J171 NJO Cortez / 2+2 rebuild and modifications

[Jin]

Whilst improving the cooling system, and still trying to bleed the remaining bleeding air out the system I set about making a bleed pipe for the matrix top hose.



Off cut of brass pipe, turned up a threaded boss also in brass and reused the bleed screw from my old rear coolant pipe,



Made up a stainless support



Painted and fitted



Seems to work

[Jin]

The problem with my current scuttle panel is although it looks nice, it's just a ledge that allows water from the screen to pour in and fill the bulkhead ledge and pours all over the fan motor invariably giving it excuses to play up



Also, back when I made it I just coppied the shape from the original one including the big cutout for the wiper arm



Time for a redesign.
Fresh piece of board obtained plus some 20mmX20mm PVC angle and some nifty stainless flange head screws only 6mm long



Ain't the Internet a wonderful place?

Drilled the PVC to accept a 1/2" tube support



Screwed it all together



And upgraded to 2 washer jets





Piece of half inch PVC pipe on the brass tube support
And




Works a treat, even copes with the hosepipe

[kelvink]

Nice smart easy job for anyone to follow. Only trouble is I don't have a Mk4, but I know a few who do!

[Hans Efde]

Simple and smart. Just a remark on the expansion tank I am seeing in the last pics. I had such a tank in my mk3 Gold and blew up 2. It seems that plastic cap is prone to clogging up. So the pressure gets too high and the tank will look like an inflated pig. It may be wise checking or replacing that plastic cap regularly. I ended up installing a Metro mk1 tank (but now replaced with more reliable VAG equipment) with metal cap which won't clog up.

[Jin]

Thanks guys and thanks for the tip on the expansion cap, I must admit the last time I checked the level on minimum it soon shot up to Max upon releasing the cap indicating the fluid had been displaced somewhere.

Can anyone recommend a particular brand of cap that is to be relied upon?

Thanks once again

[Jin]

Found a Bearmach one on ebay with a brass valve - that's gotta be good hasn't it?

[benofbrum]

That scuttle mod looks somewhat familiar, just better executed than mine.

[Jin]

That scuttle mod looks somewhat familiar, just better executed than mine.

You are my inspiration

[Hans Efde]

Found a Bearmach one on ebay with a brass valve - that's gotta be good hasn't it?

If it has a spring it should be fine. But make sure the cap has the same thread as the tank. I wasn't able to find a replacement because of this, so had to replace the whole tank.

[Jin]

New one on the left, looks a bit more convincing than the all plastic version, plus it another "new" bit which is always good