I have a curious problem that's got me stumped. It's not on any of the
Triumph's but it is engine related. On the Truck, (1.8 liter 4 cyl Mazda)
I noticed the other day when I was about to check the coolant, that when I
unscrewed the cap (14 lb with overflow bottle, refilled 50/50 about a year
ago, clean engine passages/ new radiator etc.) that it spewed coolant all
over the place. This was after sitting unused for a little less than a
week. Yes, you heard right, had NOT been running for about 4 days. Acted
just as if you had opened it after a hard run and it was still hot. I was
rather surprised to say the least. I have done this on several occasions
now and the result is the same. I thought it might be the cap, but can't
see how it would stay pressurized after cooling down. Even if the head
gasket was blown, and EVEN if it was acting like a one way valve, after the
system had cooled down, it should have a negative, or at worst a neutral
pressure. A blown head gasket should/would cause this, but wouldn't HOLD
the pressure after cool down, and there is no evidence of bubbles in the
coolant when running and the usual overheating/hard starting that is so
common with these engines when you blow a gasket. In fact the truck runs a
little cooler than usual! There is also no water in the oil or vise versa
- any ideas?? it's got me stumped, and I've never run across anything like
this in my 25 years of looking at/working on engines. I haven't looked at
the plugs for the telltale sign of a leak into the combustion chambers
because this engine is coming out and a V6 is going in sometime after the
new year, but still, it's perplexing. . .
Barry Schwartz (San Diego) bschwart@pacbell.net
72 V6 Spitfire (daily driver)
70 GT6+ (when I don't drive the Spit)
70 Spitfire
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