Hi All,
Speaking of radiator problems, any help with the following nagging
questions would be greatly appreciated:
1. I discoverd a couple of pin hole sized leaks about where the filler tube
meets the radiator top. I tried some Barr's radiator leak fixer (America's
favorite since 1947, says so right on the label). It seems to have helped
but not completely fixed both leaks, at least not after about an hour of
driving around. Do I give it another chance, or fix the radiator?
2. To fix the radiator - do I take it to a pro, or can I solder it myself?
Can I use a soldering iron, or is it torch time? The real issue is the 3
day weekend coming up with lots of opportunity to be driving, not waiting
for a repair shop to return my radiator.
3. Not being bright enough to look under the hood when all that fluid was
falling on the street, I just assumed that it was coming out of the
overflow, so I went to my friendly NAPA dealer and bought an overflow kit.
(this is a '61 TR3- pre overflow bottles). I installed it but it doesn't
seem to work in the refill mode. What's the mechanism that keeps the
pressure on the cap and the suction in the tube? I have a 7 lb TR4 cap,
could that be the problem? I didn't want to use the cap that came with the
kit because the reach is too short for the neck, of course.
4. Even though the radiator was staying pretty full, I couldn't keep it
from running hot this weekend. Could be the 90 degree air temps was a big
factor. I have a 180 thermostat in now. I have a 160 on the shelf, I could
install it but will there be any difference? The thermostat will open
sooner, but won't stop the temperature from going up to 200 anymore than
the 180 thermostat did, will it?
I've done all the other stuff; shroud, flush, blocked the bypass, water wetter.
My wife said if I want to keep the car running cool, I should move to
Iceland. Seems a little extreme.
Thanks again,
BobK
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