bosswrench posted:Hi, Mike. Your leak may not be because of the cap as much as the tank neck. Any radiator shop can desolder the stock tank neck and resolder a U.S-made neck for a few bucks if there's any doubt. This solves TWO problems: first, the factory neck soldering was typically rough- to the extent that the rubber sealing washer on the base of any rad cap could not reliably seal for long. The stock vented cap on the long tank is only a loose cover to keep any liquid inside from splashing out.
The Euro small tank pressure cap is rated 0.9-bar FIM (14.7psi x0.9=13.2 PSI U.S.) Running a 16 lb U.S cap is safe & will help raise the system boiling point a bit more. But do NOT take this idea to its logical conclusion and run a 22 psi NASCAR thermostat! Street radiator cores are only tested to about 15-16 psi and higher pressures may swell the transfer tubes and crack the soldered fins, thus ruining the whole radiator beyond repair.
Besides a 13-lb U.S thermostat actually releasing around 11 psi and reducing the pressure & boiling point in your system, your leakage appears to be coming out between the cap & tank neck. It runs down the tank (see the stains on yours), across the welded surge tank bracket, down the inner fender panel and right inside an oval frame hole. I've also seen the overflow hose spigot crack on the underside, using the same leakage path. The frame is normally sealed so cap/spigot leakage doesn't always hit the ground to alert you there's a leak. Instead, leaking coolant stays in the frame doing what water does best- it rusts the frame from the inside-out. So fixing that cap/tank problem is worth doing.
Hi Bosswrench,
Since I made that initial post a few months ago, I converted my two tanks to George P's auto-bleed scheme, like Rocky did above.
The filler neck on the tall tank is in much better condition that the filler neck that I cut off of the swirl tank, so that's a plus. It seems that the filler neck on the tall tank is also the U.S. style, so my new pressure cap should seal properly. I'll start with a 13 lb. cap and see how it works.
I will double check for the drainage holes that you mentioned, if not present I will add them.
Thanks,
Mike