Which Expansion Tank?

[Guest boggie]

Thanks all for the advice, what a great resource this forum is!

Unfortunately I didn't go to the scrappy at the weekend as due to the 100 degree heat I was forced to go for liquid refreshment in a country pub but I will be at the breakers once the weather has turned more British.

Boggie

[Big Jim]

A nice tank to use and mount is the one from an SDI Rover (or early 3500) you can use a 'blank' cap so that it can breath, or you can use it as a proper header tank, with a pressurised cap on. I have used this method for the last few years, and just come back from France, where I've been upsetting the 205GT guy's, plus cruising at around 90mph, in the heat that we've had, and never used a drop of water in the 2800+ miles I've done.

[Guest Brynjon]

Guys - I am assuming I am having a similar problem. I currently only have a radiator with standard springed cap. Its fine when I am driving about but when I come to garage her she spills about a pint of coolant every time. I have a great electric fan with adjustable thermostat which keeps her cool and keeps going for up to 30 minutes dependant on what temp I set the stat at. It still throws out water. I had thought a deeper rad cap but I am assuming all I need is a resevoir. Is that right?

 

Regards - Bryn

[Big Jim]

go to the top of the page, click "search" put "cooling" into the search box, then spend a while reading all the previous posts about it. you will find out all you need to know there.

[Guest morty]

Do you all remember this years Newark kit car show?

 

Bloody scorching wasn't it! After a rather exuberant drive home by my dad (roundabouts to M1 northbound) in the supra, we got home to find water pissing all over the road, so naturally thought we must've blown the radiator. Upon poppin the bonnet, the water was actually coming from the overflow from the expansion tank, which normally has about half a pint of it's 2 pint capacity full - it's a sizable tank - too big for a hood.

 

In the morning, it'd sucked it's pot nearly dry, thus leading me to think

 

Should this be expected? the filling the expansion tank and some, not the sucking back in bit.

 

Is it just due to the extreme heat of june and caning?

 

Morty

[Big Jim]

No that's not right. It sounds like you have a potential problem, head gasket, sticky t/stat (if your lucky)

Without an expansion tank, you would "evacuate" about ½pint of water from the radiator, by fitting the expansion/header tank, this is caught there, then returns to the radiator when the system cools down. If it's throwing considerably more than that out, you have a problem Houston!

[Guest morty]

Jim,

 

It's only that once it did it but

 

SHI*E!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Toyotas are expensive to fix:

 

£55 a bearing to recon a diff 3 of

£75 a big pinion bearing

£25 an oil seal 3 of

£200 a length of door trim - sourced from scrappers for £15 with other bits - the only bit we could get that didn't come from the dealers (Johnson Toyota, Huddersfield - avoid it like the plague with SARS on top)

 

We'll see how it goes!

Morty

[Big Jim]

Just hope that it was your t/stat that stuck a bit.

See if it does it again, meanwhile, save up!

[Guest morty]

If it ends up expensive, we'll chop it in for a manual one, where it'll pull when you want it to, not when the gearbox fancies it and maybe see some donuts

 

morty