|
|
|
When I took my TR4 to the local garage to have it serviced and generally checked over they found a split in lower of the 2 heater hoses in the engine bay (as seen here). They tried to replace it but hadn't got the right size hose and there was still a small leak. They also thought the end of the return pipe to the water pump was suspect. Never mind, that's a simple job I thought! I called Revingtons and ordered both the hoses on the basis if one was gone the other probably needed changing as well. I also ordered a new return pipe. They told me that these now come in stainless steel, rather than mild steel as originally used. That's odd I thought, the one on the car looks like copper.
|
|
| |
When I mentioned at the club that I needed to change the hoses I was told I should also change the hoses inside the car from the heater to the bulkhead. The photo here shows the hoses emerging from the heater unit right by where your left leg goes. If these burst you can get serious scalding from the hot water. So back on the phone and order 2 new internal hoses and a new bulkhead connector to connect the inside pipes to the engine bay.
|
|
|
|
Getting to the hoses inside the car was a bit of a struggle as you can see in the previous picture. They cross over one another and there is little room to get at the clips holding them in place. This picture shows the hoses on the bench and you can see the way they twist to go round each other. The manual points out the need to connect the new hoses correctly . The top outlet from the heater connects to the bottom outlet on the bulkhead connector and vice versa.
|
|
|
|
Also make a note of which way up the bulkhead connector goes when you take it off. You can see here that one of the pipes has a bend in it to align with the hose. Also when you slide the jubilee clips onto the hoses make sure they are the right way round to make them accessible when you tighten them up - that will also make it easier if you ever need to remove them again. You can also use a sealant such as Wellseal to prevent any leaks from the joints.
|
|
|
|
Here you can see the old copper return pipe that had been fitted by someone in the past. It is simply a piece of copper tubing as used in any domestic plumbing system! The end of the pipe had been compressed slightly to make the hose fit and then sealed with some sort of sealant to stop it leaking. That would explain why the garage couldn't get a good seal on the pipe.
|
|
|
|
The previous picture also shows the other bits of plumbing that had been fabricated to fit into the water pump. However the new pipe wouldn't fit into this. Another call to Revingtons revealed the need for a proper connector between the pipe and the pump and this is shown arrowed here. The new pipe had to be slightly shortened, but otherwise it all went together easily.
|
|
|
|
So with everything back together I started the car and checked for leaks. Everything looked fine but the hoses remained cold even when the engine was upto temperature. Must be an air lock! The manual suggests releasing the hose connections to allow the water to run through. I did this but still couldn't get any hot water through. Eventually I tracked the problem to the heater tap on the top of the engine - completely blocked. So on the phone for a new tap which duly arrived and did the trick. And in case you have ever wondered what goes on inside a heater tap here it is - gunge and all. OK I could have dismantled it and cleaned it up myself but after replacing everything else in sight that seemed a little churlish and I now know that everything has been replaced and I shouldn't have any more problems!
|
