Big Brother Posted March 16, 2002 Share Posted March 16, 2002 Help - advice needed. I have just completed a 4 month chassis up rebuild on my 1700 X-flow 1979 Seven Today was the first run out since completion (if thats the right work as it will never be finishedwink.gif) After a 1/2 mile trip to the garage for fuel I noticed the temp guage rising. I went straight home and the temp had reached max when I got there, guage read 120c...switched off! I then found a pretty good sized puddle of oil under the car. which was nicesad.gif This seems to be coming from a recently fitted oil pressure Tee piece from the warning light sender. Questions... 1, The sender is a taper fit into the Tee piece and is pretty tight (would not want to tighten more for fear of shearing) Can any body recommend a way of sealing this joint. A little PTFE is visible from the old guage adaptor, is this the way to go? 2, The oil dripping (pi55ing) out pretty quickly. Could this be the reason for the water temprature rising so high so quickly? (in literaly one mile with no traffic) The only engine mod carried out in the rebuild was to remove the heater (which was always turned off) and put in a bypass hose between the inlet manifold outlet and the water pump. This seems to be the norm on a X-flow Ideas Please smile.gif PS Aeroscreens are the way to go!teeth.gifteeth.gifteeth.gifteeth.gifteeth.gif Steve www.Se7en-Up.co.uk id=green> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swiss_Tony Posted March 16, 2002 Share Posted March 16, 2002 PTFE tape is ideal for the oil fittings. It would be worth checking the thermostat to make sure thats ok. If in doubt fit a new one. Are there any airlocks or blocked pipes? This could cause the same symptoms. Good luck James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Brother Posted March 16, 2002 Author Share Posted March 16, 2002 Cheers James, I have refitted the oil tee peice using PTFE tape and it now seems fine (touch wood). As for the temperature problem its now two fold.... The engine is heating up very quickly and just keeps getting hotter. Even with the fan switch bypassed and the fan running continuosly it still gets to 120c! (The engine runs very smoothly and has bags of power) The engine used to run at around 90c all the time and the fan hardly ever used to cut in. I checked the coolant and the level seems to be OK - no air locks. I have now noticed a slight weep from the top of the very hot rad....things just keep getting better and better! Steve www.Se7en-Up.co.uk id=green> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F355GTS Posted March 16, 2002 Share Posted March 16, 2002 Steve Is the bottom of the Rad hot or cold?, if' it's cold the rad could be blocked or the pump may not be pumping. Other thing to check is the thermostat, is it opening? to test remove it and drop it in a bowl of near boiling water to see if it opens. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EFA Posted March 16, 2002 Share Posted March 16, 2002 Or take the stat right out, reassemble and see what happens...... Fat Arn The NOW PROVEN R500 Eaterid=red> See the Lotus Seven Club 4 Counties Area Website hereid=green> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevefoster Posted March 16, 2002 Share Posted March 16, 2002 PTFE is fine. Some do not recommend it if you need an electical connection i.e. a sender of some sort to work. T-pieces and high reving XF's (your's now qualifies as such since we put double valve springs in her to stop the valve bounce) don't mix that well. They tend to vibrate loose. I am sure you could rig up something with a tie wrap to stop that though. You can get hydraulic pipe sealant. RKE used it on my sump nut that he threaded for me (return post) when I sent him the nut and sender for oil temp. Put loads a PTFE tape on and don't over tighten. Good luck. Edited by - stevefoster on 16 Mar 2002 19:13:59 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Brother Posted March 16, 2002 Author Share Posted March 16, 2002 Cheers all, May have cracked it with the help of Phil (thanks Philsmile.gif) Looks like the thermostat was opening around 1mm then sticking for a while before opening. Have now replaced it with one I had on the shelf (now there's a first) which opens a litte earlier @ 82c. The temperature now seems a lot more controled and you can now see when the stat has opened by watching the temperature gauge. Before it just climbed Continuously. Hopefully tomorrow will be good weather so that I can test her out properly. The tee piece and sender is now totaly leak proof (with PTFE on all threads) I must now have the worlds first x-flow without an oil leakteeth.gif One question that came up today.... If you remove the heater on a xflow and in-effect join the two hoses that used to connect to the heater - will this have any detrimental effect to the cooling. (did the heater matrix provide any sort of restriction to the flow of water around the block) Just interested confused.gif Steve www.Se7en-Up.co.uk id=green> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taran Las Posted March 16, 2002 Share Posted March 16, 2002 Steve, Last year I ran mine exactly the same as yours with a bypass hose from the manifold to the water pump. It worked fine - no increase in operating temperature. This year I have blanked both of the holes off and run without the bypass. Regards Phil Owen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Brother Posted March 17, 2002 Author Share Posted March 17, 2002 Well, looks like it was definateley the stat! (You were right Phil) Took the car out today for a quick blat to the tyre place to get the tracking sorted out. It now seems to be running cooler than before, around 85c (82c stat fitted?) and reached a maximum of 98 whan stationary in traffic after a "spirited" drive on open roads. Hello to the Green (and Yellow?) Seven who waved at me in Fleet (was it you Brent?) Couldn't see as I my goggles misted up as soon as I stoppedsmile.gif Also found out that sand kicked up by the car in front at 50mph+ bloody hurts your face!sad.gif All in all.....ONE HAPPY (sore) BUNNY! teeth.gifteeth.gifteeth.gifteeth.gifteeth.gifteeth.gifteeth.gifteeth.gifteeth.gifteeth.gif Steve www.Se7en-Up.co.uk id=green> Edited by - steve motts on 17 Mar 2002 15:02:00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elie boone Posted March 17, 2002 Share Posted March 17, 2002 Steve, next time use Loctite 577 it will seal and secure the T piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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