I'm pretty sure since it's a Robin, what you're supposed to do is push the Robin on its side, thereby making the cap the new highest point in the cooling system.
Your ex-Smart car also enjoys being warm, though I suspect it's just a wonky temp sensor. It screams at me until it randomly decides it's going to cool down and act normal.
Sorry to say but it sounds like head gasket. It might look like that when the combustion gasses get to the coolant passage and create a hot bubble around the temp sensor.
Reliants were famous for air locks in the cooling system. The trick was to fill up with a funnel from the heater hose till it flowed clear without air bubbles & splurges coming out of the heater then quickly put the heater pipe back on.
As someone who's owned several vintage British cars, I feel I should say, the gauges are really there just to a general indication, not specific readings. You should NEVER rely on them. And, God protect you if you ever let the magic blue smoke escape!
That's just old gauges in general I think... my '66 T-bird has a fuel gauge which has a whopping quarter-tank margin of error, and if the temp gauge registers anything at all, that means it's overheating.
@@dolomite_73 I've had two cars similar to that - a 1983 Ford Escort (1.1 base model) and a 1986 Peugeot 305. Both of them would run out of petrol with 1/4 tank still showing on the gauge.
Having owned a Bond Bug for 10 years I strongly recommend you put a metal bar at the back of the radiator mounts on the other side of the fiber glass and bolt through rather than use screwws. they just wont last.
When I was a kid, my dad's Robin caught fire. That was exhilarating. He managed to save it though. That Robin was our family car for about eight years. I remember that it seemed like every weekend he would be working on it, and facing the same struggles that you have here. Ah, the memories.
@@mrjed6912 He was a marine diesel engineer at the local dockyard, and a pretty good one by all accounts. This doesn't mean that he was any good at fixing his own car, just had fewer excuses for doing it badly 🤣
As a Brit I think it's more an "undocumented feature" and having the heating on all the time (which also stopped it totally overheating) was a good thing up north where they were most popular
In addition to all of its more obvious virtues, I can now see that the Robin also embodies what I believe the automotive industry refers to as a "packaging nightmare". This... does not entirely surprise me. :)
You need to check the block for sediment. There's a bleed screw on the back of the block below the exhaust manifold for cylinder number 4, near the bellhousing. Remove the bolt and if nothing comes out your block is bunged up. Shove a coat hanger wire in it vigorously until all manner of junk falls out. Then bleed by filling through the hose for the heater core
this is the comment that really needs to be read! Mine had similar overheat issues and after coolant replacement, rad replacement and stat replacement it still had issues, all be it reduced, only after checking the block and clearing the sediment out that had gathered after years did it actually solve the problem!
Thermostat housings. There is normally a recess machined into the housing where the t-stat is supposed to live. I always use a very small drop of super glue to glue the t-stat into the housing and ensure the T-stat stays put during assembly. What you did was put the t-stat into the block, and put the gasket on top of that, almost ensuring the t-stat will be off center of the recess in the housing, causing it to crack when tightened.
This is like the most relatable channel when it comes to diy. Murphys law so ever present and just the general hassle. Can’t relate to those UA-cam channels where everything just slots into place and things work immediately.
It’s less of an emergency item and more of a routine maintenance item. I think he should mount one of those bulk shampoo and conditioner dispensers to the dash.
Best Ad Integration I've seen in a while. It really doesn't take a lot to make them interesting to watch, and as a plus (to the advertiser), it makes them a little more memorable. As much as everyone hates ad's, I appreciate it when creators make them fun.
@@Maybe-So it's the same over here ... It's as if making them as annoying as possible is the only thing they can think of. (thank [insert favourite deity] for ad-blockers ... )
@agingwheels . Having owned three different Reliants , the overheating problem could be a build up of sludge at the back of the engine between the wet liners and the cylinder block casting , the heater hose came out of the block on the rear right hand side , a good place to put a high pressure hose and wash/flush it out .
I spent my first few years in the back of a Reliant Robin. It didnt like hills. My mum later got a very rare 4 wheeled Reliant Rebel which was fantastic. I didnt know anything about cars back then so I'm going with the word fantastic.
I spent some of my early years in the back of a reliant robin and my mum later got the very rare Reliant Kitten. They both overheated and hated hills. So SNAP….
This is how ads are supposed to be made. I've skipped so many Factor ads I can't count 'em, but I watched this whole one just because of the thought and effort put into actually making it interesting to watch and not just straight up read from the "corporate approved message" script.
I have very little interest in cars, but your delivery makes your stuff incredibly entertaining. Keep at it please, and feel free to investigate non car stuff.
Robert, I really like when your brilliantly thought-out ads are interrupted by nonsensical UA-cam ads for Temu Curve... it really emphasizes your professional production quality and how you always bring your videos to a deftly-written conclu
Good work, shame about the cracked thermo housing! However I'm not sure having the heater "On" will have been helping with the overheating.... If the heater valve is open , this lets some hot coolant bypass the radiator and flow through the heater core. If the heater fan is not working, no air is passing through the heater core, and the coolant comes out the other side just as hot as it went in, then gets pumped back into the engine. It will probably run cooler if you close the Heater Valve, (or if that's dodgy, just clamp one of the heater hoses.) This way all the coolant has to go through the main radiator which was getting some amount of air blown over it by the engine fan. (Factor don't deliver here, but I'll have a good look around to see if there's any growing wild. I think I've seen some of the empty shells blowing around on windy days)
Your videos always remind me of how nice it is to watch, from my couch, someone else toil and curse like there is no tomorrow. I'm not quite sure yet if I'm jealous or lucky.
I don't know if anyone else saw but 12:01 the thermostat housing looks like it has some leftover remnence of JB weld epoxy as if they had already tried to fix it. I could be wrong but that does not look like a casting fault. As someone that has used JB weld a lot I would sat it looks just like it
Good place to start when addressing overheating before parts. Is to confirm proper ignition timing. This one setting can dramatically affect overheating. Doing the parts change first may mask the real problem.
