Cooling system improvement? We need one...plus

Hi guys

This forum is pretty new really, but the main issue is cooling as far as I can gather.

So pick some brains and we can overcome. In time, once I have played with it, I will be looking at new plumbing and I am sure others will be as well.

A re-design would be good.

So get working on it!

There is a solution out there.....just not done yet!

Anyone who takes on a job - please step by step photo with text and post........

I will be doing same on major tasks - it all helps. All easy stuff - and a good feeling when it goes well.

Keep the link so you can advise......



The guys already established need our feeds as well to help.

Get on 'photobucket' it is the usual way forums upload photos - it is pretty easy as I have already proved.......

The more people get involved the better for us all.

There are many people with rare talents out there and we need them all......including textile....it's not ALL engineering!

I just do NOT want fluffy cushions please...... LOL!

M

When some one comes up with the magic solution, maybe they should patent it. I'm sure all the vehicle manufactures in the world who make rear engined sports cars, micro vans and other vehicles that cannot have the standard top hose design that typical front engined bonneted vehicle layouts can support would buy this magic design solution all day for a small fortune  


Stopping Hijets from over heating isn't hard people!


You just need to fix them.  


What everyone comes looking for is some simple standard magic answer.

e.g. holy grail, snake oil, world peace, risk free well paying investment, eternal youth, etc, etc

Problem is Hijets just don't all fail in the same way, but they do develop the same side effect - over heating. This is a symptom, not the cause.

How ever you spin it, run an engine without a standard top hose design, without a fully functioning coolant system and very quickly the head will warp and thus require a head gasket and skim job.

• Some fail because the thermostat goes dodgey. (my current white van did this when I first bought it)
  
• Some fail because a coolant hose clip(s) are leaking. (my red van the second time did this)
  
• Some fail because the radiator is leaking. (my red van did this the first time)
  
• Some fail because the metal coolant pipes are rotten (my white pick up was like this, and the radiator was leaking)
  
• Failed fan relay - sold one to someone the other day and that definitely wasn't working.
  
• Some will fail for other reasons I haven't come across yet! Hard to believe I know.  
  

Catch the fault the first time is shows its face, and you might get away with just changing a hose clip or a thermostat. Otherwise every time that gauge gets up to the max your thermally stressing the head to failure point. I was very lucky with my White van, the gauge went up briefly and came back down, the second time a month later it went up and didn't come back down until I cooled it off a bit. Went home took it apart and found a sticking thermostat. 15k miles later and not a problem - touch wood!!!

Along the way of misuse and failed tinkering, the radiator caps will get taken off lots of times so the rubbers will be knackard.
The next idiot trick is to bodge the fan to run on a switch or all the time - which just ain't going to solve squat.
Next problem is while its overheating and losing water, people will just keep filling them with water so the metal coolant pipes rot.

What puzzles me, is how people don't take these subtle hints I repeat weekly. Maybe they think I'm some know it all cock on a forum who knows nothing, maybe they think they know better, maybe they just have to walk the road themselves - I can understand that as I'm pretty sceptical guy myself.

Hijets are one of the most simple vehicles to work on in the market today. Yet most people, mechanics, or amateurs fail to resolve the most basic issues on them, with me banging on about exactly where to target their efforts I don't know what else I can do! This pool of priceless experience just didn't exist a few years back. Hell working out what wheels would fit was a bit of a challenge but we sussed that out together.


Hey reading this back, and proof reading it over and over, this has to be one of my best rants for a while

I mirror that!

I am just looking for that 'spark' of inspiration which enlighten us all.

It has been done with some old classics like the T4 Triumph..and TR6 I took to S. France.....The point is we can do it......how? We just don't know......yet......but we will....

I have thought about this miracle cure quite alot as you can imagine.

The only solution I came up with is this:-

You drill a 3 inch hole in the bulk head just below the gear stick.
And another 3 inch hole in the front bulk head just below the heater.
They you fit a radiator with a normal top hose, and a bottom hose.
And now the new top hose can go straight through the cab    
Then you plumb in an overflow tank higher than anything else, so put it on the dashboard somewhere.

Now your back to typical car design which tends to hide small problems much better.
Now with this new system, if you have a Hijet with coolant system issues it will at least self bleed the air out to the top of the radiator and into the header tank.
This is until either all the coolant leaks out and leaves you over heating properly,
Or the head gasket fails that badly that it purges all the water out of the header tank and into your face instead    
Just watch your passengers faces when they rest their leg against that coolant top hose in the cab which will be touching 120 degrees at times

Hi. I may have missed something or be a little thick but my 1996 993 bus has a top and bottom hose. When doing the cooling system overhaul I printed off all the bumf I could find on the forum to give to the mechanic helping me. I was chatting to him with my new found knowledge about HiJet radiators 2 bottom hoses and he looked at me with a what the hell you on about look.
You may now tell me that the 1996 993 bus always had top and bottom hoses cos it does look standard or if not i will post some piccies to show you.
Buzz

993 has a different radiator to the 1.3

1.3 has 2 connectors at the bottom

993 has a top and bottom hose

but on both models the hoses swoop down below the floor pan causing the air locking issues

Ahh. So I don't have what you were all looking for. Sorry for my ignorance.

I had a local chap come in with his three cylinder and the radiator wasn't at the front -- it was under the seats. Only one I have come across. Would it have been an 850 perhaps ? It was ex-council
and had an Ally bodied Luton demountable pod on it which is on his latest one.

He had it for years but can't remember the year of the reg plate.
It finally died last year and he bought an 05 plate pickup and was
amazed at the difference in power.

Perhaps we can rig the temperature sender unit to the spark plugs and it can send 25,000 volts up our arses when it gets close to boiling  , or even better just keep one eye on the gauge . and sniff for that overheating odour .  . The snake oil option is also good but has anyone got an oily snake we can milk .  O well , I suppose I will just have to maintain it .  

Nice try boys , but some things never change . 

Eddie

I've got a snake you can milk.....  

It must be our english weather, these things were built in and run around Italy where it gets a little warmer than here, wonder if they pipe it up different? I know the floor pans are different and there radiator is moved for the UK market

woody wrote:I had a local chap come in with his three cylinder and the radiator wasn't at the front -- it was under the seats. Only one I have come across. Would it have been an 850 perhaps ? It was ex-council
and had an Ally bodied  Luton demountable pod on it which is on his latest one.
.....

On the 993 the radiator is in the van nose but under the pickup seats (the engine is further back I think).

I thought the 1.3 was the same.

Nope. Same as van on 1300. It was a pickup I was referring to, but
have no idea why engine would be further back on pickup. Just wondered
if it was an 850.

Perhaps it's a case of the engine being further forward on the van in order to clear a lower load area?

On the pickup the engine seems to be accessed via the service hole cover in the load bed rather than from under the seats.

I only found out when the garage phoned me for a rad for it and took one in and was then shown the one playing hide and seek under the seats.

He found one eventually but it turned out to be the head gasket and so he scrapped it. Thinking about it --- the prop must have been pretty short then.

woody wrote:I had a local chap come in with his three cylinder and the radiator wasn't at the front -- it was under the seats.

The Suzuki super carry has the rad just in front of the engine under the seats but the load area is higher so I guess the engine sits back further I had a poke about one at the scrappers when hunting for spares one day.

The prop shaft is indeed shorter which must cause problems if someone is offering a 'Hijet' one for sale. I believe there are about half a dozen sizes in all.

The Bedford Rascal also has the radiator under the seats on both the van and pickup but I thought the engine was properly accessible there. (I also note that the Rascal appears not to have an electric fan; a bit odd I would have thought for that sort of vehicle age).