ABL8R

Thanks! I might well give that a go

The engine runs, but tends to go up as high as 120 if stuck in slow traffic. I still haven’t managed to work out if the fan works or the otter switch has failed. I’ve not seen the fan running at all so far even when it’s at 120. From what I’ve read they are not very effective anyway! regarding drainage I was just going to disconnect the lowest but of tubing but now that I think about it, from memory they both come out near the top of the radiator. I will be completely removing the fan and rad in a few weeks before taking the engine and gearbox out to swap the chassis. I’m somewhat apprehensive about the whole job!

Thanks Jonwat. I’ve used this before in an old Merc CL600 for the intercooler circuit and seemed to do the trick. I’m glad to hear I can use conventional antifreeze without worrying too much I agree with the points you make. For now I just want something that will not turn solid in my engine/radiator over the next few weeks and months. I guess they should make antifreeze with a high specific heat capacity to it can soak up more of the energy!

Thanks Jonwat. So I should add corrosion inhibitor to water before refilling?

Hi I bought an S1 Eclat in the summer which looks great cosmetically but needs a lot of work under the surface, not least a new chassis! It is off the road in my garage for now while I wait for a new chassis but as the temperatures up here in Scotland start to drop I am beginning to worry about the coolant. The PO just put water in it. The expansion tank has a thick layer of rust inside. I will probably replace it for an alloy one but meantime I am wondering if I should drain the water and replace it with conventional antifreeze. I have read about the waterless stuff which is very expensive if I am just going to drain it in a month or so when I take the rad out for the chassis swap. I could also just drain the system now and leave it dry but I worry that could cause bigger problems which channels getting bunged up. Also, forgive my ignorance, but can the S1 run on unleaded or is lead replacement recommended? any advice appreciated chris

Hi Keith i recently bought an eclat as a fun project and within 2 days the clutch cable snapped! I learnt a fair bit about how to contort my body into the footwell as a result. I found that to get the bolt into the pedal was easiest lying on my back on the seat (with seat fully reclined) with my head in the footwell but to get the Clevis clip on it was impossible from there and was actually quite easy from above looking down into the footwell. This was how I removed the clip in the first place. Getting the bolt in was probably the hardest part as everything was so close to my face that I needed two pairs of reading glasses to be able to focus! You’ve probably ,amazed it by now but thought I might be able to help chris