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Tom:
I recall some time back you posted info about the pressure cap for the
cooling system recovery tank. Looked for that e-mail, but couldn't find
it.
As I recall, you said it should be 15 lbs. NAPA looked it up in "the
book", and said it should be 7, and sold me a cap for that pressure.
Turns out with the 7# cap, it dumps coolant into the overflow upon
shutting down. The cap which had been in use for at least the last 18
years, appears to have 14# on the top. They also cut me a piece of
heater hose after I gave them a sample which I had removed. Wrong
again, turns out, what they cut was 5/8ths, rather than what appears to
be 1/2". Shoulda noticed it at the time, but my mind was on other
things. While "I've got you on the line", I might as well ask some
further questions :-).
I had experienced a problem of running hotter than normal and a loss of
coolant. Finally identified the leak to be a "pin hole leak" in the
metal line, attached to the carb heat shield, which supplies the
heater. It appears to be very badly corroded, so I decided, "Why not
run a hose from the head connection, bypassing the intake manifold,
(past that "always frozen" manual bypass valve), connected directly to
the heater supply, and do the return to the water pump in a similar
manner? I suppose I would lose some "preheat" of the intake manifold
(if that's why it's plumbed that way), but figure that would be
inconsequential.
As a temporary measure I've bypassed the whole mess by connecting the
return hose to the water pump directly to the outlet from the head.
(Actually, in Hawaii, this could be the final solution, since all I use
the heater for is VERY occasional "demisting").
BUT, with that bypass in place and the old (14# ?) cap in place, I'm
still running hot. The system is tight, now--no coolant loss. I just
used a Prestone flush for the cooling system, following their
directions. I had been running hotter than usual coming up the
mountain, for quite a while before the leak developed. A lot of the
cooling fins on the radiator front face have flaked off.
Thoughts?
BTW, I enjoyed your Bavarian "Mist" Wagon joke!
Dave
'68 1660
Kailua-Kona
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