I was greeted with a large puddle under the car after a nice drive yesterday. Looks to be a mix of coolant and oil. I know you are all shocked
Oil level looks good, there is some by the engine/id plate. I am more concerned about coolant. I am due to bring the car in for some work and its post purchase inspection next week, and the mechanic told me to check the coolant level at the radiator, not just the reservoir.
Well, the reservoir is quite low (and the PO was kind of enough to keep coolant in the engine bay). So my question is how do I check at the radiator? Iāve only done via the reservoir.
Sorry if this is basic, but Iām pretty new to this and would rather look silly and do it correctly.
With the engine cold, you can remove the cap on the radiator - it should be full to the brim, if not, top it up.
Experience will guide you as to how full the reservoir tank should be - about halfway is probably right. Get it too full and it will puke the excess thru that tube coming from the neck below the cap.
Puddle was kind of big so hard to tell. But the fluids were clearly separate. This is based on my cleaning, some towels were red, others dark brown.
I added about 2ā of coolant (so Iām .5ā above filter as it says). Started the car and let it run for a few minutes. Nothing on ground and coolant level was still ok).
I checked at radiator and I saw no coolant. When car cools down, Iāll check again. Iād be hesitant to add more as the reservoir looks ok now.
Again, itās next drive us probably 6 miles to the shop.
A couple of thoughts: As you have 2 coolant caps, one on the radiator, and one on the expansion tank, you need to make sure you have the caps in the right position - itās not unknown for some PO to switch themā¦ The cap on the radiator should be a blank cap - that is, it should not have a spring with sealing disk on the underside. The cap on the expansion tank should have the spring/sealing disk on the underside. It will probably be marked on the top with a number representing the pressure limit of the spring. I think it is 7 for non-A/C cars, and maybe 13 for A/C cars. Maybe i misunderstood your post (should āfilterā read āfillerā), but is sounds like you did not fill the radiator, but instead put some coolant in the expansion tank. If so, you should heed Geoās advice. You need to fill the radiator (with the blank cap) to the top when cold. The expansion tank should be 1/2 full or less when cold. Mine has much less than 1/2 in when cold. If I put any more in, it will be expelled when the engine reaches operating temperature. The expansion tankās purpose is to ensure that the radiator is full when cold, by accommodating the coolant overflow as the engine warms up, and then returning it to the radiator as the engine cools down.
David, I did the same thing with my 2002 Thunderbird, so donāt feel too bad. I topped up both the PS and hydraulic fan reservoirs with coolant. Not a smart thing to do but the caps are poorly marked.
Suck as much fluid as you can from the PS reservoir. Disconnect the PS hoses at the steering rack and drain as much of the fluid as you can. Let it drain overnight. Refill, circulate the fluid and drain it again. I hope you have much better luck than me because eventually I had to replace the PS pump and PS rack on the T-Bird. Hopefully that wonāt be necessary for you.
Andy, thanks! I flushed the system once and refilled. The system is still pepto colored :-/
Should be ok to make it to the mechanic for my appt next week as I donāt plan on driving it until then.
I feel dumb. Also, I lost a 13mm socket somewhere behind the battery. We heard it drop and hit the base but itās gone. Hopefully a proper flush and it will be fine. What symptoms did you see that caused you to replace the pump and rack?
DSD,previous owner might have topped it up and once you ran it to temp it overflowed.
Be safe open the heater valve all the way and run the car with the capoff, once the thermostat opens you will know the amount.
Keep going kid,its a learning curve
see you in may!!!
You can call me anytine forhelp
gtjoey1314
Hi David, I had very little power assist at parking lot speeds. It was OK on the road but hard to maneuver around tight parking lots. It may not have been related to my adding coolant to the system; my mechanic didnāt think it was related.
BTW on my 69 S2 Iāve had a difficult time locating coolant leaks and had a drip from the heater hose and stainless steel heater tube connection at the back of the water pump under the manifold. I only found it when I pressure tested the system up to 15psi.
Have you removed the caps and compared them - to a casual observer they look about the same until you have them off and compare them.
The one on the radiator should not have the bit that extends down and seals the flow against pressure. Easy enough to order a replacement if you have the wrong one - and youāll even have a spare pressure cap when youāre done.
The cap you show is a pressure cap (rated at 7lb). That is not what you require for the radiator of a Series 2. You need a blanking cap. On the XKs website, the part number is JA-EAC3424. Itās worth noting that when I bought such a cap from one of the usuals (canāt remember which), the part I received was not great quality - the gauge of the metal was much thinner than the original. It worked fine, until I tightened it a little too strongly and I guess the extra torque caused the metal rim to distort. The next time I stopped the car after an āexuberantā drive, the pressure of the hot coolant caused the cap to pop off and coolant to go everywhere. I found that Stant #10203 blanking caps seem to be more sturdily made FWIW. Great to see that you have your E-Type and are already getting into itā¦
Thanks, David. I just put that cap in a Rock Auto shopping cart waiting to add to it- and thereās a question I have about spark plugs that Iāll ask in a separate thread.
Iām into the car like a kid would be into toys on Christmas day. No need to wait for the tree to come down.
Carlo
In the past I have tried many blanking caps from the usual suppliers and they all leaked. If you can find a cap made by āWaxstatā from the UK it is the best one, made as the original.
Glenn
I slightly bent the tabs that āwrapā around the underside of the flange on the water neck so the cap applies more pressure on the gasket when you turn it to fully seat the gasket. No more leakage problems there.