Hey Robbert. Something an old mechanic told me to get for stuck bolts and other parts is Kroil creep oil. You dowse the part with it (or submerge it if you get the 5 gallon bucket of it) and you let it sit and occasionally spray more on the part. Depending on how stuck the part is it can take a couple of days but it will eventually get the part of bolts unstuck.
@@jessebrook1688 I had to soak one of the carbs for a week as well before the jet decided it wanted to come out. I damn near stripped it because it was so brittle.
As I showered this morning I thought to myself "I haven't seen anything new from AgingWheels in a bit....I hope he posts something soon". Clearly you heard my shower-thoughts. I still love the Robin the best, and I still desperately want one.
@@simonmatthews7512 It's a great classic car to own, as long as you don't buy a 95-99 model. The model aging wheels has was not fabricated by Reliant fibreglass workers but by motorboat makers. In 1995 Reliant had worn fibreglass moulds and was also facing bankruptcies, therefore the moulds weren't changed and the quality was terrible. Earlier Reliant cars from 1994 or earlier are a pleasure to own. Not just from the reactions you get on the road but the lack of rust and good reliability makes it a non stressful classic to own. Even This low quality blue abomination Aging Wheels has, has remained his most reliable old car.
As a classic mini driver with the same issues I can tell you out of experience: simply check the fanblade monting direction (sucking/blowing). You would be surprised what a difference that makes! Also there might be fans with more blades available? Check the water pump. It might be gunked up! Ideas for an upgrade of the cooling system: Change the visco fan to an electric e.g. revotec (it seems the radiator has a hole for a sensor with an M14 insert?). You could use that for the ECU to control the fan.
I guess you now know that you need to hand tighten those equally and carefully. That is true for thermostat housings that only have two bolts. I like my powered ratchet but I am very careful with it and typically hand torque everything. Never sure if it will over or under torque something. I know others just tighten everything with the powered ratchet and I suspect they have checked to see just how much it tightens things. Probably should do that myself. Anyway, good luck with all that. Always enjoy your videos.
Ugh. I feel your pain, brother. The problem is you used a gasket. The gasket is squishy and allowed you to tighten the bolt to the point of caddywhompus and crack the housing. Just use RTV, nothing else. The housing will bottom out on metal and tightening will not cause a condition of caddywhompusness.
That's not the problem. The problem is old plastic deteriorates and RTV would have caused this just as easily as the thing rocks about. Gasket was fine, matter of fact there'd have been in your scenario more chance of it happening as the RTV would have been thicker in the first place or you'd wind up leaking worse than with the gasket (sans cracks of course.)
@@ModelA If that was metal it sure didn't look like it. So you're saying it's metal, and poor metal at that. Like maybe pot metal. RTV or paper gasket, it was destined to crack looks like to me.
I am totally ready for the new Bob's Forest Survival Guide channel... Watch as Bob journeys to ever stranger places in search of the next delicious Factor bush, dragging his LTM (Leafy Twiggy Microwave) behind him, all in hopes he finds the Sacred Hidden Golden Mythical Sublime Larapin Good Meal (or SHGMSLGM for short). Will he ever find it? Tune in next video for... *whispers* Bob's Forest Survival Guide....
for burping air out of the cooling system, get a radiator funnel kit. Lisle has pn 24780, which should fit just about everything, and has risers, to get the funnel level above the heater core. You can then bleed the air out of the heater core, by disconnecting the hose from it, until coolant comes out. Then run the engine with the funnel attached to the radiator, until the thermostat cycles a few times, while watching the level in the funnel. Keep it topped off, then shut down the engine, let it cool, and then remove the funnel, and put the cap on. Also: the 75C thermostat is generally too low, and won't let the engine warm up enough to run correctly. It'll run well enough, but it's not ideal.
Depending on who owned it previous and how hard the water was in that area, the cooling channels in the engine block, especially the rear ones, often got blocked with limescale from the water, even if you did use antifreeze. It may be worth checking that issue (if you rebuild the engine at some point), and also, the thermostat housing shouldn't have cracked like it did unless you didn't seat the thermostat correctly and it's lip was sitting proud of the engine block seating part, which is normally identified when you seat the gasket around them. Also, between the heating matrix (the black box holding the fan) there should be a foam stuck to the box side to prevent air loss, but also to prevent fumes from entering the cabin. And if you ever mess with the carb system, there should be a tray under the carb, never discard it, it's there to prevent fuel overflow from the carb dripping on to the engine/exhaust and starting a fire. These were put on as a recall in the early models (many as a urgent recall) as many were catching fire due to being left 'choke' for too long at idle. To bleed the air out of the radiator quicker, put the front wheel up on a ramp. These are great cars!
Had no idea you and Hub Nut knew each other! Awesome to see! But also, in hindsight it makes perfect sense given you both like small, strange and slow European cars. Exactly the reason I love both your content!
I don't know why but your little ad for factor is actually pretty hilarious. People just you know do a typical ad but you damn bro you took it one step further and made it a joke. Congratulations! You actually almost sold a product to me* hand clap*
This was the first time I ever watch through a whole ad on UA-cam and laughed my ass off, good job! I think you should be number 1 for these companies to advertise on your channel.
I would suggest finding the little spigot on the rear of the head that you undo and then poke out all the silt and gubbins in there, you can also to aid bleeding buy a Caterham cooling bleed valve which takes the issues out of bleeding air locks which are common major causes of overheating. Forward and reverse flush will aid a lot of problems and don't forget your yearly Barr's stop leak and to use an all alloy antifreeze as normal stuff will munch the alloy over time. There were three thermostats because you would own two and come winter put in the higher one and come summer put in the cooler one usually around the time you swapped from winter coolant to summer stuff. Remember too to change your fuel pump to carb fuel hose every other year... most Reliant's die is due to perished fuel hose that will merrily drizzle petrol over hot engine and red hot exhaust... hour later a puddle of plastic and aluminium for the sake of a couple feet of decent fuel hose. I have toyed with making mine solid metal line putting in some coils to allow it to flex but zero danger of petrol shower badness lol
The fact that there are holes in the body (from the factory, as opposed to rust) and the fact that you can tell the door doesn't seal shut properly, given you can see daylight where you shouldn't be able to inspires massive confidence in that things build quality, not to mention safety added with the fact that it's an all fibreglass three-wheeler. Maybe the Trabant isn't actually the least safe vehicle you own, which is some achievement.
