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look what I found

That crystals are from coolant, and that is not something to be scared for.

Believe that you need only to tight those clamps little bit more.

When you start engine it will take at least 0,5 lit more coolant, as water pump will start to move coolant and system get pressured
So definitely you will need to bleed system one more time.

I did, and system took coolant from max to min (and little bit below min) on expansion bottle marks (that is cca 0,5lit). Added coolant to the max and now it is fine.

I would definitely recommend to change thermostat. It is not that expensive, and you know that it is working.

Lower temp thermostat will open circulation thru radiator sooner.

Is that better or not i can tell you as i did not agreed with my self what is better

On mine GTL (1100 engine) i have 86°C thermostat.
 
Thanks for advice Petak, I went from Max to Min and I haven't even started the engine yet. It all leaked out from the hose. I think my rubber hoses have gone hard with age so they are difficult to compress with a clamp.

Today I removed the thermostat and poured hot water over it and it is still working but I'm still going to get a new one. I had another look at Franzose website and found this thermostat which opens at 83 degrees. I missed it last night when I looked.

https://www.franzose.de/en/Renault/R4/Motorkuehlung/ANR82036/


I think I would prefer circulation through the radiator sooner to keep the engine cooler. But then ,I wonder if my oil and lubrication work better with a hotter engine? I don't know the answer.

I read somewhere that the optimum/best temperature for oil is 80-100 degrees C. and of course the coolant will heat up quicker than the oil.
 
I think you are worrying a little to much mate, you have tested the thermostat and it works, so why replace it? my engine actually doesn't have one...
 
I know Laurie, I'm like an old woman sometimes:)
My pet hates are oil leaks, coolant leaks and rust and I have a huge fear of my car overheating, because that can lead to all sorts of trouble.
I'm surprised that you don't have a thermostat unless you've installed a temp gauge?
My thermostat cost 9,50Euro which is cheaper than the postage
 
mojobaby said:
I know Laurie, I'm like an old woman sometimes:)
My pet hates are oil leaks, coolant leaks and rust and I have a huge fear of my car overheating, because that can lead to all sorts of trouble.
I'm surprised that you don't have a thermostat unless you've installed a temp gauge?
My thermostat cost 9,50Euro which is cheaper than the postage
Click to expand...

I guess its cheap to replace...though all the little things add up! I've just finished my engine build, was a bit of a nightmare to be honest but shes sitting on the bench all painted up and ready to go in..Given its a lawn mower, the thermostat may have been removed at some point.....how does yours fit in? does it just go inside the hose?....I am with you on oil and coolant leaks...nothing worse, and you may find that new hoses are indeed a good idea...

There is a temp gauge on the mower....though that's irrelevant, what your thermostat does is allows your engine to get to running temp quicker....they say something like 80% or more of engine wear occurs from the time you start till it reaches running temp....so when the weather is cooler, like winter in Europe the operation of the thermostat becomes a lot more important. I figure you know this already....once again though, if you have tested it in hot water and its opening up as it should...there really isn't any need to replace it
 
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@ mojobaby maybe this will give you some peace of mind. When the thermostat stops working it is always in an open position so the chance that your engine will overheat due to a broken thermostat is close to 0%

You have tested your thermostat and it works. So indeed why replace it? But it is always good to have some parts in stock in case it gets broken.
 
Thank you, that's definitely reassuring! As you say, its always a good idea to have a spare, so I'll use one of them and keep the other in a safe place.

Chudson, after 15 years of sitting in a barn, my whole engine was seized, as were the brakes and wheels. So you can imagine that I was a little worried about the thermostat. After I poured boiling water over it, it took a while, but it eventually opened.

Later, I will install a temp gauge so I can keep an eye on things.

Laurie, I remember reading about your Toro, hope your rebuild was successful. I'm sure everyone would be really interested in seeing what it looks like.
The hose is bell shaped, so the thermostat just slides in, with a hose clamp to keep it in position. I'll put up some photos when it arrives on Monday or Tuesday.
Actually its on the kitchen table next to me so here it is now
IMGP1326.JPG
 
In case anyone was wondering about my engine, I still haven't started it, which is really frustrating!!

The only thing that I still had to do was fill the radiator and as soon as I did that, it started to leak in about 4-5 different places.

I sent the radiator for a quotation to get it repaired but the cost is the price of a new one. I've also been looking on le bon coin for a second hand one but of course that's a risk as well.

The new ones from der franzose are 159 euro plus postage. I'll probably take that option as soon as funds are available.

In the photo below you can see the clean area where its leaked down the left side.

IMGP1211.JPG
 
Be careful when you buy a new one. .. your actual one is a good quality all metal radiator, more recent models have often plastic top and bottom, less effective and not serviceable in future.
 
