Use code AGINGWHEELS50 to get 50% off your first Factor box at bit.ly/3JBxZfN! Well, I started fixing it! Patreon: / agingwheels Merchandise: crowdmade.com/...
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.
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 🤣
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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'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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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 can drill a couple of small holes in the fibreglass just in front of the rad to get some more airflow should be low enough to not be seen but should be able to pass some more air over the rad.
Adventures in late 20th century budget British car engineering! Actually, the Reliant engines themselves are quite highly regarded and reliable (cynics say it's the plastic dustbin wrapped around them that's the problem!) I do think you need to get a new heater fan though, that can't be helping the problem. And seal up those body holes too.
The quality was extremely low in between 1995 and 1999 due to bankruptcies and the fact Reliant continued to use worn fibreglass moulds. The early Rialtos and Robin MK1s were not a dustbin.
A typical problem. Often the cap of the cooling water system where you refill is broken and the cooling system did not build up pressure to work correctly. It usually opens when a few PSI is reached. (0.5 bar in metric pressure over atmospheric )
If you haven't already thought of it (being captain obvious here), might I suggest adding some nutserts with washers in the holes where the heater box mounts? You know, do what Reliant should have?
Your videos are always great, but this series has been FASCINATING. Don't get down about deadlines. You're getting a lot more done than I am. I'm just sitting here watching UA-cam videos while my own projects stare at me from the work bench...
all the heater stuff is blocking some air. they used to have summer and winter stats. most found overheating cured by using the winter stat, which closed longer between cycles, allowing the rad to actually pull more heat out than a wide open summer stat. yours is probably more airflow problem. did you flush the coolant passages of the block?
Dude, your sponsorship game is next level! It's getting close to being an equal reason to watch an episode as the actual intended content. That's a Fact(or).
lmfao you staring at the temp gauge that way gave me so so many flashbacks of the so many times in my life ive dont that while gong please please please just don't do it' there's traffic everywhere and this is a freeway lmao the face is so on point...
the most famous three-wheel Reliant is Luke Skywalker's Landspeeder, yup it was based on 1970s Robin built by Ogle Design who were Reliant's design partners for many years.
Technically the Landspeeder was built on a Bond Bug, but as that was based on a shortened Regal chassis with an Ogle-designed body on top of it, it's very closely related to the Robin.
And likely going to create a full open loop which won’t cool better. Closing the thermostat allows the coolant to dwell in the rad and cool down, then it opens and exchanges. Open circuit will result in higher temps, because essentially you won’t have a thermostat
Here's a bit of advice: get the highest temp thermostat they offer. The thermostat temp rating has nothing to do with overheating unless it fails which still has nothing to do with overheating. Among other things the higher temp thermostat allows the engine to get warm enough to evaporate any H2O that accumulates in the engine from heat cycles, which is a good thing.
My 2002 s55 AMG has no radiator fan. Cords got shredded by the belt. Yesterday i had to jump start a car and idled with the heat blasting for an hour. Now my car smells like melted plastic lol
Maybe? Probably not. That feels like something to save for the massive rewiring it needs. All the lights switches are wired wrong and the brake lights don't work
@@WayneMoyer : Consider that some Brit cars are positive ground and some are negative ground, and then consider what sort of ground a fiberglass Brit car is likely to have....
@@agingwheels But you're the magician that creates and builds technical electric car drive systems and lawnmowers and gokarts! The Robin electricals are like nothing compared to the proposed bus drive system.
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!
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! 🤣
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??!!
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.
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.
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.
That was the best high-effort advertisement I have ever seen!
Also this was a fun video. Thanks!
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.
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
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.
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
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.)
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.
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.
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'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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
Can't wait for the thrilling conclusion!
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.
The only channel where I do not skip over the advertisement part.
You can drill a couple of small holes in the fibreglass just in front of the rad to get some more airflow should be low enough to not be seen but should be able to pass some more air over the rad.
This is the only channel of all the ones I follow where I actually watch the promos. We’ll done sir.
