Yes, it's another bleedin' question from that Jenkins bloke!

I've been looking round for a sensible place to put the radiator overflow bottle, and I've found somewhere that's ideally placed - just a few inches from the thermostat housing (where the pressure cap is), easy to get at when the bonnet's off, and so on. The down-side is that it's just 4 inches from the number 1 exhaust pipe! Oh, and it's a plastic bottle...

This leads up to my question - the sensible thing is to put the bottle where I want, and wrap the exhaust manifold in something heatproof. This has the added bonus of lowering the temperature in the engine compartment. However, I have heard all sorts of tales about this stuff causing manifold corrosion, and other horror stories.

Any hints, tips, recommendations, etc.? (and not "move the bottle somewhere else", please!)

cheers,

David

david

the exhaust wrap is ok if you get the decent stuff ( cool it thermo tec ) and follow the instructions. i ran it on a 4-2-1 mainfold on my rs2000 and was able to drive it with lead boots and then place hand on manifold. but be aware that the heat has to go somewhere ie where your exhaust exits the body work and will be very hot at that point .

Tim

Wrap the bottle with heat reflective coated cloth - seen it done lots of times

Don't you admire a lateral thinker! (smart-arse!)

Only kidding Rob - that's a good idea - I'll keep that as 'plan B' as I don't want to hide the bottle if I can help it.

cheers,

David

i have to lag my manifold cos its near the brakes. then i have to cover the next bit too as it passes the rubber hoses. And the bit after that, cos its 2 inces from the wheel. So guess where all my heats going?!? straight out the end... ah well...

I suggested a metal cycle drinks bottle once - thats still a fallback position....


atb

steve

For the cost of exhaust wrap you could get a metal expansion tank.

remember to wrap the exhaust totally,ie dont leave small gaps, ive heard of fisher furies catching fire where the exhaust is wrapped within the side pods(seals) due to the extreme temperature when the wrapping was missed.

re metal tank:

Thing is, the plastic bottle is purpose-built (it's from a Daihastu), just about the right size, and will look very tidy. It will also make water level checks very easy, which a metal one won't!

Also, I don't know whether it's an issue or not, but I can't see that it's a good idea to let the overflow water get too hot in a metal tank.

I had another look in the engine bay last night, and I'm starting to think about placing an aluminium shield between the bottle and the exhaust - just a 1/4" or 1/2" away from the bottle. Sort of a 'half-box' arrangement, leaving it open on the cool side.

cheers,

DJ

have you considered gettingyou manifold/exhaust coated in some way to reduce the temperature (and appartently improve performance) somewhere like camcoat