My old 96 F-150 was leaking from the thermostat housing. After taking it off, replacing the thermostat and gasket, and reinstalling the housing... I cracked one of the ears off the housing and had to go buy a new one. After once again reinstalling the housing, it... cracked along one of the weld seams... and I had to go find *another* housing. Third time's the charm and everything worked great after that. Moral of the story is: Make sure the thermostat is properly centered inside the housing before tightening the bolts. If it's not sat in the little recess in the housing perfectly, you'll snap off those ears every time. At least yours is on top of the engine... the Ford 300 engine has it on the front of the head *vertically* so I had to get a bit creative on how I got everything to line up. (a little dab of sticky grease in the housing held the thermostat in place while I aligned the bolt holes.)
Fixing those holes on the air tunnel and making sure the heater core is sealed with the body would probably help with getting air passing through the radiator
And if you want better air flow to the radiator you can cut the panel of fiberglass out in front of the radiator under the car, then fit a wire mesh the air doesn't have to go in the scoop etc then
I've made a very serviceable repair of a thermostat cover using the low temperature aluminium "welding" rods that can be used with a regular propane torch. They do take a bit of practice to get good results though.
My experience with thermostats is that lower temp thermostats don’t actually help over hearing, they’re more for how soon your heat will work at the expense of the engine not getting to temp as quick.
I had a 78 Robin van - in all the time I owned it it ran hot according to the gauge - never overheated! Remember on fiberglass cars the electrics are never great!
I used to own a Reliant Rebel where the air filter was held on by willpower. In the end it fell off and jammed neatly between the radiator and the radiator fan. I mended the radiator with some epoxy and a piece off the bottom of my jeans which was the only cloth I had with me. It worked! Happy days 🙂
Love the forest bit! Please be careful playing out in the woods! Poison Oak, Poison Ivy, and Poison Sumac can be hard to spot. All my interactions with have left me regretting playing unprotected in the forest.
It may just be fuel related. My LuAZ overheated when I got it but after rejetting it for “modern” e10 it’s just as terrible as it was when leaving the factory.
Love your "real world" videos instead of the slick "everything goes smoothly" vids. This project goes like some of mine do - a "10 minute job" takes 10 days instead as I order the wrong parts, break something and need to order a replacement, hidden issues, and modding the original mounting arrangement that sucked or screws that stripped, etc. The "3 screws are good enough" made me laugh - we've all been there.
Ok that Factor ad was right up there with Jayz2cents ifixit one. I appreciate that the Robins radiator was held in much like my old bathroom exhaust fan (hopes, dreams, and the attic exhaust vent tube).
I think this is the only channel that I watch all of the in video adds. Alway a good time. Glad you found a curent bush to plug in you forest microwave.
Cooling systems are temperamental at the best of times, even in modern cars. I had a Dacia Duster (1.6 petrol 4 cylinder Renault engine) at one point and decided to replace the thermostat. I went with a generic, but decent one i bought online. Car would boil over. I googled how to properly fit the thermostat and bleed the system. Car would boil over. I got a lower rated thermostat, car would boil over. I then bought a third thermostat straight from Renault, car would boil over. I once again tried bleeding the system the "proper" way (let it idle, rev it up, fiddle with bleed screws, turn off heater, turn on heater, let it idle again, something hugely complicated), car would boil over. I put all three thermostats in a saucepan and brought it to the boil. All three thermostats opened, no problem. I flushed the system. I checked the rad. Finally brought the car to my thrusted mechanic, because maybe the water pump had given up the ghost. Brought it there the evening before so he could start working on it the next day at 8 am. Got a phonecall at 9, car's fixed. No problems, no overheating. I asked him what on earth he did to get it to not overheat. Nothing. He undid the thermostat housing, removed thermostat, put in different thermostat, bled the cooling system, no problems. There is only one bleed screw on the whole system. The thermostat can only be fitted one way. There are absolutely no electric actuators. The whole system is as primitive as it can be. I talked to my mechanic and described exactly what I've been doing, he said he did the exact same thing. Car never overheated again.
Congratulations for the sponsored segment. It was really creative and funny. I didn't skip it even though it is a product I can't even buy as I don't live in the US.
You may already know about it since you work on cars more than I do, there's a 1 minute cure gasket maker called "The Right Stuff". It's grey and comes in a small pressure pack can. You apply it, put your parts together and you're good to go; virtually no cure time. It's oil resistant and high temp, I've used it on my car's oil sump since my car's sump is one of those that come from factory with sealant not a gasket and I can attest that the stuff does what it claims. Ain't cheap but it's a time saver.
That was probably the best AD I have ever seen. And I really like the looks of that Robin. This is going to sound weird, but for some reason, to me it looks cool in an oddball sort of way. The projects you are willing to take on takes a lot of courage. LOL. You must have a very understanding better half. Take care and God Bless, Paul from Florida.
Overheating is a standard feature with Reliants. I've had a few and they all overheated. My last one was a rare Fox 4 wheel van. That one had enough room just behind the bumper to fit a much larger rad than standard. That finally fixed the overheating.
Lovely video as always! And tip for mounting stuff in/on bad fiberglass; drywall anchor! Remember to predrill an allmost to big core hole so the fiber won't crack. Not a good solution but cheap and effective.
As someone who knows nothing about these things, what would happen if you left the heater core out and put a flat panel over that big hole? Would it force all the air down on to the radiator?
I think that would work fine, but then you’d have no heat or defrost. It’s the summer so he could just do it temporarily, but he might as well order the part and do it properly now. Plus he was running out of time, and likely couldn’t fabricate something quick enough.
