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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Unblock the cooling system

HI All
i noticed recently the car is overheating Iam trying to clean up the cooling system on the block, i remove the drain plug and nothing happens, is there a thecnic or rust removing compound to help loosen the rust? i had the engine out and forgot to do that then silly me.
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a rodrigues

I filled my block with Cola(Morrisons brand) when I had it out. Left it overnight. Loads of crap came out.
Lawrence Slater

Hi
Not sure what car engine/car you have but I believe the drain plug on the B series blocks up as it sits at the bottom of a recess in the water ways. I think many dont even try to clear it, they just drain through the radiator drain tap. To clear I have pushed a piece of wire in and then upward.
I have used "Bars Flush" to flush the system out with some success

Good luck!
Graham V

Here's a pic of it full of cola.



Lawrence Slater

Does anyone still have a copy of Nigel's engine flushing protocol? Can't see it in the archive.
70:1:251^99:0:5^1003:0:4^1019:0:3^69:0:3^33:0:2^111:0:5^84:0:6^128:0:2^21:0:6^2:0:6

Graybeard, or whatever! I've got it if you haven't heard from Nigel yet. Just send me your email and I'll send it right over. Cheers,
Jack
Jack Orkin

Piece of stiff wire like fencing wire or old wire coat hanger used as a spike into the hole should break up any crud. You will need to keep doing it to break large pieces up as they flow back into the hole and block it. If its really bad then it will be worth doing it several times over a few weeks.

If this does not fix it then back flushing all the components out of the car except the engine works really well.

Mine had a lot of sludge in the header tank, engine block, heater and main radiator preventing cooling. In the end I took all out except the engine and cleaned them individually.
Dave Squire

I had trouble getting the rear drain plug out because I could not find a spanner that fit properly. Seems they were either too small or had too much play. What is the proper size for that plug?
Jack Orkin

Thank you Jack. If you don't mind going to the bother I'd appreciate a copy.

ssr98148(at)hotmail(dot)com

I don't need it right now but I'd like to add it to my reference folder!

I could get it from Nigel himself but he has other issues to take care of and I'm reluctant to disturb him.

The reason I asked is to see if anyone could post it or a link to it for the benefit of Senhor Rodrigues. It might be very helpful to him right now.

Regards;
Rod.

(Had two gin and tonics so I'm Bright Grey now haha)!
Greybeard

Jack
I think you will find the rear drain plug needs a whitworth spanner. That is most likely why you couldnt get a spanner to fit
Graham
Graham V

Well, that explains it! Since I'm sure my local ACE hardware will be out of those, I guess I'll have to check that great hardware store in the ether! (Ain't technology great?!). Looks like it is either 11/16 or 3/4". Can you narrow it down for me? Those large, individual spanners are expensive! Thanks.
Jack Orkin

Hi Jack.

I did some comparisons between A/F and Whitworth spanners in The Shed.

11/16" A/F is slightly smaller than 3/8" Whitworth and 3/4" A/F is similarly slightly smaller than 7/16" Whitworth.

So if 11/16" is too tight and 3/4" too slack it's most likely 3/8" Whit, assuming Graham is right and I'm confident he is.

Spanners of adequate quality needn't be deperately expensive. I got my new set of Whitworths for the equivalent of about $20 delivered and they're okay.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Rod.
Greybeard

Jack......

The table in this article might help. It reminded me that Whit and BSF have different sizes for the same spanner.

Cheers.
Greybeard

This article. Dunno why the paste didn't stick before.


http://www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/psc/spanner_jaw.html
Greybeard

Great article - thanks! I'll look into some individual BSW spanners. The AF and Metric ones I have are too loose and will round off the corners. Get the proper tool for the job!
Jack Orkin

This thread was discussed between 25/06/2015 and 27/06/2015

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