DoctorDee

Thanks everyone....it functioned before the winter lay up and repipe. However, it was never stable...it almost functioned like a tacho.....cept it didn't drop below 50 ish... It has a separate warning light and lights up to maximum on ignition.....It's basically a circular dial with LED's around the circumference of the face which light up sequentially. I'll start with wiring as that has been disturbed during the re-pipe Thanks for the suggestions and support

My understanding that the OP relief valve is a sump off job.....I'm not up to this at the mo .... well the advice from the medical profession is that mowing the lawn is as good as it get.. Any silly shortcuts available... The MOT is a month out of date and the tester is ten miles away

Thanks Bob.....gradually getting there but as I did a bit of a re visit at the weekend have to take it steady.... Thanks for the info

The last thing I remember is carrying out an oil and filter change on Gladys. Then there was the coronary......ooooer Anyway, back on the road to recovery..... who's a lucky boy cos I'm still upright and breathing. Whilst the NHS were giving me an MOT. Glady's ran out of hers. With some help from my youngest we finished re-piping the cooling system and converting to suck and spit. Replaced much of the fuel hose Then turned the key from outside the car. The Zetec fired first time and ran on 6 month old fuel..... Blow from the exhaust manifold/ cylinder head gasket. Glady's is fitted with a digital oil pressure gauge......it is showing all the way round the dial...which is 100lbs psi... Never dropped down at all during run .....engine temperature fine, no oil leaks... Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated

I would dearly love to retain the existing fan an install it behind the rad.......Unfortunately...see piccie..(View of rad from rear)......I'm pretty sure I will have to go to an to aftermarket fan.....them construct a cowl to direct as much air into the rad as possible

Apologies for the delay in thanking everyone for their assistance....It is much appreciated....Bin laid up by some wonderful bug....

Thanks everyone. Thanks Lotus paul, please don't apologise.

Me again......Gladys in the Nude....Can anyone identify the donor vehicle the fan came from..... I want to fit a fan on the back of the rad to improve air flow which means binning this one....... As I'm an electrical numpty if it is sierra what would be the amp rating on the motor....The standard of the power supply to the fan motor indicates the quality of the wiring on the whole vehicle ....winging over....Any help would be as always much appreciated

Thanks for the help on this...... I had to fit a different battery with a higher CCA....The posts are reversed, as a consequence the cables as fitted by the builder are a disaster zone..I needed to understand the logic behind the type of replacements I should obtain. Thanks for the reference to VWP. Used to use them in my Triking days, your reminder was timely.Once again,thanks. Off to my local John Deere dealership.

If I understand you correctly, then the amperage the cable needs to be able to carry safely is dictated by the amount of current drawn by the starter motor. Although the engine is a std zetec with suitable starter motor the battery cables are currently fitted are agricultural to say the least....

As part of the general tidy,(I like things to look right),I am changing out the battery cables on "Gladys". I hate electrics cos I don't understand them. However, I acknowledge that I am going to have to achieve a reasonable level of competency if I am going be happy with the old lady. So, simple starting point.... How do I decide what amperage the battery cables should be rated to, in order to function safely.

i'm in the midst of replumbing "Gladys". As part of this process I removed what I thought was a cover for the heater... (the inlet and outlet hose go through the panel in front of the panel that I removed)..should have known better. See pic. I have run Trikes......I have seen some "fun" wiring layouts.....this is up there The black object running from left to right at the bottom of the picture is the inlet for the heater, the outlet for same is just out of shot in the bottom right corner.. The white object in the top right corner is the container for the windscreen washers.The pipes for the washer outlets run across the back. The black box on the right hand side, zip tied to the bulkhead on a piece of rubber,(heat sink ?), next to the washer bottle, is I believe, the ECU. I was always taught that it is not good manners to criticize anyone else's work in fact it's down right rude...... However, I can safely say consider my gob well and truly smacked.

Thanks Nelmo

Pretty sure that's the ID of the rad return or top hose. The hose ID I am short of is the outlet from the drivers side of thermostat housing to heater input. I think it maybe 16mm ID.....don't want to get it wrong as that's an expensive cock up

Sorry. Help.Away from home and want to order hoses etc.Forgotten to write down internal diameter of hose that couples to thermostat housing exit on drivers side of 2 ltr Zetec.Sony help would be appreciated.

Thank you to you all for the comments and suggestions. The builder of this car lived on a farm......some of the hoses must have come off a combine.To say they are substantial is the understatement of the century, you couldn't compress them with a g clamp. Thanks for the schematic and the descriptor Nigel.Big help. Phil

New thermostat...still taking yonks to warm up.... Back to basics....I would be grateful if you gentlemen could run your eyes over the plan Disconnect the heater....cap off the relevant outlets on the thermostat housing Install uprated rad.....move fan from blow on front to suck on back. Drop overflow bottle and go to spit and suck system. New hose from rad outlet to water pump New hose from Thermostat Housing to Rad inlet. Bleed valve on outlet on top of thermostat housing I would be extremely grateful for any advice/ comments Ta Muchly

For those of us who have sorned or are in the middle of "winter work"....is it ok to roll up in something other than an RH

Having had my first real inspection of the cooling system.....Leaving aside the possible thermostat issue ...I have to reset the height of the tank against the radiator.... I had to remove the mounting brackets when I changed out the battery... I am literally starting again with all of this stuff because I am unsure of the validity of bits of the original build......also I don't know what the previous two owners post builder have done...............I am NOT criticising the original builder in any way,....but I am learning as I go and some of the things do not make sense. Any help will be greatly appreciated

After my "battery" adventure.......I found a small leak at a t piece just forward of the thermostat housing, the hose from which goes to the outlet from the rad Tightened the circlip and replenished the system. Fired up the engine, did the usual feely feely thing around the hoses. It took almost ten minutes on tickover to reach 40deg on the temp guage.... The only way to check if the said thermothingie is absent is to remove the housing.....On the basis that it's not there, should I be fitting a std Zetec thermostat or a beefed up version like the one Burton Engineering sell....think it bursts in to life at 92 degrees.

If you insist, good sir.........

Decided to change my name from Dr Dee to Mr Numpty..Clicked the immoboliser off yesterday....busy day today...got home did I or didn't I.........Pulled the cover turned on the leccie......cockpit lights up like a Christmas tree....Whoa... Fitted with a motorcycle combined speedo/tacho/ fuel gauge/ gear indicator.....turned it off rapid like Thanks for the help.... Daresay i'll come up with some other stuff with which I'll need assistance

Sorry Florin....will do as you suggest

Have an immobilser fitted which I am now using......However I would still like to find the problem....If I have one that is

Apologies for the delay in replying.....been a busy week at the place wot helps pay for my little hobby which usually means long hours.....Got my hands on a 550 CCA battery, almost new, lying around in my sons garage. Children can be useful sometimes.....borrowed on the basis that if it was OK then I bought it. First problem....bigger...second problem....polarity opposite way around.... Out with the grinder.....butchered the battery tray cover....room to insert battery and change terminals over.....had to fabricate a bracket to hold the pressure bottle for the cooling system.... Crossed fingers...turned the ignition key.....engine cranked like a looney and fired.... Only half a tale of course..... Out with the amp clamp.....clipped it on the positive lead just this side of the battery set to 20 amp....dial showed 0.01 with nothing turned on.... So I have a parasitic drain but is that reading significant???....