As far as airflow, yes, it would potentially cause airflow to be forced through the radiator when the car's moving. However, at rest, I'm not sure the airflow will be different, that's more dependent on the fan pulling the air through (and without a shroud, it is way less efficient for that purpose.) The other issue is removing the heater core box removes the heater for your passenger compartment. And while Robert may or may not be using the Robin in cold situations, the heater core is also a radiator, so it adds coolant/cooling capacity... something that may be beneficial in the right situation. What I might consider is replacing the heater core and getting the fan fixed for that... and I would ditch the plastic engine driven fan for a small electric one directly on the new radiator. But that's me. Robert will do Robert.
@@mikeybhoutexa more powerful EC fan with a proper shroud would easily fix the overheating, but might starve the heater now. A well fitted powerful fan makes all the difference with heat exchangers
You would seize the engine within minutes. A major design flaw of the Robin/Rialto is that the heater core is the only thing which cools the rearmost cylinder. Yes, really.
You can bleed systems (slightly) easier with parts of the cooling circuit higher than the fill port by using some extension tube to raise the effective level of the fill port. Just need it to be watertight.
Won't the air in the higher part of the circuit stay there without a higher path to go through to get to the extension tube? Or do you mean to try to run the fluid through the system (by running the engine) with the extension tube in place and well-fed so that air that passes by the fill port can escape through the extension tube?
@@hoebare Running the engine with the extension tube in place and filled up. Letting it get hot enough for the thermostat to open and gas to expand, and giving it some revs to help move things along.
Maybe it’s my genuinely diagnosed ADHD or my bad luck, but a lot of my projects end up like your Robin. The minute I tell my wife, foreman or boss, “I can have it done in “x” amount of time”, something happens and I miss my completion time exponentially.
I had an old skoda estelle 120 and I always made sure the thermostat opened at the approximate temperature by checking with a thermometer just a chance worth trying but love the videos 👍 👌 😎
To make paper gaskets work, especially with water, you need to rub grease into them all over first. As someone who restored two ancient MGBs in the past you can imagine how I learned this. Love your fix-it videos.
I like to use a lisle coolant funnel to raise up the coolant level. Then I loosen the uppermost hose to let the air escape from the high point. Saves a lot of time chasing air locks.
Taking car advice from Hubnut is like asking Mr pink to teach you ballet - these engines do overheat if you don't keep up with the carb tuning and do the timing, very hot weather, and ultra hot exhaust can vaporize the fuel, leaning out the mix, if it's gutless, but the timing is ok at idle, the advance weights in the dizzy can seize due to lack of maintenance/use - reliant's are from a different age 90% are Imperial, iirc some are even Whitworth 😉🙃
Use code AGINGWHEELS50 to get 50% off your first Factor box at bit.ly/3JBxZfN!
You tell the way a Factor Bush looks by the way it is
Please replace the Fan. More airflow is gooder, happier engine, might fix seemingly unrelated problems, just stick a PC fan in there if you have to.
There's something dystopian about ordering a food lootbox
Loved the commercial!
Why not use the robin to heat the factor meal???
I'm pretty sure since it's a Robin, what you're supposed to do is push the Robin on its side, thereby making the cap the new highest point in the cooling system.
😂😂
Second Best comment.
@@SimuLord Yeah you don't want Clarkson in one.
If it's stupid, but works, it's not stupid.
Ikr?! Just ask Mr Bean! 🤣
Your ex-Smart car also enjoys being warm, though I suspect it's just a wonky temp sensor. It screams at me until it randomly decides it's going to cool down and act normal.
Best comment 😂
What is it now if it's now longer a smart car???
based yugo enjoyer
Most functional car Robert has owned /s
Sorry to say but it sounds like head gasket. It might look like that when the combustion gasses get to the coolant passage and create a hot bubble around the temp sensor.
Reliants were famous for air locks in the cooling system.
The trick was to fill up with a funnel from the heater hose till it flowed clear without air bubbles & splurges coming out of the heater then quickly put the heater pipe back on.
or you could put one of those T fittings from a flush kit and fill there.
id just roll it off a cliff or set it on fire, problem solved.
Why not just make a T-Junction with a second cap there? :)
As someone who's owned several vintage British cars, I feel I should say, the gauges are really there just to a general indication, not specific readings. You should NEVER rely on them. And, God protect you if you ever let the magic blue smoke escape!
That's just old gauges in general I think... my '66 T-bird has a fuel gauge which has a whopping quarter-tank margin of error, and if the temp gauge registers anything at all, that means it's overheating.
My Mini has 10ltrs in the tank when the gauge is in the red, that's 1/3 of a tank left.
My '73 Triumph Dolomite caught me out. Turns out 1/8 of the fuel gauge is actually empty...
@@dolomite_73 I've had two cars similar to that - a 1983 Ford Escort (1.1 base model) and a 1986 Peugeot 305. Both of them would run out of petrol with 1/4 tank still showing on the gauge.
My 85 dodge would have a fuel guages that worked backwards. F was empty and empty was full
Having owned a Bond Bug for 10 years I strongly recommend you put a metal bar at the back of the radiator mounts on the other side of the fiber glass and bolt through rather than use screwws. they just wont last.
I was thinking bolts and nuts, but that's a great solution that substantially reduces the stress on the fiberglass.
I was thinking exactly the same thing
Cannot agree hard enough. Posting reply to bump this comment.
I can't be the only one screaming at him to use nuts and big washers.
When I was a kid, my dad's Robin caught fire. That was exhilarating. He managed to save it though. That Robin was our family car for about eight years.
I remember that it seemed like every weekend he would be working on it, and facing the same struggles that you have here.
Ah, the memories.
Nice although I hope he wasn't one of the guys who fixed them poorly. Whoever worked on this Robin before Robert was a menace.
@@mrjed6912 He was a marine diesel engineer at the local dockyard, and a pretty good one by all accounts.
This doesn't mean that he was any good at fixing his own car, just had fewer excuses for doing it badly 🤣
@@smada36 Oh I see that. The previous owner of my Rialto super glued the heater box on!