Thank you for making the ad content fun to watch. 🙂
Adventures in late 20th century budget British car engineering! Actually, the Reliant engines themselves are quite highly regarded and reliable (cynics say it's the plastic dustbin wrapped around them that's the problem!) I do think you need to get a new heater fan though, that can't be helping the problem. And seal up those body holes too.
The quality was extremely low in between 1995 and 1999 due to bankruptcies and the fact Reliant continued to use worn fibreglass moulds. The early Rialtos and Robin MK1s were not a dustbin.
Have you ever looked at one of those induction bolt heaters? They work a treat.
Should also measure coolant water mixture. If it's too much glyghole it does not work.
Dangit I was poised to skip ahead when the Factor ad started but your creative take on it stayed my hand. Nice job.
A typical problem. Often the cap of the cooling water system where you refill is broken and the cooling system did not build up pressure to work correctly. It usually opens when a few PSI is reached. (0.5 bar in metric pressure over atmospheric )
Your sponsors should pay you a million dollars per video, because I gladely watched through the whole commercial! 😂
"My Reliant Robin is overheating. Out of spite, I decided to make it worse."
If you haven't already thought of it (being captain obvious here), might I suggest adding some nutserts with washers in the holes where the heater box mounts? You know, do what Reliant should have?
I really like the survival guide part of the video I thought that was hilarious and I hope to get another follow-up video soon i enjoy your content
I even love the ads on your channel, this was awesome (the rest of the video as well of course)
Your videos are always great, but this series has been FASCINATING. Don't get down about deadlines. You're getting a lot more done than I am. I'm just sitting here watching UA-cam videos while my own projects stare at me from the work bench...
all the heater stuff is blocking some air.
they used to have summer and winter stats.
most found overheating cured by using the winter stat, which closed longer between cycles, allowing the rad to actually pull more heat out than a wide open summer stat.
yours is probably more airflow problem.
did you flush the coolant passages of the block?
If it helps that heater motor is just a standard Smiths type as fitter to all MGB and Midget models and easily sourced
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 🙂
Why not getting spill free funnel? Fill it with coolent and it should be the highest point to prevent air locks in the cooling system.
Dude, your sponsorship game is next level! It's getting close to being an equal reason to watch an episode as the actual intended content. That's a Fact(or).
Nice to hear mr hubnut mentioned.
You would make great survival videos (thank you Mr. Factor to sponsor this video!!). Now, I will go hunt my next meal.
I find it interesting they put the heater core fan in a spot where it has to fight the radiator fan for fresh air. lol
Also to bleed the cooling system you fill the radiator up and then fill it up from one of the heater hoses so make sure no air is in the heater core
lmfao you staring at the temp gauge that way gave me so so many flashbacks of the so many times in my life ive dont that while gong please please please just don't do it' there's traffic everywhere and this is a freeway lmao the face is so on point...
man your ads are absolutely amazing!
I did that once. It was the crummy plastic thermostat housing on a Hyundai Elantra.
Don't wait too long for the follow up: we are reliant on you for more entertaining videos about the Robin... ;-)
I saw a Robin bird 🐦 face at 3:43 😂
the most famous three-wheel Reliant is Luke Skywalker's Landspeeder, yup it was based on 1970s Robin built by Ogle Design who were Reliant's design partners for many years.
Technically the Landspeeder was built on a Bond Bug, but as that was based on a shortened Regal chassis with an Ogle-designed body on top of it, it's very closely related to the Robin.
Good news about a Reliant Robin being in the way... It only takes about two Peter Dinklage of power to move it manually.
75c thermo is very cold for an ICE
And likely going to create a full open loop which won’t cool better. Closing the thermostat allows the coolant to dwell in the rad and cool down, then it opens and exchanges. Open circuit will result in higher temps, because essentially you won’t have a thermostat
If the fan has a clutch it could be weak which might add to overheating.
Waiting for the UA-cam Short that’s just maniacal laughter while this thing is rolling away on some unlucky guy’s trailer.
