Cooling

[GarryM]

Just had my Griffith 500 back from a service (running superbly). I had the cooling system flushed out which showed that the expansion tank needed replacing due to corrosion. Crystals had formed on the bottom of the tank which were conveniently sealing the holes. Crystals had also blocked the expansion tank from the rest of the system. Amazingly, the car was running at the correct temperature but in recent months it had not been driven much or hard.

Apparently, this is a common problem although I had never heard of it before. My car had a new radiator fitted in 1999 but the cooling system had not been flushed since then. Reason for posting is that it would be worth flushing more regularly if you do not want to pay £130 for a new expansion tank. Also, some cooling problems experienced my be due to crystals forming in the expansion tank blocking the system elsewhere - another reason to flush the system regularly. May have something to do with too high a concentration of anti-freeze?

[gideonr]

I think the service schedule says that the cooling system should be flushed every 12000 miles, although I could be wrong.

Chimaera 400HC

[DRS]

from the schedule I have it say "Change Coolant every 2 Years"

cheers

[trefor]

Don't know about you guys, but there is usually a mechanical problem to have drain my Chimaera's cooling system within every 2 years anyway

[gideonr]

quote:
Don't know about you guys, but there is usually a mechanical problem to have drain my Chimaera's cooling system within every 2 years anyway

Had a new radiator fitted to mine last year. The guy who fitted it said the Range Rover radiator is "not a good one" and it should just about see out the 12 month warranty.

[David Beer]

For the last 5 yrs i have run tvr,griff 500, side by side with a Range Rover. Changing models approx every 2 yrs, i have not had any probs with either with regards rads. I have had probs with both, but not related. It does however make interesting comparisons with regards to cooling, or the lack of.
David

[GarryM]

Mine has a full dealer service history so perhaps flushing the system is not always done...? Perhaps more likely is that my car has only done 13000 miles since new in '96 and the corrosion is a consequence of not being used enough. I will be making sure the system is flushed every year from now on.