I recall driving past one that had caught fire. The fire brigade were sweeping the remains off the road.
Family car??!!
Ah, a Reliant Robin in it's natural habitat, not America but rather I mean by the side of the road.
That's if you don't maintain it whatsoever. Which goes to most of the elderly folk who owned the cars in the early 2000s
@@mrjed6912 Yep. Pretty much all of any Robin's problems are down to poor maintenance. If kept well they are almost bomb-proof.
The un-Reliant Robin
A Brit: "The correct side of the road"
I sense an opportunity here to make a humorous observation concerning Joe Lucas, Prince of Darkness but.....
I'm above all that.
As a Brit I think it's more an "undocumented feature" and having the heating on all the time (which also stopped it totally overheating) was a good thing up north where they were most popular
he's cutting that poor old robin
In addition to all of its more obvious virtues, I can now see that the Robin also embodies what I believe the automotive industry refers to as a "packaging nightmare". This... does not entirely surprise me. :)
@@notfiveo How should I know?
You need to check the block for sediment. There's a bleed screw on the back of the block below the exhaust manifold for cylinder number 4, near the bellhousing. Remove the bolt and if nothing comes out your block is bunged up. Shove a coat hanger wire in it vigorously until all manner of junk falls out. Then bleed by filling through the hose for the heater core
this is the comment that really needs to be read! Mine had similar overheat issues and after coolant replacement, rad replacement and stat replacement it still had issues, all be it reduced, only after checking the block and clearing the sediment out that had gathered after years did it actually solve the problem!
Thermostat housings. There is normally a recess machined into the housing where the t-stat is supposed to live. I always use a very small drop of super glue to glue the t-stat into the housing and ensure the T-stat stays put during assembly. What you did was put the t-stat into the block, and put the gasket on top of that, almost ensuring the t-stat will be off center of the recess in the housing, causing it to crack when tightened.
This is like the most relatable channel when it comes to diy. Murphys law so ever present and just the general hassle.
Can’t relate to those UA-cam channels where everything just slots into place and things work immediately.
How're you gonna make a cup of tea without ready access to boiling water?! You've ruined a key feature.
As soon as I head “bob’s forest survival guide” you had my attention during that ad, it was pretty hilarious
The Robin should come with some emergency "JB-Weld" in the glove box.
Ah but the problem is that it doesn't have a glovebox, just a glove shelf... Thing.
It’s less of an emergency item and more of a routine maintenance item. I think he should mount one of those bulk shampoo and conditioner dispensers to the dash.
Throw the spare tyre tools out, and replace with Fiberglass repair kit, as the later will get more use.
Best Ad Integration I've seen in a while. It really doesn't take a lot to make them interesting to watch, and as a plus (to the advertiser), it makes them a little more memorable. As much as everyone hates ad's, I appreciate it when creators make them fun.
@@Maybe-So it's the same over here ...
It's as if making them as annoying as possible is the only thing they can think of.
(thank [insert favourite deity] for ad-blockers ... )
Oh it’s a great day now, Aging Wheels has a new video!
@agingwheels . Having owned three different Reliants , the overheating problem could be a build up of sludge at the back of the engine between the wet liners and the cylinder block casting , the heater hose came out of the block on the rear right hand side , a good place to put a high pressure hose and wash/flush it out .
I gave my engine a deep clean and a rebuild which completely killed the overheating problem.
In this episode of Bob's survival guide, we see Rob fashion a microwave out of a squirrel, a length of rope, and a microwave.
I spent my first few years in the back of a Reliant Robin. It didnt like hills. My mum later got a very rare 4 wheeled Reliant Rebel which was fantastic. I didnt know anything about cars back then so I'm going with the word fantastic.
Interesting but the Rebel was heavier and had a weaker engine.
I spent some of my early years in the back of a reliant robin and my mum later got the very rare Reliant Kitten. They both overheated and hated hills. So SNAP….
@@jabbawok944 Revving a Reliant hard can cause overheating. Maybe she was a very fast driver
@@mrjed6912 running the engine causes a reliant to overheat. 🤪
I saw the factor commercial coming like a freight train and it still caught me off guard. One of the best commercials I have seen. thank you.
This is how ads are supposed to be made. I've skipped so many Factor ads I can't count 'em, but I watched this whole one just because of the thought and effort put into actually making it interesting to watch and not just straight up read from the "corporate approved message" script.
Aw, so close! Hope this does the trick. 7/16" is pretty much 11mm by the way. I think these are an intriguing mix of imperial and Metric.
That was the best high-effort advertisement I have ever seen!
Also this was a fun video. Thanks!
I have very little interest in cars, but your delivery makes your stuff incredibly entertaining. Keep at it please, and feel free to investigate non car stuff.
Robert, I really like when your brilliantly thought-out ads are interrupted by nonsensical UA-cam ads for Temu Curve... it really emphasizes your professional production quality and how you always bring your videos to a deftly-written conclu
_Bob's Forest Survival Guide_
Good work, shame about the cracked thermo housing!
However I'm not sure having the heater "On" will have been helping with the overheating....
If the heater valve is open , this lets some hot coolant bypass the radiator and flow through the heater core. If the heater fan is not working, no air is passing through the heater core, and the coolant comes out the other side just as hot as it went in, then gets pumped back into the engine.
It will probably run cooler if you close the Heater Valve, (or if that's dodgy, just clamp one of the heater hoses.)
This way all the coolant has to go through the main radiator which was getting some amount of air blown over it by the engine fan.
(Factor don't deliver here, but I'll have a good look around to see if there's any growing wild. I think I've seen some of the empty shells blowing around on windy days)
Your videos always remind me of how nice it is to watch, from my couch, someone else toil and curse like there is no tomorrow. I'm not quite sure yet if I'm jealous or lucky.
I don't know if anyone else saw but 12:01 the thermostat housing looks like it has some leftover remnence of JB weld epoxy as if they had already tried to fix it. I could be wrong but that does not look like a casting fault. As someone that has used JB weld a lot I would sat it looks just like it
Good place to start when addressing overheating before parts. Is to confirm proper ignition timing. This one setting can dramatically affect overheating. Doing the parts change first may mask the real problem.
