[Mgs] Sourcing radiator hoses

PaulHunt73 paulhunt73 at virginmedia.com
Tue Sep 3 08:40:01 MDT 2019


Unless you have a radiator cap that has a higher rated pressure than it should have, or it is faulty, then the split hose is simply down to poor quality.  Nothing to do with air, if you didn't get all of that out and coolant was boiling it should simply vent any excess pressure from the cap.  According to Clausager the cap was 10lb until 1976, when it became 13lb.  MGCs had 14lb and V8s 15lb so even those shouldn't cause a problem.

You could cause the coolant to boil on a perfect system if the temps were very high, and you used the car really hard, but that would show on the temp gauge.  However I have found that if the coolant level drops for any reason, that DOESN'T show on the gauge.

Getting all the air out should need nothing more than filling the system and first engine run with the nose slightly higher than the rear, and the heater valve opened.  Once that has percolated round and you allow it to cool and top up as necessary, any remaining air should work its way into the rad (expansion tank on 77 and later) over the next couple of heat/cool cycles (normal driving) where you can keep an eye on level.

However the thermostat can cause a major problem with getting enough coolant in.  They should have a vent, which originally consisted of a jiggle valve in the outer disc, or a small notch in the edge of the opening valve.  But some here in the UK have had neither, and they trap a huge amount of air.  I've had to drill a 2mm hole in the outer disc of one of mine.

PaulH.
  ----- Original Message ----- 


  Upon raising the bonnet, I saw evidence of a coolant leak, and then found the split place in the upper radiator hose. The car's been sitting in my garage ever since as I haven't yet had time to deal with that.


  Is this the fault of a bad hose, or did I fail to get all of the air out of the system, or was it just too hot that day to safely be driving the car? I'm going to assume that I can still find hoses at NAPA, but does anyone have any suggestions about that?
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