plastic tank. The one I got came from an Allegro (sorry!) but had mounting brackets moulded on, but these were easily cut off and then the tank fits the mounting clip on the | V8
in the same way as the metal unit. The hose connection on the plastic tank is
lower than on the brass unit and the hose from the radiator is only just long
enough, so I used the longer hose that was on the "new" tank taken from
an Allegro. The advantage of a translucent plastic expansion tank is that the
coolant level can be seen at a glance without needing to remove the pressure cap. Steam pipe from the inlet manifold to the thermostat housing If the pipe feels less hot than the top hose to the radiator when the engine is warmed up, this can be an indication that the pipe or the spigots to which it connects are blocked. The spigot on the manifold is of small diameter and quite deep into the manifold, and is therefore prone to get blocked by any gunge floating around the cooling system. Because of its position, the pipe can easily be removed with very little loss of coolant. Blocked spigots can be cleared by probing with a length of stiff wire. If a blockage re-occurs or the coolant appears very dirty, then draining and flushing the system may be necessary. Copyright reserved by the V8 Register |