Oooff, that’s frustrating Henry, hope you get to the bottom of the leaks soon. Had to laugh at the shot of the containers all lined up to catch the drips though!
Wow Henry what a tale of woe. From my experience, firstly, I use a Dow Corning silicone grease on the o-ring for the water pump connection ie pipe with 2 0-rings, this allows an 'easier' fitting with less stress and grip on the o-rings when putting into situ. Also, the OEM's o-ring for the manifold-head sealing is thinner than what I believe Rimmer & Robsport hand out as a spare, not much in it but it can cause a bit of a stand off when connecting the manifold to the head and getting the water pump pipe in correctly, then deforming it as you torque down the manifold. I don't think any slight difference in your water pump housing has caused any issue with the manifold, you just have a leaking gasket. Top man for sharing these woes, this will help people in the future. Take care buddy you will get there.
Hi Henry, I just reviewed your water pump installation video and I think you have gone the wrong way when selecting the correct thickness gasket. According to the BL manual: dry fit the water pump housing and measure the gap under the cover. The instructions then say to ADD 10-20 thou to the measured gap to select the correct gasket thickness so when the cap is bolted down there is the specified INTERNAL clearance for the impeller. Listening to your commentary, you DEDUCTED the clearance from your measurement, which means the housing will never snug down tightly. This is why I think the joint is leaking. Hope this helps... Keep up the good work!
Hi Henry, You measured the gap at 29 thou then DEDUCTED 20 thou and installed a 10 thou gasket, if I listened correctly. I think if you ADD 10 thou to your 29 measured gap (39 thou), the thermostat should snug down with no leaks. The BL manual does mention installing multiple gaskets to achieve the desired thickness. Hope this cures the problem 🤞.
I’ve watched it earlier and I’m pretty sure I added. I need to check if I did the same on the two cars. But I was also following the Haynes manual and I think it said you wanted 20-30 thousand. I’ll watch both again and read both manuals
Bad luck, I’m a Dolomite owner (1850 which is basically the same as the TR7 2.0 litre unit). The Dolomite thermostat housing has a large brass plug in the top for filling/ topping up the coolant, surprised to see yours hasn’t, sure makes life easier than having to replace the gasket every time, are you sure you have the right one on your car as it seems a bit daft not to have a removable plug at the top of the cooling system for exactly what you are doing?
Oooff, that’s frustrating Henry, hope you get to the bottom of the leaks soon. Had to laugh at the shot of the containers all lined up to catch the drips though!
I know. But you should have seen how much I didn't get!. My garage could have been mistaken for the local pool.
Wow Henry what a tale of woe. From my experience, firstly, I use a Dow Corning silicone grease on the o-ring for the water pump connection ie pipe with 2 0-rings, this allows an 'easier' fitting with less stress and grip on the o-rings when putting into situ.
Also, the OEM's o-ring for the manifold-head sealing is thinner than what I believe Rimmer & Robsport hand out as a spare, not much in it but it can cause a bit of a stand off when connecting the manifold to the head and getting the water pump pipe in correctly, then deforming it as you torque down the manifold.
I don't think any slight difference in your water pump housing has caused any issue with the manifold, you just have a leaking gasket.
Top man for sharing these woes, this will help people in the future. Take care buddy you will get there.
Thanks Chris; that makes me feel like I can sort this. The frustration I was feeling yesterday was immense.
Hi Henry, I just reviewed your water pump installation video and I think you have gone the wrong way when selecting the correct thickness gasket.
According to the BL manual: dry fit the water pump housing and measure the gap under the cover. The instructions then say to ADD 10-20 thou to the measured gap to select the correct gasket thickness so when the cap is bolted down there is the specified INTERNAL clearance for the impeller.
Listening to your commentary, you DEDUCTED the clearance from your measurement, which means the housing will never snug down tightly. This is why I think the joint is leaking.
Hope this helps... Keep up the good work!
Thanks Carsten, I'm sure that is where I went wrong but I assumed I measured incorrectly. I must take a look at the video and see how I did it
Hi Henry, You measured the gap at 29 thou then DEDUCTED 20 thou and installed a 10 thou gasket, if I listened correctly.
I think if you ADD 10 thou to your 29 measured gap (39 thou), the thermostat should snug down with no leaks.
The BL manual does mention installing multiple gaskets to achieve the desired thickness.
Hope this cures the problem 🤞.
I’ve watched it earlier and I’m pretty sure I added. I need to check if I did the same on the two cars. But I was also following the Haynes manual and I think it said you wanted 20-30 thousand. I’ll watch both again and read both manuals
Bad luck, I’m a Dolomite owner (1850 which is basically the same as the TR7 2.0 litre unit). The Dolomite thermostat housing has a large brass plug in the top for filling/ topping up the coolant, surprised to see yours hasn’t, sure makes life easier than having to replace the gasket every time, are you sure you have the right one on your car as it seems a bit daft not to have a removable plug at the top of the cooling system for exactly what you are doing?
Thanks, yeah I'm sure I have the right water pump housing. I think I've measured the gaskets incorrectly