As someone who has done fiberglass- How did they even manage those holes?!
It crackles, lol that's what the oceana submarine guy said about their little window.
i saw one last week ... here in cardiff ... wales.. the wet bit
I can’t be the only one thinking “Pearl Jam” every time I hear him say “Even Flow”.
whenever I see this robin anywhere on the internet I always immediately think of mister bean lol
Here's a bit of advice: get the highest temp thermostat they offer. The thermostat temp rating has nothing to do with overheating unless it fails which still has nothing to do with overheating. Among other things the higher temp thermostat allows the engine to get warm enough to evaporate any H2O that accumulates in the engine from heat cycles, which is a good thing.
That ad skit was pretty damn good
GReat job on the video! Thanks for making it.
imagine if the issue was just having the heater on.
Just why... I remember seeing Jeremy Clarkson flip that thing 3 times 🤣🤣🤣
Have you tries vacuuming the cooling system?
I think cleaning the housing knocked loose the dirt that was holding it together.
The original radiator look like one from an original Leyland Mini.
If it ain't one thing it's another and your Robin is much like my old Isuzu Trooper where it needs a lot of lovin! Shalom
The ad was amusing enough to watch it.
Im pretty sure that fan is also a radiator fan to keep it cool
as a Brit, I piss myself laughing every time I see you working on the plastic pig. (Bollocks lol)
Good luck with those Zhiguli :))
Ah your ads are getting pretty funny :D Good stuff.
My 2002 s55 AMG has no radiator fan. Cords got shredded by the belt. Yesterday i had to jump start a car and idled with the heat blasting for an hour. Now my car smells like melted plastic lol
I think your baked in adds are the only ones I don't fast-forward through 😅
Head gasket?
Its the only engine job I've ever done on a reliant, apart from brake service
I feel as though the follow up video will be in the snow..
I like your front plate there, sir.
We definitely need a HubNut / Aging Wheels crossover episode...
I've repaired a corroded thermostat housing with chemical metal. It outlasted the car
This cat looks like it would loose a dragrace to a pigeon
Those things were built for the temperate weather in jolly ol’ England, not Satan’s Butthole Hot Missouri 😂😂
If you have a properly tuned carb, or fuel injection- fuck the thermostat.
You dont need it
Firing the parts cannon…you might need a permit for that! Best to diagnose first then repair….
Am I the only one concerned that you can see sky between the door and the car?
0:31
Oh BOLLOCKS, somebody made him censor it.
3:08
Aha! there is it, I guess they're not watching too far into the video.
why did the video have to come out today? Why couldnt it come out tomorrow?
The somewhat reliant Robbin.
My bike was doing a similar thing, bad temp sensor AND thermostat
please make a Bobs Forest Survival Guide t-shirt.......so funny
That may have been the dumbest and most convincing ad I have ever seen. I love it.
Are you going to go back to fix the fan on the heater core?
Maybe? Probably not. That feels like something to save for the massive rewiring it needs. All the lights switches are wired wrong and the brake lights don't work
@@agingwheels Oddly it looked really simply in the video. As the former of several Brit cars. I should know better. Nothing is truly simple in them.
@@WayneMoyer : Consider that some Brit cars are positive ground and some are negative ground, and then consider what sort of ground a fiberglass Brit car is likely to have....
@@BrooksMoses I didn't think of that. Weird enough with metal Brit cars.
@@agingwheels But you're the magician that creates and builds technical electric car drive systems and lawnmowers and gokarts! The Robin electricals are like nothing compared to the proposed bus drive system.
You ordered the thermostat intended for time travel. A common mistake.
Would it help if you only drove in winter?
When I saw you using that electric ratchet to put the thermostat housing back on, I thought: "Wow, I would never do that"
You're welcome. :'(
YES NEW VIDEO YAAAAY!!!!
Ahhhh, the joys of Robin ownership!
Unlucky Reliant Robin AND unlucky Robert it seems!