For those of you that have a few minutes to spare, I'll
relate the most recent TR6 breakdown story in my life...
First, a little background -- I have been driving
my 1970 Triumph TR6 as my daily transportation for the
past few months. The first 3 miles of my homeward
drive are in the city of Nashua, before I get on the
highway to cover most of the distance back to my house.
Last Friday, driving home from work, my TR6 started up
and ran normally, but about 2 miles into my 23-mile trip,
while I was crossing the Merrimack River in moderate traffic,
I noticed the telltale sickly-sweet aroma that heralds
leaking coolant. (If you've ever smelled leaking coolant,
you know what I mean.) As I slowed down to wait at the
stop light, I took a look at the temperature gauge,
and it was right in its normal spot. Since I had the
top down, I figured it may be from some of the other
cars around me waiting at the light, but none of them
seemed to be leaking coolant.
After the light turned green, I continued on through a
another light, and the sickly-sweet smell didn't go
away -- ut oh, it must be from my car! At this point,
I noticed the temperature gauge slowly starting to
climb towards the 3/4 mark, so I pulled over into a
shopping center with an auto parts store, to check
things out, rather than get onto the highway in
just two more blocks.
I shut down the car and popped the hood. As soon as I
opened the hood, it was clear that my car was responsible
for the sickly-sweet smell, as there was coolant all over
the engine compartment, but I couldn't see where it had been
coming from -- nothing was still spraying out as I would
have expected. I figured it may only be leaking while the
engine was on, so I started the car. As soon as the car was
started, it was clear where the leak was, as coolant was
spitting up in the air from the rear of the engine block,
where one of the heater hoses had come entirely disconnected,
waving in the breeze!
After shutting the car back off, a quick check revealed
that the heater hose seemed fine, except that it had
come off the pipe. I didn't have a toolbox in the car,
but used the screwdriver on my Swiss army knife to
retighten the hose clamp, filled up the radiator with
water from a Subway in the shopping center. (It is
somewhat embarrassing having to ask for a few large
glasses of warm water for one's car.)
With the hose tightened down, and water in the radiator,
the car ran like a top all the rest of the way home!
Tip for the day: check those hose connections from
time to time!
--ken
'70 & '74 TR6 Daily Drivers
--
Kenneth B. Streeter | EMAIL: streeter@sanders.com
Sanders, PTP2-A001 |
PO Box 868 | Voice: (603) 885-9604
Nashua, NH 03061 | Fax: (603) 885-0631
|