I have drained the block before removing the head on my 1956 3.4,through the tap on lower radiator hose.Upon removing the headThe. inlet side of the block has NOT drained at all.What is the route around the engine IE from Radiator to Radiator for the coolant and where should i be looking for a restriction.Water pump has not yet been removed.Over 20 km the engine has been getting hotter than it should .Has only done 2000 miles since rebuild .new radiator etc.I think i may have found the overheating problem TIA
Cool water from radiator>lower hose>pump>left side of block>up through head>right side of block>inlet manifold or water rail>thermostat> header tank>top hose>radiator
I believe there’s a block drain on the left side of every XK block. On some cars, it’s a tap valve like on the radiator, on others it’s a plug.
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Thanks for the floe chart ,Im aware of the block drain below the rear exh manifold,but that is still only draining fluid from the exhaust side of the block.Why is coolant from the inlet side of the block not draining from either the block tap or bottom hose tap(as on xk 140) All the other coolant drained from here.The coolant is to the top of the block in the rear watergalley and the same level in the other openings on that side
IIRC, water ‘flow,’ on the inlet side of the block is somewhat passive.
problem solved…Some muck had got into the tap in the block .Thanks for the replies
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Correct…there is no actual flow from the block up into the inlet side of the head because the water pump outlet only moves coolant thru the upper exhaust side of the block, then thru the head and into the inlet manifold. TOADFOOT should find a pool of coolant behind the water pump in a cavity down and to the left as viewed from front of engine…it is a blind cavity that is not a path into the block.
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