mudguard

A follow-up on this. I was able to cure the slight leak using self-amalgamating rubber tape on the ally flanges and lubrication on the hose clip. However, this didn't cure the tendency to climb towards overheating. I had a suggestion from elsewhere that, despite sounding like HGF-driven coolant pressurisation, the symptoms could just be due to a persistent airlock in the thermostat area causing the thermostat to open late. The suggestion was to get a new thermostat, and just before fitting it, as a test, cut the centre out of the old one and the run for a bit to guarantee no airlocks and hence prove or disprove the HGF theory. I decided to adapt this suggestion, so instead of cutting out the whole centre of the thermostat, I drilled the infamous 2mm hole in the outer flange, orientated to be upright. Thank you Ian SM25T for the picture showing exactly where. I then refilled very slowly, and, lo and behold, the problem (so far) seems cured. Still a bit of high temp tendency with heater running, but I'll get that minor airlock out of the heater matrix when I have time - before winter!

I'm looking to buy just one.

I did two tests with the "Dr Headgasket" blue fluid tester; once with the tank bung and once with the syringe. I had to let the engine run for much longer than the instructions suggest, because until the thermostat opens there's no coolant flow anywhere near the expansion tank, and no bubbles through the tester. I was able to rev the engine a bit (tolerant neighbours!) and at high revs see some flow(?) bubbles(?) in the tank apparently coming from the expansion hose to the lower radiator hose. I sampled the tank gases until after this point. The instructions say the coolant should be at 50 degC or less; well definitely so for the coolant in the expansion tank, but definitely not for the coolant in the circuit - the thermostat had to open! Both tests negative. The only thing I can think of now is take the tester on the road, exercise the car thoroughly, and test again after that. But I fear that the expansion tank coolant will be > 50degC at that point.

Thanks CageyH I did exactly that - and yes it's still leaking, but slightly less so since I re-seated the clip. I think I will try the inner tube trick next, thanks ScottR400D. On the positive side, I found yet more air in the system (after previously convincing myself that I had properly bled it!). With this out, the car can now handle enthusiastic driving without the temp creeping up to 100. After an enthusiastic stint, lifting the bonnet on the idle reveals moderately-firm - not rock-hard - top and bottom hoses and expansion bottle level raised by 1cm over rest, and, very quickly, an activated fan. All as it should be I think? Expansion bottle level then gradually drops back to resting level (the lip halfway up the bottle). So hopefully the early fire ring failure theory seems less likely? But a combustion gases tester kit is in the mail anyway.

Thanks JK, I am quite sure it's coming from there - verified by touching the hose lip. It's the same jubilee clip that was on the same hose (silicone) previously with no leaks from this point. With the old radiator the leak was from the crimping at the junction of the plastic top tank and the ally core, near the top hose, which I believe is a well-know failure point. I don't know whether it's a genuine clip. I did not lubricate but I did check that the spigot was very smooth - it is.

That's what I feared someone was going to say :( There is no mayo in the oil or in the coolant, but I'm aware of how there doesn't have to be (fire ring problem) :(

My fisher-price chocolate-teapot part-plastic radiator gave up bothering to contain the coolant at Dunsfold. Thanks Marshall Big Mike for the moral support and sorry to anyone whose TGT session I delayed! I did manage to get home fine by driving gently, but this, along with the weather forecast, put to bed any thoughts of doing the Taffia run again this year. Anyway, I've now swapped it for a new all-ally one and it seems to be working great - almost. Bit of an air of concerned anticipation doing my first K-bleed but fortunately I have a secondary filling point in the heater hose which makes it pretty easy to get the airlocks out. The car is now controlling its temperature better than I've ever seen - it's almost like its (mostly) glued at 82. Only thing is, when I drive enthusiastically, I get a bit of dribbling from the bottom rad hose followed by the inevitable airlock and the needle creeping up towards the danger zone. Of course this didn't happen when I ran it up to temp on the drive and patiently checked everything over multiple fan cycles, oh no of course it was fine then. Nor did it happen cruising at 30/40, but only when I was several miles away from home where the nearest NSL exists. It went straight away at that point, about 1-2 drips per second, so I tightened up the jubilee clip as much as I dared, re-bled, and that seems to have mostly cured it. Now I reckon it would go all day at moderate levels. But it's still weeping a bit when I give it the beans, now about 1 drip per 10 seconds, and it soon stops once idling. Still a big problem as even this is enough to cause an airlock and a roadside re-bleed. Scratching my head a bit as to how I could reproduce the "stress" situation back on the drive, I disconnected the fan, temporarily, to run it up nice and hot. Temperature climbed towards 100, coolant level in expansion bottle rose steadily, top and bottom hoses went rock-hard. I assume that the weeping is due mostly to the pressure in the bottom hose, no? Anyway, not a drop lost. But I had just repositioned the jubilee clip so that it was closer to the flange in the radiator spiggot; previously it closer to the lip of the hose. Maybe that's fixed it? I did of course then reconnect the fan and check that temperatures, expansion bottle level and hose pressures returned to normal. But haven't had chance to re-road-test the car yet with the repositioned jubilee clip. I found a brief mention from nickh7 in the useless search facility of roughing up something with emory cloth (but what?) in this situation. Will only this stop my dribbling?

