........... I mess with it until it is.
When I put the Zetec in the Fury I looked at the cooling system on the internet & there seemed to be some confusion. A lot of folks were having trouble & it seemed to be down to a Westfield diagram in their build manual. The water comes out of the engine at the back (in a Rear Wheel Drive car) into a large plastic brick which has tubes sprouting from all directions, it houses the thermostat, the top hose outlet, the heater hose outlet & the 'stat bypass outlet as well as an air outlet.
Unlike older engines, when the thermostat is closed, it's completely closed, so the bypass hose allows a small water flow direct to the bottom hose (by-passing the radiator) so with a cold engine, heated water is passed back into the engine, warming it up quicker. When the engine's hot, the bypass is closed off so the engine can only draw in cooled water from the radiator.
The heater hose flows all the time, but the water is in theory, cooled by the heater matrix, which outputs to the bottom hose also.
The air hose goes to the top of the expansion tank.
Simple enough so far, but I have no heater so the hose goes direct to the bottom hose. SO, it's supplying hot water to the water pump & engine - exactly what the bypass hose is shut off so it doesn't do. In my defence, several places in the internet said to do it that way. Anyway I have now blanked off the heater outlet & removed the hose. Moved the bypass hose connection from the radiator outlet back to the connection vacated by the heater hose & moved the top hose from close to the chassis floor up to near the top rail.
This completely unnecessary faffing has several effects:-
A warm engine will ONLY take in cooled water.
The bottom hose is tucked in towards the chassis more as it passes the front wheel.
There are a couple less joints to potentially leak.
Access to the starter motor is greatly improved.
The weight of the cooling system is reduced by several Jubilee clips, two 19mm x 180degree silicone hoses, a yard & a half of straight rubber hose & all the water they would contain. Almost a kilo, which is a worthwhile saving.
Chief among these of course is the vastly improved access to the starter - which is still shrieking like a banshee, though "simplicate & add lightness" is a mantra I'm well accustomed to chanting.
But there is a downside. I need a new silicone hose. 38 - 35 reducer, 45deg angle. I've ordered it, but the car's U/S until it arrives.
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