Losing Coolant

[EM One Hundred]

OK I think it is time to hit the reset button here

Esprit888 I never said you called me incompetent so if you inferred that please accept my apology. I merely was responding to your disbelief that this is what happened. If you will read that again I think you’ll find that I was being self-deprecating by saying “I am not completely incompetent” and asking you to accept what happened. I will have him do another sniffer test but I think I know what it will tell us

Then to Rambo. You are right too. I have not confirmed that the radiator is not blocked but: A.The precipitating event for the first ever problem with coolant after many miles of driving was being stuck in a queue and not knowing the fans weren’t coming on which resulted in the overheating incident last fall as initially reported,and B. We did flush the system before replacing all the hoses and I can’t imagine what would cause a blockage. Another flush is pretty easy to do so I will add that step. Finding another mechanic who will work on this car is a problem over here and I do trust him. Remember he diagnosed the fans not coming on and the bad thermostat initially. This is just a baffling problem that look like it is solved then reasserts itself.

And finally Dave. I think you may have something there. The new thermostat seemed to be working as I reported: “Since the new thermostat was installed the temp comes up to just over a quarter on the gauge then goes down to just below a quarter very quickly when the thermostat opens, or at least that is what I think is happening to make the gauge move like that.” It is possible that the new thermostat has also failed.

Please bear with me a bit Guys. I am not trying to be difficult nor dismissive of your advice and I know that what is happening seems counter-intuitive, but that is what is happening. Also, when writing you cannot hear my voice inflection or see my smile so any humor I attempt seems to get overlooked. Sorry for that. From now on I’ll just be factual and direct and use emojis.

And, finally, I thank you all again for taking the time to offer your expertise and support. I really do appreciate it.

[Dave Eds]

Well I for one and speak for many in wishing you resolve this issue as soon as possible and get back out on the road

[esprit888]

I would also apologize for any misunderstanding, I’ll blame it on terminology, I didn’t read that your mechanic carried out a combustion gas test, the term ‘leak down test’ is a totally different kind of diagnostic procedure which is typically performed after a compression test, neither of these tests would detect combustion gases in the coolant, another test would be a pressure test of the system by pumping the pressure up to around 20 psi, worth confirming what was meant by ‘leak down’ test. I’m stil amazed that the pressure was sufficient to blow the tank cap past the threads before the vent or a hose blew, so also worth checking it has the correct 17.5 Ilbs vented header tank cap. I had the identical symptoms on my Esprit V8, would idle all day long no problem, could drive around town normally no problem, but….when on boost (such as going up long extended mountain roads) the temp gauge would spike and coolant would come out via the overflow pipe after reaching cap pressure. A combustion gas test showed an early HGF.

[par]

May be a sill question but when you bled the system once filling up with coolant with the new tank & cap fitted did you have the heater on?

It can be overlooked and sometimes cause airlocks if the heater matrix is not allowed to fill up and flush through any trapped air if it has bubbled over. Worth checking the heater valve is working correctly and put the heater to full and bleed as normal ensuring hot air is coming out the vents.

[GeoffSmith]

I've had the pleasure of meting Ross on a couple of occasions and I can hear his voice inflection and visualise his smile when reading his posts, so I can appreciate his humour… even if he can't spell it correctly.

Well I for one and speak for many in wishing you resolve this issue as soon as possible and get back out on the road

Spud, you don't know what you might have started!
https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cultur ... otus-elan/

[Simon_P]

The loose cap on a replacement tank is a common issue the original black caps fit best if you have a problem.

Bleed the system the old fashioned way with the cap off.

Have you checked the water pump?

[Simon_P]

I see that you have changed the water pump.

Why doesn't the fan switch work? Do you have the correct high flow offset thermostat with the dibbler and fitted the correct way round?

[EM One Hundred]

We have the correct thermostat installed the right way round and we have no idea why the fan switch doesn't work. The fans turn on when a jump lead is run from the sensor to the fans.

Here is the rest of the story so far:
The car went back to the shop where we determined we had combustion traces in the coolant so off with the head!! The head gasket showed a leak path so that explains the pressure in the cooling system. Checked the block and head for level…the head was .016 inch out of true so it was skimmed and reinstalled with a new head gasket, cam timed, basic timing reset and all hoses reconnected and checked.

It would start and idle but had trouble revving for a while and gradually improved enough to let run to check temps. Everything looked good so I took it for a test drive to give the ECU a chance to learn and smooth out.

I had driven about two miles and the car felt good again and all the gauges seem normal. Then I heard a loud pop sound, the power went to zero and I coasted to the side of the road. It would crank but never fired again. I feared the worst that cams had slipped time but all was smooth and quiet when cranking. We trailered it back to the shop and checked cam timing (Right on) base timing (Right on) and compression (125, 130, 130, 128) but it still wouldn’t fire.

I borrowed the dongle for ElanScan from AML and we can’t get it to read on the shop laptop. I’ll chase that down but in the meantime any thoughts what might be amiss???

[muley]

Sorry to hear about your woes


...are you getting sparks? Smell of petrol turning over with plugs out?

I wonder if the cas drive might have sheared?

Hope you get it sorted.

[Simon_P]

If the fans work when you ground the plug it is either the plug contact, the sensor, or the sensor ground thats. Straightforward to check.

Are you getting any codes with the paperclip test?
Was the timing set in service mode?
Is the CAS bolt tight?
Will it run in service mode?

[GeoffSmith]

I've had the pleasure of meting Ross on a couple of occasions and I can hear his voice inflection and visualise his smile when reading his posts, so I can appreciate his humour… even if he can't spell it correctly.

Well I for one and speak for many in wishing you resolve this issue as soon as possible and get back out on the road

Spud, you don't know what you might have started!
https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cultur ... otus-elan/

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