Least Messy Way to Drain Cooling System (TCS) ? UPDATE - Swirl Pot Not Draining?

[FourLoti]

Hello:

Getting closer and closer to the first road test (in 25 years) with my '74 TCS and thought I should flush the cooling system. But I don't want to flood my garage with smelly anti freeze so would like to figure out a way to drain the system in a fairly neat fashion. I have a very large drain pan and it looks to me that the main option is the bottom radiator hose. But I don't want to flood the frunk or cut a new drain hole in the fiberglass. And disconnecting the other end of the lower hose under the car seems a ton of work just now as the clamp is rusted and the hose is not flexible.

I can suction out the swirl pot to reduce the volume, but am hoping I'm missing some other method for the overall project.

TIA...

Ron

[4129R]

To get to the easy end of the bottom hose, you have to take off the front metal closer plate. 6 bolts hold that to the bodyshell. Once that is off you can drain from the bottom hose easily. Otherwise there is no easier way of opening the cooling system at the bottom to get all the fluid and gunge out.


To refill, the easiest way is to take the thermostat housing off (2 bolts and the hose connection), and fill the head and block quickly, with the thermostat out.

[FourLoti]

Thanks for confirming that. Of course, I just replaced that plate before deciding to tackle this! But taking it off again is not as huge a huge deal as getting that rusty clamp off without destroying the hose! We'll see.

Cheers,

Ron

[Bryan Boyle]

Thanks for confirming that. Of course, I just replaced that plate before deciding to tackle this! But taking it off again is not as huge a huge deal as getting that rusty clamp off without destroying the hose! We'll see.

Cheers,

Ron

Watching...

I had the close plate off earlier in the summer when I was redoing the front suspension; to eliminate the need for a second set of hands to put the bolts in from the fiberglass frunk (I like that...), I shot thread inserts into the front of the plate where the bolts (I got the right size, and have the tool, so it was easy) go in and it made it a one-person job.  Oh, yeah, I also put anti-seize on the bolts before threading them in, especially the ones in the cross box.  If those freeze and you snap them...not a good day in the neighborhood. 

[4129R]

to eliminate the need for a second set of hands to put the bolts in from the fiberglass frunk

Or put a magnet on top, feed the bolts from underneath which get held by the magnet, put a penny washer, lock washer and nut on the inside, attach a ring spanner to the inside nut, and tighten from underneath. I did that this morning.

[Bryan Boyle]

to eliminate the need for a second set of hands to put the bolts in from the fiberglass frunk

Or put a magnet on top, feed the bolts from underneath which get held by the magnet, put a penny washer, lock washer and nut on the inside, attach a ring spanner to the inside nut, and tighten from underneath. I did that this morning.

There is that.  Good idea!

[jbcollier]

Both the Renault and Ford engines have block drains.

I always replace ALL the coolant hoses when I purchase a new-to-me vehicle.  Water pump as well.  Easy on the Renault but a right pain on the TC.  Still good to do though.

[EuropaTC]

Slightly off topic but reading about removing the front closing plate and getting the nuts/bolts lined up inside the front chamber I thought it worth a line.

What I do is remove the front grille and you can very easily get access to inside/outside from the front of the car, you don't even need to raise the front.  I made two stainless clamps for the bottom of the grille which hold it in place but not tightly, so it will swing flat. The top is held in place by two small cable ties which I just cut whenever I need access. You could of course make stainless clamps for there as well, but cable ties aren't normally visible and easily cut/replaced, plus I'm lazy....

Brian

[4129R]

Slightly off topic but reading about removing the front closing plate and getting the nuts/bolts lined up inside the front chamber I thought it worth a line.

What I do is remove the front grille and you can very easily get access to inside/outside from the front of the car, you don't even need to raise the front.  I made two stainless clamps for the bottom of the grille which hold it in place but not tightly, so it will swing flat. The top is held in place by two small cable ties which I just cut whenever I need access. You could of course make stainless clamps for there as well, but cable ties aren't normally visible and easily cut/replaced, plus I'm lazy....

Brian

Snap. I use the original metal clips and self tapping screws for the top, and very thin cable ties for the bottom, so the grill swings up easily for access. The top is easier to get a screwdriver to tighten the self tapping screws. To tighten those on the bottom is not easy.

[BDA]

There are apparently more ways to skin the closing plate cat than I would have thought!

I loosely attach the rear of the closing plate to the ‘T’ and then put a bolt in one of the holes in the “radiator area.” I put a wrench on the bolt so that it is restrained when tightening a nut on it (there are contours in the floor that makes that possible for all three bolts). At this point, the closing plate is being supported in the front by the anti roll bar. From here, it’s not difficult to line up the hole in the closing plate with the bolt that is hanging down and start a nut. Once started, the wrench holds the bolt and the nut can be tightened.

[FourLoti]

Well, it turned out that draining from the lower hose as suggested was not that big a deal. Hardest part was getting the rusted wire hose clamp off. Luckily I had a cheap HF pneumatic keyhole hack saw and was able to sever the wire hoops by cutting parallel to the hose.

BUT, I think I found a new issue. Long after the coolant stopped flowing, the expansion tank/swirl pot was still full. Since it's the highest point in the system, is there any reason for it not to drain out to the front? Unless the water feed pipe is blocked? (number 15 here: https://rdent.com/manuals/europa/tcparts/cooling_system/ka.htm)

I was able to stick a stiff wire down as far as the 90 degree bend and didn't come up with any crud, but in fact there was a lot of dry rust debris in the pot when I first removed it.

I need to get back under the car today to investigate, but has anyone heard of this happening?

Ron

[TurboFource]

Seems reasonable it could be clogged up!

[EuropaTC]

The header tank should empty first so it's likely to be blocked somewhere.  When I took mine off a few years ago I was surprised just how much corrosion there was inside it even though the car was in regular use and the antifreeze changed regularly. I ended up making one in stainless rather than try to clean the OEM one.

It corrodes more than the rest of the system which is constantly immersed in coolant which will have a lower oxygen content plus the benefit of an inhibitor. The header tank gets atmospheric air and driving around will splash the coolant on the walls, leaving a thin film which can rust in the air space just above the wind/waterline. It shouldn't be a serious problem as my header tank had been there since 1972 and hadn't perforated, but I did get that build up of rust.

Brian

[FourLoti]

Thanks for the input. The plot thickens a bit. I removed the tank and blew air into the pipe. Did not sense any resistance or hear anything break loose, but air was flowing up out of the t-stat housing opening - so that pipe seems to be open. The radiator hose is attached, so this was the only open exit. Next step, I guess, is to first see if water will (hopefully) now flow for some reason and, if not, seal up the T-stat and see if air makes it to the front. Fingers crossed.

But this will have to wait until after the Ohio State - Penn State game!

Ron

[FourLoti]

Checked again at halftime. Perhaps the air purge did something after all. Now water drains into the tube as it should. Also, I buttoned up the t-stat housing and blew air again into the tube. Thankfully, air and water came spraying out of the lower hose at the front of the car. May have dodged a bullet!

Ron