I think a proper chemical flush and a high pressure water rinse of the cooling system might have been a good idea before removing the old radiator
Hey Robbert. Something an old mechanic told me to get for stuck bolts and other parts is Kroil creep oil. You dowse the part with it (or submerge it if you get the 5 gallon bucket of it) and you let it sit and occasionally spray more on the part. Depending on how stuck the part is it can take a couple of days but it will eventually get the part of bolts unstuck.
I used Kroil for years as a band instrument tech. It would take any slide out, though sometimes it took a week of heating and pulling and oiling.
@@jessebrook1688 I had to soak one of the carbs for a week as well before the jet decided it wanted to come out. I damn near stripped it because it was so brittle.
As I showered this morning I thought to myself "I haven't seen anything new from AgingWheels in a bit....I hope he posts something soon". Clearly you heard my shower-thoughts. I still love the Robin the best, and I still desperately want one.
Trust me on this, you don't.
I thought the same thing a few days ago and went to check if I missed any videos lol
@@simonmatthews7512 It's a great classic car to own, as long as you don't buy a 95-99 model. The model aging wheels has was not fabricated by Reliant fibreglass workers but by motorboat makers. In 1995 Reliant had worn fibreglass moulds and was also facing bankruptcies, therefore the moulds weren't changed and the quality was terrible. Earlier Reliant cars from 1994 or earlier are a pleasure to own. Not just from the reactions you get on the road but the lack of rust and good reliability makes it a non stressful classic to own. Even This low quality blue abomination Aging Wheels has, has remained his most reliable old car.
As a classic mini driver with the same issues I can tell you out of experience:
simply check the fanblade monting direction (sucking/blowing). You would be surprised what a difference that makes!
Also there might be fans with more blades available?
Check the water pump. It might be gunked up!
Ideas for an upgrade of the cooling system:
Change the visco fan to an electric e.g. revotec (it seems the radiator has a hole for a sensor with an M14 insert?). You could use that for the ECU to control the fan.
You should patch those holes in the fiberglass in the "shroud" with some tape at least, to hopefully improve the airflow
I guess you now know that you need to hand tighten those equally and carefully. That is true for thermostat housings that only have two bolts. I like my powered ratchet but I am very careful with it and typically hand torque everything. Never sure if it will over or under torque something. I know others just tighten everything with the powered ratchet and I suspect they have checked to see just how much it tightens things. Probably should do that myself. Anyway, good luck with all that. Always enjoy your videos.
More Aging Wheels content, doesn't get any better than that. Thanks for the video. 👍
Ugh. I feel your pain, brother. The problem is you used a gasket. The gasket is squishy and allowed you to tighten the bolt to the point of caddywhompus and crack the housing. Just use RTV, nothing else. The housing will bottom out on metal and tightening will not cause a condition of caddywhompusness.
That's not the problem. The problem is old plastic deteriorates and RTV would have caused this just as easily as the thing rocks about. Gasket was fine, matter of fact there'd have been in your scenario more chance of it happening as the RTV would have been thicker in the first place or you'd wind up leaking worse than with the gasket (sans cracks of course.)
@@mikeybhoutex Have you ever worked on a Robin? What plastic are you talking about?
@@ModelA If that was metal it sure didn't look like it. So you're saying it's metal, and poor metal at that. Like maybe pot metal. RTV or paper gasket, it was destined to crack looks like to me.
I am totally ready for the new Bob's Forest Survival Guide channel...
Watch as Bob journeys to ever stranger places in search of the next delicious Factor bush, dragging his LTM (Leafy Twiggy Microwave) behind him, all in hopes he finds the Sacred Hidden Golden Mythical Sublime Larapin Good Meal (or SHGMSLGM for short). Will he ever find it? Tune in next video for...
*whispers* Bob's Forest Survival Guide....
for burping air out of the cooling system, get a radiator funnel kit. Lisle has pn 24780, which should fit just about everything, and has risers, to get the funnel level above the heater core. You can then bleed the air out of the heater core, by disconnecting the hose from it, until coolant comes out. Then run the engine with the funnel attached to the radiator, until the thermostat cycles a few times, while watching the level in the funnel. Keep it topped off, then shut down the engine, let it cool, and then remove the funnel, and put the cap on. Also: the 75C thermostat is generally too low, and won't let the engine warm up enough to run correctly. It'll run well enough, but it's not ideal.
The existence of the Reliant Robin is proof that we, here in England, can produce a car that is every bit the equal of a Trabant.
Depending on who owned it previous and how hard the water was in that area, the cooling channels in the engine block, especially the rear ones, often got blocked with limescale from the water, even if you did use antifreeze. It may be worth checking that issue (if you rebuild the engine at some point), and also, the thermostat housing shouldn't have cracked like it did unless you didn't seat the thermostat correctly and it's lip was sitting proud of the engine block seating part, which is normally identified when you seat the gasket around them. Also, between the heating matrix (the black box holding the fan) there should be a foam stuck to the box side to prevent air loss, but also to prevent fumes from entering the cabin. And if you ever mess with the carb system, there should be a tray under the carb, never discard it, it's there to prevent fuel overflow from the carb dripping on to the engine/exhaust and starting a fire. These were put on as a recall in the early models (many as a urgent recall) as many were catching fire due to being left 'choke' for too long at idle. To bleed the air out of the radiator quicker, put the front wheel up on a ramp. These are great cars!
Had no idea you and Hub Nut knew each other! Awesome to see! But also, in hindsight it makes perfect sense given you both like small, strange and slow European cars. Exactly the reason I love both your content!
I don't know why but your little ad for factor is actually pretty hilarious. People just you know do a typical ad but you damn bro you took it one step further and made it a joke. Congratulations! You actually almost sold a product to me* hand clap*
But what happened to "BOLLOCKS" - that was the best bit 😁
Perhaps he was hassled by "manscaped" wanting to sponsor him? 😉
Bollocks was still there on the front of the Robin
@@mjc0961 nope, it's covered up.
