At 09:26 PM 5/30/02 -0400, BrYarboro@aol.com wrote:
>Hi folks;
>Recently, I found that the 6 psi radiator cap was not holding pressure. Went
>to the local NAPA store to get another, but wasn't sure if the 13 psi or 6
>psi was right. He looked it up and his little book said 13 psi cap. Installed
>it and discovered that water has leaking from somewhere and hitting the fan
>and spraying all over the bonnet underside. The only place I see any trace of
>water is at the thermostat gasket, which was replaced , with the thermostat,
>in the fall. So, do I have a bad gasket, or is 13 psi too much pressure? I'm
>going to try a 6 psi cap tomorrow and see what happens, but I'd like to be
>sure its safe to drive to Lime Rock CT (about 1.5 hours) on Saturday for the
>vintage races there. ( By the way, is anybody else going there? I'd love to
>try and meet there, if possible.)
13 pounds is the correct pressure rating for the Spitfire. It is a common
'trick' for some folks to reduce the chance of leaks due to poor system
conditions by putting in a lower psi cap. What it really does is cause
your cooling system to work harder and boil over sooner than if you keep it
in good condition in the first place. NAPA will sell you a Balkamp stock
replacement brand that is quite good- we used to sell them to the auto
dealerships in my home town since we had a better stock and turnaround time
than they could get internally.
Stock thermostats for UK spec cars are 180 degrees with US cars taking 190F.
-Vegaman Dan
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