Thread: rangie coolant and bleeding

Originally Posted by nealo

I've just fixed the leak in the back of the timing cover on my '80 rangie(gotta love devcon

what is this "devcon" and "where do ya get it?"as i seem to be suffering the same sort of problem with "thumper",took the water pump off last week and found a fair bit of corrosion to the alloy housing that it sits in,suspect that there is a pin hole leak,as replacement of those piddly little heater hoses (arent they a pain to replace )failed to rectify the slow leak,bars leaks has sufficed for now ,but is not a long term fix ,any ideas, or maybe someone has a timing cover sitting around that they no longer need

go to your nearest supercrap and grab a tube of "kneadit" or similar.....
there are about 3 or 4 different types to choose from.....and they have different purposes.....

one is for metal...one for plastics....one for hotter bits.....you get the idea.....

it is a two part epoxy.....comes in a tube and is like a sausage....you cut off what you need....
and knead it...this mixes the centre bit with the outside bit and it starts to set....
once set...it can be tapped....filed....drilled...sanded....etc....

every toolkit should carry a tube or two.....can repair welsh plugs...radiators....tanks.....alloys....the list is endless....
i have made temporary repairs with the stuff which have turned out to be not so temporary.....



now the rangie....does it have a filler plug on the radiator as well as the expansion tank....?
and make sure you have the heater on when re-filling a cooling system....

Nealo, I recon you are on the right track.

Whenever I have to fill the coolant system ofter draining the radiator I just remove the bolt in the top of the radiator and fill it from there. Once that is full I top up the expansion tank and take it for a drive. When I come back just check everything again and it should be right.

I don't know of any way to bleed the system.

Anyway, Rangies are meant to use water arent they.

I am forever topping mine up, I think it just keeps getting pushed out the overflow on the expansion tank. As long as it does not cause any problems and I only have to top it up now and again (fortnightly) I don't worry about it.

err...actually...it shouldnt need topping up.....
thats the whole idea of the expansion tank......you either have a leak somewhere or a dodgy cap....

hey..i just found an ad for the two part epoxy......it should give you some idea of what it is....


http://www.selleys.com.au/itemDisplay.aspx?ItemID=57

I have the same issue....... water always disappearing from the system...... I'm sure it comes out the overflow when I stop the engine. On previous vehicles (non LR) if I ran the motor I could open up the radiator without the water blowing everywhere and turning dangerous...... I've since tried this on the Rangie (1981) and it's defintiely NOT do-able....... is that common?

Anyway, a new cap is on my shopping list. Are there different types or does one type fit all? (Sorry for what would seem a simple question).

Stu

What model does Nealo have. If a carby model, to fill the system, I have found it is good to just have the car pointing uphill, and fill through the rad plug. Just drive it for a while then top up the expansion tank.

You guys all know that the expansion tank should only be filled to the mark at half way.( I hope).

Injection cars are trickier. The 3.5s can have a problem, but again point the car steeply uphill. 89 onward 3.9 have a different arrangement of the heater hoses and should be filled from the plug on the heater hose, and topped off after a drive , through the heater hose plug. Again the expansion tank should only be filled to the top of the little pole that sticks up inside the plastic tank.
On a carby car you should make sure the hose and nipple that goes from the top of the inlet manifold to the rad are clear or you do get air locks. Run a drill bit through the nipple to make sure.
Of course the radiator should be clean, a new 14lb cap and new thermostat.
Often the leaks are from where the radiator tubes join the tanks, in behind the shroud. Have a look just after switch off, with a torch.
Regards Philip A