Decided to change oil and filter yesterday, so opened the bonnet and started her up to get the oil hot.
Saw steam rising from the radiator area and discovered a leak in the silly little expansion tank (bottle) that's part of the rad.
OK, I thought, no problem, I'll change the rad for the one I won from the 1600 DGT a couple of years ago.
When I eventually managed to find almost all the necessary parts, it was time to remove the damaged item, which presented no problems.
Then, having fitted the new/old (much bigger) rad, with the (much bigger) cooling fan and (much bigger) plug, it was time to fit all the hoses and the new, separate expansion tank.
All done, apart from finding out where the pipe that fits to the small tube on top of the expansion tank goes?

Does anyone own a DGT with this set-up?
Here's a photo from Google images:

EDIT: My Haynes manual doesn't cover this area.

I can't really comment as I have a 1.4 and the same Haynes manual, but it's got nothing to do with the "DGT" model as you suggest... the 1.6 has a bigger, more elaborate system (including a bleed screw - what joy!) and so that's the setup you need to understand. If everything is bigger then it may be common to say the 1.7D Tipo or even the 1.8 they got on the Continent.

I have a Tipo TD and a 2.0 16v both fitted with the same kind of header tank as you have now fitted. On the TD the hose in question divides. One arm goes to a vent pipe at the base of the head just behind the thermostat housing. The other arm goes across the top of the radiator to a vent pipe at the left hand side of the rad.. On the 16v the pipe goes to a vent pipe which seems to come from the thermostat housing itself.
If the 1.4 engine has no similar fittings then the hose at the top of the header tank is defunct and can simply be blocked off?
With the system that you have now fitted I would be slightly concerned as to how any air entrained within the cooling system is going to escape.

The 1.4 is notoriously hard to bleed due to the lack of vents for the job, gurgling / sloshing heaters are common.

harrypp said:

I have a Tipo TD and a 2.0 16v both fitted with the same kind of header tank as you have now fitted.
With the system that you have now fitted I would be slightly concerned as to how any air entrained within the cooling system is going to escape.

Click to expand...

Jealous already..!!

surely there are still SOME vents on the bulkhead..not ideal I know,

I'll try and look in the Porter Manual for inspiration..,

Charlie - had 5 x TD's and 1 x 1.4, oh and a 2.0 SW Tempra

"Jealous already..!!"

Ah. Forgot to mention - neither are currently on the road! The TD is a reshell using a 3 door mk2 rust free 1.4 petrol body shell. Have everything installed and running but troubled by clutch drag. May have to drop the box or engine and box to see what is going on. The 16v is next in line for the garage space when/if the TD gets on the road.

bluejohn125 said:

I can't really comment as I have a 1.4 and the same Haynes manual, but it's got nothing to do with the "DGT" model as you suggest... the 1.6 has a bigger, more elaborate system (including a bleed screw - what joy!) and so that's the setup you need to understand. If everything is bigger then it may be common to say the 1.7D Tipo or even the 1.8 they got on the Continent.

Click to expand...

The 1.4 has a bleed screw on the rad that I decided not to touch when I first bought her, but amazingly, it came undone without a problem after 25 years untouched.

The good news:
After blocking off the small tube and running the engine, it boiled so I did some tests and found the rad temp switch to be faulty, ordered a new one which arrived within 48 hours from Germany.
Now everything works fine and the bigger fan is much quieter than the small one.

Yes the 1.4 has a bleed on the top of the rad, but nowhere else in the pipework / hoses etc. I'm sure there are techniques and tricks etc, like pulling hoses off or squeezing them in strategic places...

bluejohn125 said:

Yes the 1.4 has a bleed on the top of the rad, but nowhere else in the pipework / hoses etc. I'm sure there are techniques and tricks etc, like pulling hoses off or squeezing them in strategic places...

Click to expand...

Not many cars have cooling system bleed valves, the header tank does the job well enough, apparently.
The DGT I bought for spares had a bleed screw fitted in one of the hoses that leads to the heater matrix.
It's a home made device using 15 mm copper tube, a brass T and a household radiator bleed screw.
Cumbersome and goes green quickly, but it worked.
I'm led to believe that filling a cooling system from empty is best done with the engine running, that way the air is purged.

NB: I'm a lifelong aircool guy, not a water cooled expert. Ö¿Ö

While I'm here, can anyone describe exactly how to remove the interior door handle trim without wrecking it?
I have done it in the past, but for the life of me, I can't remember how.
Haynes says 'unclip' it.

SFB said:

While I'm here, can anyone describe exactly how to remove the interior door handle trim without wrecking it?
I have done it in the past, but for the life of me, I can't remember how.
Haynes says 'unclip' it.

Click to expand...

very much from memory,

undo the screws, then prise the broader bottom part out ,
the top piece is "hooked" over the "frame of the handle" at the top.

pics of yours MAY help..

Charlie

varesecrazy said:

very much from memory,

undo the screws, then prise the broader bottom part out ,
the top piece is "hooked" over the "frame of the handle" at the top.

pics of yours MAY help..

Charlie

Click to expand...

No screws here, Chas:

OK, job done and just in case anyone else isn't sure:
Insert spatula or steel rule a few centimetres into the top and gently prise out.

Ref post #1
The small pipe from the expansion tank is connected to the radiator.

I found it when the system overheated and water spurted from it under pressure. Ö¿Ö