Gee Jim, that sounds an awful lot like the one that the factory installed my
77B, except they used a metal tank instead of an oil bottle. And in '78, '79 &
'80, also. And it's also what I have in my '52TD, thanks to Skip Kelsey.
Bud Krueger
52TD
77MGB
James H. Nazarian wrote:
> Autumn; this is certainly the right time of year to make sure the
> cooling system is running at peak performance. The other times are
> Summer, Winter and Spring. MG's did not ever, to my knowledge come with
> a coolant overflow bottle, but should have.
>
> Find an empty 1 quart oil bottle. The rectangular plastic kind with the
> spout offset to one side will do fine. Clean it with dish washing
> detergent. Place the bottle over on the left side of the radiator
> surround where it meets the inner wheel well. Secure the bottle with a
> wire tie or any other elegant solution you can come up with. Take the
> radiator vent tube off, and replace it with a longer one that can reach
> through the spout to the bottom of your antiseptically clean oil bottle.
> Mix some antifreeze 50:50 solution, and fill the radiator to the top.
> replace the radiator cap. Put 2-3" of the remaining mixture into the new
> reservoir bottle, making sure the end of the tube remains submerged.
>
> When the coolant gets hot and expands, instead of spitting the excess
> down on the pavement for a dog to lick up, the excess will be caught in
> the bottle. Because engine oil is lighter than coolant, it floats to the
> top of the reservoir. Thus you also have an early warning system of head
> gasket, etc. leaks between coolant and oil passages. As the radiator
> cools down between runs, the contracting fluid will develop a vacuum in
> the cooling system, drawing fluid from the only available source... your
> new spiffy reservoir. Thus, you will not have air in your radiator any
> more, just coolant. In the 12 years I've been doing this, I don't have
> to worry if my radiator needs to be topped up. It's always topped up.
>
> Jim
|