31 rad cap leak

Beater

Beater

Well-known member
ok so been bombing around in the lil speedster for a while now and once the rad found its home it never spit out any water again. tonight out of the blue it leaks all over the place . its not hot but at higher RPM water out the cap. so I inspect the cap, and the cork or paper or whatever the seal is is soft and seen way better days. A is non presureized system, so will it work to make a new thicker gasket out of something tougher? I mean it will work but I cant see how ill hurt anything. id just get a new one but for me I'm 100 miles from anywhere. I'm thinking about cutting a ring out of some thicker plastic like an oil jug or something like this any thoughts on a better way?
 
Cut out a cork or leather gasket to get by with for now. Add a correct gasket to your next Model A parts order. The cap should be sealed, but the top tank is open to the overflow pipe, and that's the ONLY place coolant should come out if the radiator is too full, boils, or is plugged. Many radiators had tube which are partially or fully blocked and this limits the return flow of coolant, then the top tank fills up and goes out the overflow pipe until the coolant get low and the engine overheats. Then the owner starts looking for the reason the engine overheats. In reality the engine isn't overheating, but the radiator can no longer do it's job.
 
I figured that was the right answer. it should be sealed. I'm prity sure my core is ok, and its never over heated. one thing I did notice is there is no baffle I thought in the top tank. then I drained it lastnight and hd a look in there. I see the baffle if come unsoldered from where ever its supposed to be and just loose in there. where should it be sitting? I will make a home made gasket and hopefully that's the end of it for now
 
Beater said:
I figured that was the right answer. it should be sealed. I'm prity sure my core is ok, and its never over heated. one thing I did notice is there is no baffle I thought in the top tank. then I drained it lastnight and hd a look in there. I see the baffle if come unsoldered from where ever its supposed to be and just loose in there. where should it be sitting? I will make a home made gasket and hopefully that's the end of it for now
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It is possible to switch the radiator and gas cap. radiator does not have a vent hole. Gas cap does.
 
With no baffle the water pump is going to be throwing a lot of water at the top of the radiator. Where is the overflow sitting now? Is it straight up and down or is it laying at an angle. If it is laying down at higher speeds you can loose coolant that way.
 
Beater said:
yea I'm not sure that also is a posability I'm new to this so I'm gona check that out to
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A guy in our club just finished his car for high point judging, and he lost points for accidentally having the two caps switched.

If I was the judge I think I'd have switched them and not cut points.
 
it appears he has a 30-31 radiator shell in his avatar
there is no way in hell you can interchange the two caps
 

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I took the gasget out today there is a brass ring under it. the gasket was just like mush the overflow pipe points up towards the front at about a 45 degree angle. I'm going to build a new gasket out of something that will not go sour
 
Beater said:
I took the gasget out today there is a brass ring under it. the gasket was just like mush the overflow pipe points up towards the front at about a 45 degree angle. I'm going to build a new gasket out of something that will not go sour
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Beater,
On a tour, one guy cut a gasket from the TONGUE of his boot, REALLY! His Wife just happened to have small scissors, in her purse. My Mother-In-Law carried 1/2 a brick in hers, for MUGGERS:eek:
Bill W.
 
ok thanks for the pic yea the baffle had come dislodged and was floating around in there making things worse actually. I reached in with a needle nose and rolled it up took it out I cut a plastic ring out of a oil jug and put that in for a cap gasget and it seems ok. I also bent the overflow tube up as high as I could get it after thinking and looking and decideing, I also cut another circle out of the other side of the oil jug, and then a small enough hole on the outside for the overflow tube to go through, then pressed it in and set it on the shelf of the rad neck that inch bellow took it for a drive with the rad right full, no more water out cap, and after it found its home, no more water out the overflow pipe
 
well after a week or more of rain every day, today I had a chance to get out and test things rad flushed and right full of 50/50 mixture and went on a tour. drove up to blacktop and wound her up to 50-60 and ran it for 5-8 miles. the lil piece I built to put in there to block the high flow worked great after the rad overflowed and found its spot that was it no more overflow. color me happy with this easy fix
 
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