Is it leaking?

Or isn’t it! The continuing story of ‘t Kreng’s coolant system: I have been using ‘t Kreng on a few occasions over the past few weeks in order to add some miles on the odometer. But mainly to see how the coolant system behaved after all the cooling hoses’ small leaks had been sealed. And as such the car was also used as transport for a few works meetings and project location visits in the northern part of our province.

And guess what, only shortly after I set of for the first meeting, the low coolant level light came on. This happened while standing at traffic lights or driving very slowly through traffic. It would switch of while pulling away from traffic lights or accelerating. Though much more reluctant than it would usually do.

And there was another problem that reared its ugly head. With only a little over 100 kilometres on the odometer since the last fuel stop the fuel gauge was lingering just under the half way mark. Did I have a fuel leak? Or perhaps someone tried to syphon fuel from the car? As I already was running late I decided to ignore the instruments and warning lights and carried on the journey. At least the temperature gauge seemed to function properly! So all in all a rather enjoyable day. I even manged to capture an army Chinook helicopter that was assisting with a forest fire in the area. Rather impressive bearing in mind there is 7.600 litres of water in the Bambi bucket hanging underneath the Chinook:

I eventually returned home without any further problems. It is probably unnecessary to mention that I set aside some time last weekend to thoroughly inspect the cooling system once again:

• Starting with the header tank. It was clearly visible that the coolant level had dropped at bit. I later remembered I hadn’t topped up the system after I tightened the coolant hose connections the last time;
• The hole underneath the water pump was next in line. This was dry;
• The radiator was free from any visible leaks (hardly surprising!);
• All the hose connections between the radiator and the heater were checked with tissues. All were completely dry;
• The heater’s core pipes hidden underneath the dashboard were also dry, with no traces off coolant in the tray underneath the heater;
• The coolant drain plug in the engine block also showed no leaks. As did the head gasket.

So this morning I decided to take the car for a trip to visit a few friends. But not before I had topped up the coolant level. After which it was time to check the fuel gauge by topping up the fuel tank just across the border in Germany. Turned out the amount of fuel that went into the tank was in accordance with the amount of kilometres covered. But the low coolant level light again had a life of its own. Switching on and of several times during the short run to the petrol station. Till I remembered I was still running with the choke out slightly. And when I pushed the choke back the low coolant level light switched off. Which reminded me of a problem with the temperature gauge last year. When switching on the lights the engine temperature would rise according to the temperature gauge, and drop when the lights were switched of. At the time this was diagnosed as a bad earth in that circuit (around the instruments.). And it all adds up. So maybe I’ll have to bite the bullet and pull the instrument cluster from the dashboard for a good clean of all connectors and also clean the earth points in the interior (those in the engine bay were dealt with last year). And the low coolant level light didn’t switch on again during the next 100 or so kilometres. As a result of which it was a rather enjoyable ride!

DHC repairs #33: The next phase

With the welding of the DHC’s body completed a few weeks ago I started with the preparations for the next stage. Which mainly consisted of planning the transport of the body shell into Germany. And this week saw the start of the next chapter in the resurrection of the DHC. On Tuesday the body shell plus the doors, bonnet, boot lid, lower front screen finisher and a US front bumper bar were loaded into a friend’s van. It was a tight squeeze to reach the front of cargo box to fit the ratchet straps. But my old bones managed it. I even got back out again without any help or injuring myself 😜

And at dawn yesterday morning we set of for the long drive in to Germany. To a small industrial estate near the also small town of Welzheim to be precise. Here the body shell was unloaded from the van at a company called Carblast, for the body to receive three treatments:

First the chemical removal of the remaining paint (mostly welding primer and e-coating of the used NOS panels). Next stage will be chemical rust removal (acid dipping). And the final stage will be E-coating the shell and its associated parts. That work should be ready within 6 to 8 weeks. Which means another 900 plus kilometre return journey!

But I am very curious about the final result. Especially after looking at a few finished body shells. To finish this post a few pictures of the body in the hall, where I left it and where it will be prepared for the various treatments.

To be continued!

Cooling system ‘t Kreng

A short update on the cooling system of this car. After fitting a nice new aluminium radiator she was used for our traditional Easter Monday tour. Everything turned out to be fine with the temperature gauge sitting slightly lower compared with the old (slightly leaking) radiator. And the low coolant level warning light didn’t come on. Until I was less than a mile away from the location for the start of the event.

As the temperature gauge still was at its normal level I drove on to the start. And with the car in a parking space I could inspect the damage. Sure enough there was a serious leak from the radiator side of the top coolant hose. Actually one I had expected as I have a tendency to tighten them only as much as is necessary to prevent damage to the ageing hoses. And with some heat in them the hoses get soft and could be tightened a little. Easily rectified with a small socket set I had brought with me especially for this purpose. Though the weird thing was that the coolant level hadn’t dropped much. At least not enough for the low coolant level warning light to switch on. The tour itself turned out to be rather uneventful from a cooling system point of view. And it was a nice drive!

But pretty soon after I started on my homeward journey, the low coolant level warning light switched on again. As the temperature gauge showed a rather healthy level, I decided to ignore the light and drive home. And sure enough when I arrived home there again was a leak from one of the coolant hoses. Be it a very small one. The coolant level hardly had dropped in the header tank.

And that got me thinking. So when I used the car for a local trip this weekend I kept an eye on the instruments and the coolant hoses. The hoses remained free of leaks and the low coolant level warning light didn’t switch on. Why wouldn’t it switch on now? The only conclusion I can come up with, is that with the tiny leaks there was also some pressure loss in the system. Resulting in a change of density of the coolant fluid and as such a change in the conductivity of the coolant, triggering the probe in the header tank. Seems far-fetched but I can’t see another explanation. Anyone a better explanation?

DHC repairs #32: Body shell repairs ready

During this Easter weekend, I received the final photos of the last jobs on the convertible's bodywork. Compared to the previous updates, the work done to the DHC’s body shell this time is fairly modes. But important. Drilling a few holes for various (mostly non-standard) exterior trim pieces. Starting with the mounting holes for the standard door mirrors:

The mud flaps:

The rally type front spoiler:

And finally the mounting holes for the aftermarket aluminium fuel filler cap:

But the most import job was fabricating a sturdy transport frame for the body shell’s next phase; chemical dipping, to get rid of the remaining paint and surface rust, and E-coating. Hopefully the car will be shipped to neighbouring Germany within the next few weeks.