960 losing coolant

[Chris50]

Thanks everyone for the advice....if the amalgamating tape doesn't hold I will be off to Screwfix...great tip.

[Stephen Edwin]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Pic shamelessly stolen from Toolstation!

As i was recommending their product i don't think they can sue me for copyright though!

As you used it non-commercially, what damages can they claim ???

And you have attributed the picture !!!!!!!!

I should have been a lawyer.

I like that get you home approach to the hose Dave.

.

[Stephen Edwin]

Originally Posted by Chris50

Thanks everyone for the advice....if the amalgamating tape doesn't hold I will be off to Screwfix...great tip.

Good plan. Dave has giving you a good tip to keep the car going.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Stephen Edwin

Dave. We disagree. And the amount of money is so small it might not worry the chap who owns the car. Anyway let us not dispute.

My view remains. The pressure cap might not have been considered already. Or it might not. The hose is leaking. That is crucial. The cap might be at fault but only because it is so far possibly an unknown quantity.

I don't know the answer.

The hose is leaking.

One thing at a time.

.

We're not disagreeing or disputing, merely looking at it with different attitudes.

When the system was pressure tested, the cap automatically became a consideration as it should have been removed to fit the pressure tester. Therefore if no leak was found under the pressure test (as was the case because the hose was intact at that time) then that points to the original leak being the cap - the only item NOT tested during the pressure test.

Q.E.D. or in the vernacular, simples!

I have to confess to wondering about the state of the other hoses, they must all be a similar age i would think and have all suffered overheating from the leaky rad.

The hose has since burst, quite probably weakened over time due to the fact it was overheating, airlocks ensued which would cause an effect similar to water-hammer in a domestic water system. As the hose was no doubt old and already weakened by the excess temperature, any of the effects from the airlocks would have weakened it further.

Prolonged use after the satisfactory pressure test would have put the hose under a minimum of 16.5psi constant pressure when hot. The hose is being fixed, there is a chance other hoses have also been weakened but there is a very high chance the pressure cap isn't functioning as it should and for the cost, worth fitting a new one as a precautionary measure if nothing else.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Chris50

Thanks everyone for the advice....if the amalgamating tape doesn't hold I will be off to Screwfix...great tip.

If you've wrapped insulating tape round the self-amalgamating (or self-fusing as they seem to call it these days) tape to seal and protect it, then it certainly should.

In the past i've used self-amalgamating tape to seal the cable entry into pipe angle sensors on the dredge head of suction dredgers that usually dredge at a depth of 25-30m and never had one leak.



You can see the dredge head more or less dead centre where the guy in the orange suit is working. Worst problem on those was having to replace the SWA if it got snagged on something and damaged - it's a long pipe and if it was the head angle sensor cable rather than the gimble (the black donut halfway along) angle sensor, that was one very long cable attached to the outside of the dredge pipe!

Much higher pressure down there than in a cooling system, assuming there isn't a problem between the combustion chambers/cylinders and the water jacket but hopefully the K-Seal will have filled that void!

[Stephen Edwin]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

We're not disagreeing or disputing, merely looking at it with different attitudes.

When the system was pressure tested, the cap automatically became a consideration as it should have been removed to fit the pressure tester. Therefore if no leak was found under the pressure test (as was the case because the hose was intact at that time) then that points to the original leak being the cap - the only item NOT tested during the pressure test.

Q.E.D. or in the vernacular, simples!

I have to confess to wondering about the state of the other hoses, they must all be a similar age i would think and have all suffered overheating from the leaky rad.

The hose has since burst, quite probably weakened over time due to the fact it was overheating, airlocks ensued which would cause an effect similar to water-hammer in a domestic water system. As the hose was no doubt old and already weakened by the excess temperature, any of the effects from the airlocks would have weakened it further.

Prolonged use after the satisfactory pressure test would have put the hose under a minimum of 16.5psi constant pressure when hot. The hose is being fixed, there is a chance other hoses have also been weakened but there is a very high chance the pressure cap isn't functioning as it should and for the cost, worth fitting a new one as a precautionary measure if nothing else.

Frankly I see holes leaking in that theorising. But anyway time will tell. It still could be the cap also, or it could not. Time will tell.

.

[Laird Scooby]

The only hole in that theory is the one that the expansion tank cap fits onto or in the case of the pressure test, the pressure tester - hence not being possible to test the cap as part of the system.

However, if the pressure test showed no leaks on an otherwise sealed system and it's still losing coolant, the fault has to be the cap. There are no other possibilities or holes, metaphoric or otherwise!

[Chris50]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

If you've wrapped insulating tape round the self-amalgamating (or self-fusing as they seem to call it these days) tape to seal and protect it, then it certainly should.

In the past i've used self-amalgamating tape to seal the cable entry into pipe angle sensors on the dredge head of suction dredgers that usually dredge at a depth of 25-30m and never had one leak.



You can see the dredge head more or less dead centre where the guy in the orange suit is working. Worst problem on those was having to replace the SWA if it got snagged on something and damaged - it's a long pipe and if it was the head angle sensor cable rather than the gimble (the black donut halfway along) angle sensor, that was one very long cable attached to the outside of the dredge pipe!

Much higher pressure down there than in a cooling system, assuming there isn't a problem between the combustion chambers/cylinders and the water jacket but hopefully the K-Seal will have filled that void!

Hiya yes I have glued the crack in the pipe then covered entire pipe with amalgamating tape twice and then two layers of insulating tape.Just had it running for 10 mins to warm up and seems ok.I have ordered the other pipes as well so will be replaced as a precaution.Actually the old radiator wasn't leaking too badly and car never overheated but I thought would be keeping car for long time as was really impressed with the driving experience ....like sitting in a big comfy leather armchair driving up the road😀.
I'm assuming the tape will be ok with the temperature of the water?

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Chris50

I'm assuming the tape will be ok with the temperature of the water?

Most self-amalgamating tapes are good within the range of about -10C to 130C but it varies. Depends which one you have but generally if you've wrapped the insulting tape tightly round the outside to seal it, then it should do the job, at least until the new hose arrives, just be a little "sympathetic" to it until then - things like changing down a gear for hills so the engine doesn't labour, no traffic light Grand Prix starts (no matter how tempting it is to show the chav in the barried Ka, Corsa, Saxo or similar) a clean pair of heels, no high speed motorway runs (keep it down to 70 ish) - you get the idea!

They are a bit like a high-speed, road legal sofa! Experience with mine tells me most people think of the older Volvo estates (7/9xx and older) as slow, ungainly behemoths incapable of any sort of speed.
I love scaring the bejesus out of them and leaving their ears ringing with the 90 degree V6 howl!

[Chris50]

Depressing update......took it out for an hour and seemed fine... gentle pootle.Popoed the bonnet and noticed the heater control valve squirting hot water out...I assumed I hadn't tightened jubilee enough but on closer inspection it's totally fractured where the spigot starts...had to remove spigot from pipe as totally separate
I tried araldite but as soon as it got hot it cracked and failed...not enough surface to get a good bond..I tried building it up in layers but no good.
So now need replacement valve😭.
On a positive note...my tape repair worked a treat........