conibear Posted June 11, 2005 Share Posted June 11, 2005 Anyone got a tried and tested coolant setup for a high powered VX Westfield? A friend of mine VX current setup seems to work well from cold for about 30 mins, then struggles there on in. Then the expansion cap continually lets go after about 20 mins of track use. It reaches about 90-95oC then lets go, fan runs manually (although we haven't checked for correct rotation yet). The engine bay is flat floored so we may have lack of airflow problem, but we thought if anyone had a better setup than his current. Looked at SBD website and their recommended setup is what he's got. Q1. We wondered if anyone has a water rail setup on a VX? Q2. If the expansion cap pressure relief can be supplied higher? Q3. Install a different expansion tank with a ported relief enabling catch of coolant in a further vessel? Any help would be appreciated Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu999 Posted June 11, 2005 Share Posted June 11, 2005 Ian, the SBD setup is THE way to plumb a VX up. If the car is having problems with it plumbed as above, there is something else wrong. 'Water rail' setups are not really required, as both coolant hose connections are at one end of the engine. From your description, there may be one or two problems. A friend of mine VX current setup seems to work well from cold for about 30 mins, then struggles there on in. Is this 'struggling' connected with a slow increase in temperature? The fan is unlikely to play a big part in all this if we are talking 'trackday' speeds, so whilst rotation is definately worth confirming, I doubt it is the cause. The engine bay is flat floored so we may have lack of airflow problem, Definately. Get some vents in the sides of the engine bay, that does sound like it could help enormously... Q2. If the expansion cap pressure relief can be supplied higher? Possibly. Do you know what pressure the current one releases at? If it is say, a standard Ford cap (in good condition), TBH the release pressure is more than enough for a cooling system that is working properly... Q3. Install a different expansion tank with a ported relief enabling catch of coolant in a further vessel? Again, could be done, but you would only be hiding the real problem Ian. As you have identified, the engine bay needs somewhere for the cooling air entering the bay to leave. It might be worth considering trying another temp guage and sender. to see if that is accurate too. If the cooling system is pushing water out at a constant 95 deg, then one (or a combination ) of three things is wrong. 1. The guage itself is reading lower than actual - and the coolant is boiling 2. the expansion cap is in poor condition 3. Something is causing the system to pressurize i.e. head gasket As a matter of interest, if the engine is then left to cool right off, is there signs of 'hissing' when the cap is released? This might signify a gain in pressure from a source other than natural expansion of the coolant. HTH Stu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conibear Posted June 11, 2005 Author Share Posted June 11, 2005 Stu, thanks for help. Temp gauge reads slightly higher than actual, I have confirmed this with digital thermometer. Doubt if there is a head gasket problem, as no smoke, no bubbling and no loss in performance. Not sure if I undertsand where your going with the hissing bit, as it seems normal, i.e. yes it will hiss if you release the cap. TBH, the car seems fine for about 40mins once engine/coolant coldish. It's when the cars getting canned i.e. 15 mins on track - 20 mins off track. One thing I haven't told you is that when comparing it with the SBD setup, my friends expansion connection is on flow pipe outlet B and not from top of rad outlet A. Doubt this has any bearing Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Seabrook Posted June 11, 2005 Share Posted June 11, 2005 Ian my Vx car is flat floor and runs at 80-85 on the track seethis thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conibear Posted June 11, 2005 Author Share Posted June 11, 2005 Thanks Matt, have you got any additional pictures and diagrams Sounds like you experienced what he is. I am not a VX expert so don't really know much about them, Duratecs different matter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu999 Posted June 11, 2005 Share Posted June 11, 2005 Doubt if there is a head gasket problem, as no smoke, no bubbling and no loss in performance. Sadly, nothing to go by. The 'bubbling' might only presently be occuring when the engine is being worked hard, so you cannot see what is happening... Not sure if I undertsand where your going with the hissing bit, as it seems normal, i.e. yes it will hiss if you release the cap. If there is a substancial hiss when the cap is undone and the engine is cold, this is an indication that the system is building pressure up other than from expansion of the coolant - indicating that the head gasket etc may have a problem. It shouldn't hiss otherwise... TBH, the car seems fine for about 40mins once engine/coolant coldish. It's when the cars getting canned i.e. 15 mins on track - 20 mins off track. That does suggest that the system itself is coping, but there is problems elsewhere. As a rule, if the radiator is too small, or it isnt getting enough cooling air etc, it would overheat far quicker than this IMHO... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conibear Posted June 11, 2005 Author Share Posted June 11, 2005 No hiss when cold, head gasket is definetly not an issue here. Radiator is high output alloy job. Engine is making over 250bhp and although we have concerns about the rad fan duty/rotation and airflow through engine bay/bonnet, the coolant system behaves as it should, except 'it can't cope' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oioi Posted June 11, 2005 Share Posted June 11, 2005 are you refering to this? if you are not running a heater blank the feed out from the back of the head. what happens is that a percentage of water recirculates through the engine and never goes through the rad. if you are running a heater close the heater off and check that its not still blowing hot air, could be a passing valve allowing water to recirculate through the engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 As Matt has noted, both his car and mine run flat floors and diffusers. There's still plenty of room for air to escape down the transmission tunnel. Like Matt, I rarely see anything above 80-85 degrees, even on track (which is rare for the green car)... The SBD plumbing diagram is necessarillycomplicated due to the inclusion of a heater. No heater means you can plumb a Vx with just 3 hoses, as Matts picture shows. Cidersurfer has gone a slightly different route, but I reckon his way will work just fine too and it's still just 3 or 3 hoses... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adhawkins Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 it's still just 3 or 3 hoses... 3 or 3? So that would be err...3 then? Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 Bah. Rushing to get to the pub. Still haven't left Should read 2 or 3... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adhawkins Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 Pub? It's not even lunchtime Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conibear Posted June 13, 2005 Author Share Posted June 13, 2005 Matt or Blatman. Just to confirm your setup. Flow from head to swirlpot, out of swirlpot to rad, off rad to water pump. Thermostatic cap 21-25 psig and a catch tank to collect from outlet bleed of swirlpot Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cidersurfer Posted June 13, 2005 Share Posted June 13, 2005 Ian That's pretty much it. Some just let the swirlpot bleed vent to atmosphere. On the photo below I've got a connection from the back of the water pump to the standard Ford header tank on the scuttle. HTH Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted June 13, 2005 Share Posted June 13, 2005 Cidersurfer, just spotted your front crank pulley, anodised aly? Where did you get it, if you don't mind me asking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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