Never mind that.
3:09
This was the first time I ever watch through a whole ad on UA-cam and laughed my ass off, good job! I think you should be number 1 for these companies to advertise on your channel.
I would suggest finding the little spigot on the rear of the head that you undo and then poke out all the silt and gubbins in there, you can also to aid bleeding buy a Caterham cooling bleed valve which takes the issues out of bleeding air locks which are common major causes of overheating. Forward and reverse flush will aid a lot of problems and don't forget your yearly Barr's stop leak and to use an all alloy antifreeze as normal stuff will munch the alloy over time. There were three thermostats because you would own two and come winter put in the higher one and come summer put in the cooler one usually around the time you swapped from winter coolant to summer stuff. Remember too to change your fuel pump to carb fuel hose every other year... most Reliant's die is due to perished fuel hose that will merrily drizzle petrol over hot engine and red hot exhaust... hour later a puddle of plastic and aluminium for the sake of a couple feet of decent fuel hose. I have toyed with making mine solid metal line putting in some coils to allow it to flex but zero danger of petrol shower badness lol
The fact that there are holes in the body (from the factory, as opposed to rust) and the fact that you can tell the door doesn't seal shut properly, given you can see daylight where you shouldn't be able to inspires massive confidence in that things build quality, not to mention safety added with the fact that it's an all fibreglass three-wheeler. Maybe the Trabant isn't actually the least safe vehicle you own, which is some achievement.
I usually fast forward past the in video adds, but yours are to funny to miss😂 great video
My old 96 F-150 was leaking from the thermostat housing. After taking it off, replacing the thermostat and gasket, and reinstalling the housing... I cracked one of the ears off the housing and had to go buy a new one. After once again reinstalling the housing, it... cracked along one of the weld seams... and I had to go find *another* housing. Third time's the charm and everything worked great after that.
Moral of the story is: Make sure the thermostat is properly centered inside the housing before tightening the bolts. If it's not sat in the little recess in the housing perfectly, you'll snap off those ears every time. At least yours is on top of the engine... the Ford 300 engine has it on the front of the head *vertically* so I had to get a bit creative on how I got everything to line up. (a little dab of sticky grease in the housing held the thermostat in place while I aligned the bolt holes.)
Robert, you got the wrong radiator for this car, remember it's British, you need an aluminium radiator, not an aloominum one.
😛
Fixing those holes on the air tunnel and making sure the heater core is sealed with the body would probably help with getting air passing through the radiator
I hate ads, but keep up the good work, because yours are the only ones I don't skip. You make them awesome!
Whatever Factor75 is paying you, it should be way more. Best Advertisement i`ve seen in Ages....
And if you want better air flow to the radiator you can cut the panel of fiberglass out in front of the radiator under the car, then fit a wire mesh
the air doesn't have to go in the scoop etc then
After watching enough of Mr. Bean, a sight of the blue three-wheeled Robin brings a smile to my face every time. This was no exception. Thank you.
The only channel where I do not skip over the advertisement part.
I've made a very serviceable repair of a thermostat cover using the low temperature aluminium "welding" rods that can be used with a regular propane torch. They do take a bit of practice to get good results though.
Oddly heating issues can be the ignition system too. Fixed my sister's car with new plugs, coils, and a temp sensor (started there obviously).
That Factor ad was one of the better done ads I've seen on here. It was so off the cuff that I was engaged the whole time.
Your ad spots are 100% the only ones on UA-cam I don't skip.
My experience with thermostats is that lower temp thermostats don’t actually help over hearing, they’re more for how soon your heat will work at the expense of the engine not getting to temp as quick.
I had a 78 Robin van - in all the time I owned it it ran hot according to the gauge - never overheated! Remember on fiberglass cars the electrics are never great!
I used to own a Reliant Rebel where the air filter was held on by willpower. In the end it fell off and jammed neatly between the radiator and the radiator fan. I mended the radiator with some epoxy and a piece off the bottom of my jeans which was the only cloth I had with me. It worked! Happy days 🙂
Love the forest bit! Please be careful playing out in the woods! Poison Oak, Poison Ivy, and Poison Sumac can be hard to spot. All my interactions with have left me regretting playing unprotected in the forest.
It may just be fuel related. My LuAZ overheated when I got it but after rejetting it for “modern” e10 it’s just as terrible as it was when leaving the factory.
All the sounds during disassembly were exactly the sounds I thought taking apart a Reliant Robin would make
Thank you for this validation
Love your "real world" videos instead of the slick "everything goes smoothly" vids. This project goes like some of mine do - a "10 minute job" takes 10 days instead as I order the wrong parts, break something and need to order a replacement, hidden issues, and modding the original mounting arrangement that sucked or screws that stripped, etc. The "3 screws are good enough" made me laugh - we've all been there.
This is the only channel of all the ones I follow where I actually watch the promos. We’ll done sir.
Ok that Factor ad was right up there with Jayz2cents ifixit one. I appreciate that the Robins radiator was held in much like my old bathroom exhaust fan (hopes, dreams, and the attic exhaust vent tube).
I think this is the only channel that I watch all of the in video adds. Alway a good time. Glad you found a curent bush to plug in you forest microwave.
Cooling systems are temperamental at the best of times, even in modern cars. I had a Dacia Duster (1.6 petrol 4 cylinder Renault engine) at one point and decided to replace the thermostat.
I went with a generic, but decent one i bought online. Car would boil over. I googled how to properly fit the thermostat and bleed the system. Car would boil over. I got a lower rated thermostat, car would boil over. I then bought a third thermostat straight from Renault, car would boil over. I once again tried bleeding the system the "proper" way (let it idle, rev it up, fiddle with bleed screws, turn off heater, turn on heater, let it idle again, something hugely complicated), car would boil over.
I put all three thermostats in a saucepan and brought it to the boil. All three thermostats opened, no problem. I flushed the system. I checked the rad.
