Help needed

[Hugh Bevington]

I have done all of the searches but still confused, can any body help.

New Build ,engine Ford Crossflow with Westfield heater and header tank ,engine fitted with Fiesta type thermostat housing incorporating top radiator hose connection and a smaller (8mm) connection.

My understanding is :

Inlet Manifold water connection goes to the top heater connection.

Bottom heater connection connects into Y piece inserted in connection between bottom header tank outlet and water pump.

Top header tank connection goes to small connection on fiesta type thermostat housing.

Have I got this right ?

Am I ok running flexible hoses throughout or do I need to use solid pipes through the engine bay ?

Any pictures of an installation would be appreciated .

Thanks

Hugh

[Thrustyjust]

the heater should go between the inlet manifold(supply) and return to the outlet side small fitting on the water pump.You could run a solid fitting pipe under the side of the exhaust manifold and use flexible at the ends to make good.You will need a blanking cap for the thermostat housing I.E no pressure spring.The bottom of the expansion vessel goes to the side of the stat housing.The pressure cap then goes to fit on the expansion vessel.This then allows any excess water to fill the vessel,before venting off.I used to drill a small 2mm hole in the flange of the thermostat to help with filling the engine with water.Hope this helps you.Sorry don't have any piccies.

[Hugh Bevington]

Thanks for the info.

The bottom outlet of the expansion tank is about 22mm and the connection on the thermostat housing is only 8mm .Am I looking at the correct points ?

Hugh

[Thrustyjust]

I guess you have the bulkhead mounted type expansion tank for the escort range.Yes,thats the one.You maybe better off putting a rover metro vessel on and getting you money back on that one.Mine was on an early pre-lit car and was mounted in front of the engine on a crossmember.As long as it has water in it,I just left it to control the cars water and always checked at the housing non-pressured cap.If you do fit the westie one,you will need to make a reducer up and cap the upper hose point,which will look a bit tat.Good Luck.

[Moldy]

Hugh,

My prelit has the MkIII escort type resevoir mounted next to the battery.  The expansion pipe from this 8mm ish goes directly to the top of the thermostat housing (fiesta type?), the bottom thicker hose goes to the take off of the water pump.  I don't have a heater, so the head heater take off is blocked up.

I would suggest you use some form of T piece to join the heater return and the expansion bottle (lower bigger connection) and pass the resulting pipe to the water pump takeoff..

I haven't worked out how to implant the results of a search, but there was a discussion about xflow heater hoses a while back...  basically you have to make sure that the expansion tank is the highest point in the circuit, and that any hoses go under the carbs if at all possible to reduce the chance of an air blockage.  If you take the expansion tank lower hose over the top of the carbs, this is almost on the level with the thermostat housing, and tends to cause an airlock in the pipe and thermostat housing no matter how much water is in the expansion tank (level way above the thermostat) .  With the pipe below the level of the carbs, the thermostat housing seems to fill right up to near the top of the lid, well on mine anyway.

There is a diagram in the MKII escort manual that shows the cooling system layout for a standard system.  Send me an email, and I'll try and dig out the diagrams / pictures I sent to try and explain my ramblings...

HTH

Moldy