Thanks Ian - mine failed differently. The break was between the adhesive and the fibreglass, adhesive still very firmly attached to wingstay. (edited as I initially misread your comment)

Adhesive failure between front cycle wing and upper wingstay arm - but not lower wingstay arm. Hence, at rest, it sits by gravity and all appears normal. At around 40Mph, it acts like a sail, lifting up and waving around and pushing the lowest part of the wing into the tyre. Aware of the various discussions re: bigheads, choice of adhesives etc etc. Have a long-term plan, but for now it's firmly fixed on with a cable tie.

(No, nothing to do with sprouts or beans for dinner) Out for a blat today, noticed a strange smell only at 40Mph and above. A burning smell, perhaps burning rubber or oil. Definitely went away at low speeds. Definitely me - no-one else around - supposedly busiest day of the year? Certainly not in west Kent where I was enjoying the sunshine and the empty roads. No unusual noises. All gauges fine. Engine running fine. Brakes fine - not dragging. Steering smooth and unobstructed. Handbrake not applied . Pulled over (immediately to be distracted by a passing local who wanted to tell me all about I was driving his dream car, yeah I get it, mine too, but right now I really want to check that it's safe rather than have a chat, sorry). Exhaust gases clear. Lifted bonnet, nothing leaking, nothing smoking, coolant/oil levels fine. Examined 4 wheels - nothing making contact. Set off again, and immediately I hit 40 the smell returned. Then I immediately realised what it was and didn't even need to stop the car to confirm. I also knew I could safely drive the car back home, provided I did not exceed 40. Puzzle: what was it?

That would have been me! Certainly was a nice one! Beautiful sunny winter morning for a scenic cruise in the open air. As for tough, well, If I mention that the ambient temperature was pleasantly warm, I was protected by a windscreen, and the heater was on full blast, and I was wearing three layers....

Ours was parked just around the corner.

Thanks Ian. The crud-in-tank theory does fit, especially as the tank was pretty low (but still 60 miles or so above the lowest I've previously run it) this morning. Is it possible to clean the fuel filter or should I just replace/get it replaced?

According to www.gov.uk, it has now passed the MOT (hurray!). Particularly happy that all the stuff I've done myself over the last year - and that is checked during the test - was satisfactory. New wheels, tyres, washer motor, brake fluid, brakelight switch, headlight flasher switch, headlight bulbs, and 3 episodes of contact cleaning on foglight, foglight switch and hazard switch.

K VVC 160 EU3 Today is MOT day and it didn't seem at all keen about that. Understandable really as last week it did 1500 glorious (and faultless) miles on glorious empty sunny roads in the pennines, so fair enough for it to turn its little nosecone up at the 20 mile trip down to CC who arrange my MOTs. All was normal until the engine caught immediately and then stopped about half a second later. Much more abruptly than when the immobiliser is accidentally left engaged. After that, just spinning on the starter with not even an attempt at firing. ODBC said random multiple misfiring and misfire due to low fuel. I was only able to get it going by massaging the rubber fuel hose just prior to where it joins the fuel rail, whilst running the starter. This took about half a minute whilst it fired progressively better to the point where I released the starter and it ran on its own, but a little rough at first. During the process, I was able to feel the pressure of the fuel pump priming, and the pulsing of the injectors. Throughout the journey it behaved and sounded normal.The usual levels of power, no sagging not even with WOT. At the end of the journey, I was able to stop and restart it with no problems. CC will have the car until at least the end of the day, and I did warn them that this has happened. Any ideas what caused it? If I had to make an inexpert guess it would be a fuel blockage close to the injectors.

Red S3 2-up heading through town centre, pm. Ours was parked in the market square at the time!

Just bled the brakes and found that the hex on one of my nipples is slightly rounded and so I want to replace it. Not urgently as it's plenty tight enough at the moment. So from searching here I know that these are M10 x 1 (2003 imperial de-dion, standard rear brakes), but how long are they from the hex to the tip? There seem to be several sizes available.

Andrew and Jonathan - your diagnosis was a bullseye - thanks. I bought a "Bosch 467 genuine reconditioned" alternator from a company called Schmitz Rotary Engineering. It arrived today, complete with printed measurement report, and is now on the car. I now get a steady 14.5v across the battery at any revs. Over the weekend I opened up the old unit to try to spot the problem - everything looked fine, no burnt windings or broken connections; resistance of the windings as expected, fair length left still in the spring-loaded stator brushes. I can only conclude that the voltage regulator has packed up. These are a sealed replace-rather-than-repair plug-in module and incorporate the brushes for the stator, and are readily available. I could have saved half the price by replacing only this, but having compared the reconditioned alternator with the old I'm glad I spent the extra. It turns far more easily and is much quieter. It looks like the reconditioning job was excellent. So happy to be facing the prospect of going out in the Seven again!

