Best Answer nitrodave , 21 July 2020 - 01:59 PM
Ok... problem solved it would seem! I’m elated!
Took the thermostat out and tested it in a cup of boiling water and it didn’t open. The old one also failed to open when tested.
As suggested above I also tested the dash gauge behaviour from cold and seems to be fine. Starts cold and rises progressively.
However, I ran the car with no thermostat and it still boiled over until I manually kicked on the fan.
I then took the cap off and put a small piece of hardy gaffer tape over the valve hole and ran the car up to temp again.
Just as the coolant began to rise the fan kicked in!
Turns out the new cap was at fault all along. Can’t believe I’ve had two new caps fail and a new thermostat fail.
I’ve ordered a blue seal bmw cap and also a Volvo cap and will try these now.
Also, how important is a thermostat? Can I just run without one and if it’s not recommended where’s the best place to get one from? I purchased all my parts from minispares and few somewhat disappointed in their performance. It’s not their fault though, they didn’t make them
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One Carb Or Two?
Posted 21 July 2020 - 04:41 PM
Glad you got it sorted!
There are lots of sub-optimal (posh way of saying nfu) caps out there.
There are several types of thermostat. You need an 88° C for an MPi. It is important, especially for injected Minis.
I prefer the ones with a jiggle pin. Fit new gaskets, too.
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