running hot / orange water in radiator

[NaisiaN]

Hi All,

Noticed driving about today my temp guage is sitting just under red, has been fine since i bought it and has been sat in the middle till today. I've Seen a thread on here suggesting its possibly faulty gauge ( engine seems to be running fine) as well as a few other things to check so will do that anyway... my main question is..

When i checked the radiator the water in there is very orange... would this be caused by rust? and could flushing it and putting new coolant in possibly alleviate the temp issues? The cars only done 2000 miles in last ten years so dunno when it was last changed and probably been sat a while. going to service it and change all fluids anyway but yeah..what would make the water that orange?

[Jasonmarie]

Your right it's rust .
I would get a service asap just to be on the safe side as you never know when these things have been done also try and empty the tank of petrol and fill up as the petrol so you know it's all fresh .

Mine had only done a few hundred miles in about 10 years and they don't like being left .

Also it's so hot out there today , even new cars don't like this heat .

[NaisiaN]

Your right it's rust .
I would get a service asap just to be on the safe side as you never know when these things have been done also try and empty the tank of petrol and fill up as the petrol so you know it's all fresh .

Mine had only done a few hundred miles in about 10 years and they don't like being left .

Also it's so hot out there today , even new cars don't like this heat .

Cheers mate! thought it might be. ill flush it out this afternoon... maybe because of the crap whats in there just isnt cooling the engine properly (hope its that simple). yeah deffo will give it a service next week! Just filled tank up with shell v power after running it to red so thats all good!

its boiling! if all else fails ill just grill a few sausages on me engine bay and have a beer!

[Paul G]

Hi Naissan

The joys of classic car ownership!

The orange in the coolant is basically rust due to the coolant not having enough anti - freeze in it. Anto freeze does four things - freezing prevention, corrosion prevention, makes engine run slightly cooler by raising boiling point of the coolant and finally it contains a lubricant for things like the water pump bearings.

The best thing you can do is to give your cooling system a complete flush out. I'd remove the radiator and turn it upside down and stick a hose in the bottom hose connector to reverse flush it. Next, if you can get the block drain plug out (18mm bolt at lower right back of the engine, just above cluch cable adjuster) but don't force it if it won't come out as too much force could crack the block. if it comes out just stick the hose in it to rinse out the bottom of the block.

Finally take the heater hoses off at their connections on the water pump and inlet manifold and gently flush through them and the heater matix to get all the crud out of there.

Once you've finished and put everything back together, SLOWLY fill the system with a mix of water and blue antifreeze. I use 40/60 ratio of anti freeze to water, some say 50/50 but I feel my ratio gives sufficient frost protection for anything we would see in this country without being too strong a concentration as to start leaks from hose joints etc. I know Ford said 50/50 of their superplus when it was new but with modern coolants going in a 30 year old engine with a cast iron head I don't think it's necessary.

Check your water level for the next few days after doing the job.

[NaisiaN]

Hi Naissan

The joys of classic car ownership!

The orange in the coolant is basically rust due to the coolant not having enough anti - freeze in it. Anto freeze does four things - freezing prevention, corrosion prevention, makes engine run slightly cooler by raising boiling point of the coolant and finally it contains a lubricant for things like the water pump bearings.

The best thing you can do is to give your cooling system a complete flush out. I'd remove the radiator and turn it upside down and stick a hose in the bottom hose connector to reverse flush it. Next, if you can get the block drain plug out (18mm bolt at lower right back of the engine, just above cluch cable adjuster) but don't force it if it won't come out as too much force could crack the block. if it comes out just stick the hose in it to rinse out the bottom of the block.

Finally take the heater hoses off at their connections on the water pump and inlet manifold and gently flush through them and the heater matix to get all the crud out of there.

Once you've finished and put everything back together, SLOWLY fill the system with a mix of water and blue antifreeze. I use 40/60 ratio of anti freeze to water, some say 50/50 but I feel my ratio gives sufficient frost protection for anything we would see in this country without being too strong a concentration as to start leaks from hose joints etc. I know Ford said 50/50 of their superplus when it was new but with modern coolants going in a 30 year old engine with a cast iron head I don't think it's necessary.

Check your water level for the next few days after doing the job.

Lol tell me about it! i don't mind mechanical issues tbh tho, seems everything on a pinto can be fixed easily so nothing major to worry about. Plus tinkering's fun! forget body work tho i cant be arsed with that performance again!

great reply very detailed! thank you. I did a flush on my last one but never bothered with taking radiator off or drain plug, but will do it this time round as this capri deserves the extra attention.

[Paul G]

If your car has been sat for 20 years then it might be an idea to check all the flexible hoses in the brake system and also give it a brake fluid change as well as possibly a diff oil change and at least check the oil level on the gearbox. Also, how old are your tyres and it may pay to pack some fresh grease into the front wheel bearings.

All the above degrade with age. Coolant and brake fluid should ideally be renewed every 2 years or sooner.

[tejb1]

Also the heater matrix and associated hoses - did these a few months ago and all sorts of crud came out!

[Paul G]

How did you get on?