Finally brought the car to my thrusted mechanic, because maybe the water pump had given up the ghost. Brought it there the evening before so he could start working on it the next day at 8 am. Got a phonecall at 9, car's fixed. No problems, no overheating.
I asked him what on earth he did to get it to not overheat.
Nothing.
He undid the thermostat housing, removed thermostat, put in different thermostat, bled the cooling system, no problems.
There is only one bleed screw on the whole system. The thermostat can only be fitted one way. There are absolutely no electric actuators. The whole system is as primitive as it can be.
I talked to my mechanic and described exactly what I've been doing, he said he did the exact same thing.
Car never overheated again.
Factor is lucky. You are the only channel that can insert an ad that I actually watch.
Congratulations for the sponsored segment. It was really creative and funny. I didn't skip it even though it is a product I can't even buy as I don't live in the US.
You may already know about it since you work on cars more than I do, there's a 1 minute cure gasket maker called "The Right Stuff". It's grey and comes in a small pressure pack can. You apply it, put your parts together and you're good to go; virtually no cure time. It's oil resistant and high temp, I've used it on my car's oil sump since my car's sump is one of those that come from factory with sealant not a gasket and I can attest that the stuff does what it claims. Ain't cheap but it's a time saver.
Probably the only channel where I actually enjoy watching the ads. 😆
That was probably the best AD I have ever seen. And I really like the looks of that Robin. This is going to sound weird, but for some reason, to me it looks cool in an oddball sort of way. The projects you are willing to take on takes a lot of courage. LOL. You must have a very understanding better half. Take care and God Bless, Paul from Florida.
Ahh the school of mechanicing to which I subscribe.
The "that'll be fine" approach
Can't wait for the thrilling conclusion!
Thank you for making the ad content fun to watch. 🙂
Best sponsorship segment ever. I usually find them so annoying and all the channels have the same stuff at the same time, but this was fun 🙂
it was such a pleasure to meet you at OpenSauce! Keep up the great videos.
Overheating is a standard feature with Reliants. I've had a few and they all overheated. My last one was a rare Fox 4 wheel van. That one had enough room just behind the bumper to fit a much larger rad than standard. That finally fixed the overheating.
Lovely video as always! And tip for mounting stuff in/on bad fiberglass; drywall anchor! Remember to predrill an allmost to big core hole so the fiber won't crack. Not a good solution but cheap and effective.
You perfected the plug ads, you are now the reference I will be pointing to for other people
Anxiously awaiting updates and hoping you are well, safe, and enjoying summer with your kiddo.
I LOVE NEW VIDEOS NO MATTER WHAT IT IS! I JUST LOVE YOUR EDITING STYLE!!!
As someone who knows nothing about these things, what would happen if you left the heater core out and put a flat panel over that big hole? Would it force all the air down on to the radiator?
I think that would work fine, but then you’d have no heat or defrost. It’s the summer so he could just do it temporarily, but he might as well order the part and do it properly now. Plus he was running out of time, and likely couldn’t fabricate something quick enough.
As far as airflow, yes, it would potentially cause airflow to be forced through the radiator when the car's moving. However, at rest, I'm not sure the airflow will be different, that's more dependent on the fan pulling the air through (and without a shroud, it is way less efficient for that purpose.)
The other issue is removing the heater core box removes the heater for your passenger compartment. And while Robert may or may not be using the Robin in cold situations, the heater core is also a radiator, so it adds coolant/cooling capacity... something that may be beneficial in the right situation.
What I might consider is replacing the heater core and getting the fan fixed for that... and I would ditch the plastic engine driven fan for a small electric one directly on the new radiator. But that's me. Robert will do Robert.
@@mikeybhoutexa more powerful EC fan with a proper shroud would easily fix the overheating, but might starve the heater now. A well fitted powerful fan makes all the difference with heat exchangers
You would seize the engine within minutes. A major design flaw of the Robin/Rialto is that the heater core is the only thing which cools the rearmost cylinder. Yes, really.
mine used to slowly start to overheat when stopped in traffic, then cool down once it got moving
My day is complete, an Aging Wheels video! Leafy twiggy microwave and all
You can bleed systems (slightly) easier with parts of the cooling circuit higher than the fill port by using some extension tube to raise the effective level of the fill port. Just need it to be watertight.
Won't the air in the higher part of the circuit stay there without a higher path to go through to get to the extension tube? Or do you mean to try to run the fluid through the system (by running the engine) with the extension tube in place and well-fed so that air that passes by the fill port can escape through the extension tube?
@@hoebare Running the engine with the extension tube in place and filled up. Letting it get hot enough for the thermostat to open and gas to expand, and giving it some revs to help move things along.
Maybe it’s my genuinely diagnosed ADHD or my bad luck, but a lot of my projects end up like your Robin. The minute I tell my wife, foreman or boss, “I can have it done in “x” amount of time”, something happens and I miss my completion time exponentially.
I had an old skoda estelle 120 and I always made sure the thermostat opened at the approximate temperature by checking with a thermometer just a chance worth trying but love the videos 👍 👌 😎
best ad read i’ve ever seen, hands down
Your videos are so much closer to my attempts to work on a car. Warms my heart.
Your sponsorshipparts are just so nice. Every part of every video is just great
To make paper gaskets work, especially with water, you need to rub grease into them all over first. As someone who restored two ancient MGBs in the past you can imagine how I learned this. Love your fix-it videos.
I like to use a lisle coolant funnel to raise up the coolant level. Then I loosen the uppermost hose to let the air escape from the high point. Saves a lot of time chasing air locks.
Taking car advice from Hubnut is like asking Mr pink to teach you ballet - these engines do overheat if you don't keep up with the carb tuning and do the timing, very hot weather, and ultra hot exhaust can vaporize the fuel, leaning out the mix, if it's gutless, but the timing is ok at idle, the advance weights in the dizzy can seize due to lack of maintenance/use - reliant's are from a different age 90% are Imperial, iirc some are even Whitworth 😉🙃