After puzzling over why nobody else in the entire internet has had a problem removing the "rear nut" I was struggling to access, I eventually stumbled across this very useful picture https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-GRID003168 which explains what mr numpty here should have figured out - it's not a nut, but the head of a through-bolt which attaches with the front nut, and you just push it out from the front having removed that nut. Duh. That leaves only the charge lead nut blocked by the primaries. To get that off I just wiggled the alternator to a different position to allow socket access.

Thanks Jonathan and Andrew, it is indeed an EU3. It's run fine for hundreds of miles since the last piece of work, when Mr. Belcher renewed the alternator belt at the same time as the cambelts. The belt turns fine with no judder and the pulley's not slipping, so I'd be amazed if this problem was anything to do with the belt change. Connections look tight - I also have some kind of indication that they're making since with the alternator plug removed the tacho LED does not light - only lights when plugged, and then never extinguishes. I'm happy to conclude the alternator has packed up due to old age and just go from there either repair or replace depending on timescales / costs. So, next question, how do Ioosen that pesky rear bolt to remove it? Primaries are in the way and I can't even seem to slip the socket over it, let alone get the extender bar connected to it. I'll have another go later when it's not raining. It is even possible to remove the thing without removing the primaries? Ideally I'd prefer not to drive it to my friendly local seven specialist (35 mins, 11 miles) owing to the increased risk of needing recovery. Although I can fully charge the battery from the mains, and the voltage measurements above suggest a low current draw when running. Obviously headlights/fans/heated screen would be best avoided! And I think undoing 3 bolts should be within my spannering capabilities....

More information - voltages across battery: at rest = 12.68 ignition on = 12.38 (then up to 12.44 as fuel pump stops priming) cranking = 9.8 started = fluctuates continuously between 11.7, 12.68, 14.02. Tacho light stays on constantly. Remove exciter connection, exact same readings. Voltage on yellow/brown at alternator, ignition on but not running = 10.2 If the voltage readings whilst running are to be believed, this suggests that the alternator is kicking out something. But is it enough to charge the battery? Perhaps I should try running it with the belt removed. It's starting to feel like an alternator failure to me. Have I got this right?

Quick followup on this. Whilst Tyremark responded positively to my initial enquiry, they seemed to lose interest when it came to booking a slot. So I assumed they were too busy or otherwise didn't want the business and started looking elsewhere. I went with a local independent, Saunders Autocare, who have excellent reviews (for tintops). We went from initial enquiry to fitting in the same day. They were very interested in the car "we don't get many of these in!", and actually wanted me to watch, so I could advise on jacking points, pressures, and so on. They treated the car with great care. The price was reasonable and they seemed very competent and friendly. Sadly I wasn't able to spend much time familiarising myself with the new Toyo rubber this morning as the car developed some sort of alternator problem. But initial impressions, in the damp, coming from old 45-profile CR500s nearly on the wear markers, are very positive. Lots of grip and stability, and despite the extra profile (which I wanted), the ride quality of the CR500s over bumpy surfaces is retained.

I've also just had the red light of doom, ironically enough on my first run out to test my new Toyos. It hasn't ever done this during my ownership (20 months). Initially, everything was normal, tacho LED extinguished immediately on engine start. About 15 minutes in, towards the end of the warm up, it suddenly came on. Fortunately wasn't too far from home so went straight back. Checked that alternator belt is intact, started measuring voltages and my multimeter promptly blew up (and yes it was set correctly!) so a new one is on the way. The plug with the yellow+brown wire is intact and sound. The problem doesn't clear with a restart. Starter is turning the engine over really well, so I don't think I have a battery problem. So I think the next step is to determine whether it's the insufficient-exciter-current problem or the failed-alternator problem. So I'd like to run a temporary test wire from the battery +ve to the yellow+brown at the alternator. But - newbie question - how do I physically achieve that temporary connection at the alternator end? Preferably without damaging the loom?

Thanks for the recommendation Bob, that was just what I wanted. Tyremark it will be.

My CR500s are going to hit the wear markers in the not too distant future. Any recommendations for a local place to fit new? First time I've needed this on the Seven - or any other car in fact. So please excuse the daft questions.... What about the various online places e.g. blackcircles where you order the tyres, pay a bit extra for fitting, drive the car to a local mainstream franchise on the old tyres and back on the new? Would you trust them with a Seven? (Yeah I know it's a car, not a crystal chandelier....) Would it be better to take the wheels off and borrow a tintop to ferry them there and back? At least that way I wouldn't have to worry about driving on wrong nut torques or pressures. As for tyre choice I'm pretty much set on going for the T1Rs 195/50/15R. Depending on how those go I might move up to the ZZS for the subsequent set. Guess I should try to retain the old CR500s in case anyone wants them for track day donuts.