Still waiting for a radiator.:(

I received a quote of 180Euro to repair the old one.

The first one on Leboncoin was an original that had never been mounted, for 100Euro. Despite 3 emails I never got a reply.

The second one on Leboncoin was used but had been tested. This was for 50Euro. I was quite surprised that I received a reply to my email, but it said that he would contact me the following week. That came and went and I got no further replies to my emails. Not even to say it had been sold. It's still being advertised in fact.

I decided to get a new one from Oscaro, which arrived within a week. Everything was perfect, except my existing fan cowling was too big(wide). The holes on the sides didn't match up.
I thought about leaving the cowling off, but I guess it's there for a reason. The radiator is a lot smaller than a GTL's so it needs a bit of help.

I've returned the radiator, so just have to wait for my refund and then I'm going to order one from Franzose, which incidentally comes with a metal fan cowling (so I'm told), usually these days everything is plastic.
 
The fan housing is usually in plastic in older models too.
I don't trust smaller radiators, and the problem is not the housing for sure...
 
Hi Mojobaby, I'm sending my radiator of to get it refurbished. Ill ask them for a quotation. I'm sure it won't cost me as much as €180,-
I'll keep you informed.
shipping to France isn't that expensive to.
 
It wasn't that long ago when most towns in the UK had a branch of Marstons Radiators and re-coring a radiator was cheap and easy. I've not needed to have one repaired for many years now. 180euros to get one repaired sounds an awful lot to me but then much of the time my mind remains in the 1960s..
 
On Friday I started my car for the first time since 1997:clapping:!!!!!!!

During the past couple of months I've had radiator problems which you can read about here
http://www.renault4.co.uk/forum/threads/fan-shroud.7997/#post-51601
but that problem has now been solved.

I made a short video of the engine running, which I'll put up soon

The engine was running way too fast and would only work with the choke out. Yesterday, I fixed my timing and adjusted the carb and was very surprised when she started up on the 2nd turn and ran sooooo smoothly.
I've still got the old points, rotor, cap and leads as well as the old spark plugs.

Help needed!!!!!

The only big problem I have is that my water pump is leaking somewhere. I thought it was the heater hoses, so I took them off and cleaned them again and put on new hoseclamps but I still have a fine spray on both inner wings and on my face if I get too close.
It seems to be dripping on the cam shaft pulley and them spraying all over the place.

Today, I think I found the leak but I need someone to help me.
In the photo below, you can see the silver housing of the water pump (it has a small hole in it)

There is another hole underneath that silver housing and I think it is leaking from there. What exactly is the hole for? I'll only be able to see it if I remove the water pump.

In case you wondering, there is no leak from behind the pulley, it is completely dry

IMGP1365.JPG
 
I think that there are just a few places from where the waterpump can leak... there could be some loose bolts, you should check wheter those holding the pump on the head or the ones holding the plate on the rear of the pump. There should be paper gaskets in both the couplings. If there's nothing behind the pulley, just these points come to my mimd.
 
Thanks Azazello, I took the radiator off again yesterday to check all the bolts. They're fine with no visible leaks and the gasket edges are dry all the way around.
At first I thought it must be coming from the pulley and was surprised to find it completely dry as well.
The only place that was wet was underneath the silver housing. That was where I discovered a hole, maybe for a little screw to hold the seal in place?
I'll do another test tomorrow
 
Waterpump don't like sitting around unused as the seals dry out and go hard
If you are lucky by running the engine until fully warmed up it will cure it self it may take several hot cold hot cold over a couple of days but in 99 percent times this works fine as long
no play in pump bearings this will soften seals and sort problem
Pouring a kettle full of hot water over over pump can also work
Be aware that water dripping down onto clutch can cause the clutch to rust and stick on if left standing unless full dried out
A quick spray of wd 40 is a precaution I do after getting clutch area wet
 
Thanks Mr Reno. I just wished that I could find the leak area. As I said to Azazello, all the bolts and gaskets are dry and the back of the pulley is dry as well. There is also no play at all in the pump bearings.

The spray of coolant is so fine that you can't actually see it, but after a couple of minutes there are drops forming on the inner wings.

Unfortunately the clutch area/flywheel did get wet from the first hose leak, so I'll give it a spray with WD40 as you suggest. If I get WD40 onto the clutch face, wouldn't that cause a problem?

Another thought that I've had, is that after my first bad leak from the top heater hose, a lot of coolant dripped down onto the clutch and fly wheel. Perhaps the coolant has collected somewhere under the flywheel and is being whipped upwards when the flywheel spins.

I'll run the engine again today for a bit and hopefully it will sort itself out
 
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