Clutch fluid bottle lid

[Glyn Ruck]

For those that care about originality.

60342911-770-0@2X - Copy.jpg (29.08 KiB) Viewed 2284 times

For many years the replacement clutch fluid bottle lids have been incorrect. A flat, unvented lid was provided with cardboard seal.

C18616.jpg (21.68 KiB) Viewed 2284 times

Recently this changed & a more correctly shaped, vented lid has become available with raised centre. Should you wish to fit this visually correct lid you will require the seal shown below.

clutch cap.JPG (49.13 KiB) Viewed 2284 times

clutch cap seal.JPG (47.36 KiB) Viewed 2284 times

[JCS]

Glyn

The details you have given are correct; however you have missed a couple of points that potentially cause real problems.

The first is that the new reservoir C18616 that you show has (usually) no steel tube strengthening piece inserted into the bottom connection where the feed hose pushes onto the reservoir. This allows movement at the joint and in particular allows the tube to crush as the hose clip is tightened. The result is that clutch fluid will seep out of the joint very slowly. However if the car is left a while it has the effect of stripping the paint off the driver’s side of the engine bay. If you use one of these reservoirs you must insert a steel tube inside the reservoir extension tube at the bottom, and leave it slightly protruding inside the reservoir, say 0.125 inch. The latter helps prevent dirt from entering the system.

The second point is that the new vented cap and the new seal do not make a particularly good replacement. If a vented cap is used it really needs shielding completely inside, with an offset vent hole in the seal to prevent fluid egressing the vent when the clutch pedal is quickly released, such as when bleeding. Fail to carry out the shielding will result in a nice fine spray of fluid on top of the wing.

OR……(and useful if you only have a non-vented flat cap filler).

Fit a small brass set screw, (say 2 BA, drilled through its centre and then radially at the top), to the vent hole in the cap. Terminate the set screw with a chromed domed 2 BA nut drilled radially to communicate with the drilling through the centre of the set screw. This arrangement provides a chimney style breather and prevents fluid egressing the container via the breather. From the outside all that can be seen is the chrome dome nut.

Norman

[cass3958]

The first is that the new reservoir C18616 that you show has (usually) no steel tube strengthening piece inserted into the bottom connection where the feed hose pushes onto the reservoir.

I have an Auto so this does not affect me for the clutch reservoir but I have had to replace my brake reservoir three times in four years because the first two did not have the metal tube in the bottom hose connection and both formed cracks in the base and leaked fluid on to the inner wing so I agree that this is an important design feature to have in the reservoir bottles. I mentioned this in the following thread with photos of the base of the two bottles. http://www.jagstyperegister.com/forum_n ... rvoir#p810

[Glyn Ruck]

Glyn

The details you have given are correct; however you have missed a couple of points that potentially cause real problems.

The first is that the new reservoir C18616 that you show has (usually) no steel tube strengthening piece inserted into the bottom connection where the feed hose pushes onto the reservoir. This allows movement at the joint and in particular allows the tube to crush as the hose clip is tightened. The result is that clutch fluid will seep out of the joint very slowly. However if the car is left a while it has the effect of stripping the paint off the driver’s side of the engine bay. If you use one of these reservoirs you must insert a steel tube inside the reservoir extension tube at the bottom, and leave it slightly protruding inside the reservoir, say 0.125 inch. The latter helps prevent dirt from entering the system.

The second point is that the new vented cap and the new seal do not make a particularly good replacement. If a vented cap is used it really needs shielding completely inside, with an offset vent hole in the seal to prevent fluid egressing the vent when the clutch pedal is quickly released, such as when bleeding. Fail to carry out the shielding will result in a nice fine spray of fluid on top of the wing.

OR……(and useful if you only have a non-vented flat cap filler).

Fit a small brass set screw, (say 2 BA, drilled through its centre and then radially at the top), to the vent hole in the cap. Terminate the set screw with a chromed domed 2 BA nut drilled radially to communicate with the drilling through the centre of the set screw. This arrangement provides a chimney style breather and prevents fluid egressing the container via the breather. From the outside all that can be seen is the chrome dome nut.

Norman

Sensible advice. I have swapped a cardboard inner from a flat cap into mine. Long term I might bond a vinyl diaphragm to the rubber seal. I'm not worried about bleeding the clutch. It displaces little fluid & I would do it cap off & surrounds protected anyway. I'm more worried about moisture getting into the fluid even though I have stainless lined master & slave cylinders. Pleased it now looks correct externally ~ that was my aim.

Also ~ The C18616 bottles available for many years now (from Barratts at least) have had the metal sleeve in the nipple. One problem was that a few of them split in storage before sale & got sent to customers. I was one of them in early 2015. They replaced FOC. The issue has been corrected at the supplier.

My first bottle. (excuse depth of field issues in my restorer's phone pic)

Cracked clutch fluid bottle..jpg (402.16 KiB) Viewed 2263 times

[Glyn Ruck]

Rob ~ I've always meant to ask you why your car has a gap ahead of the radiator whereas most cars have the radiator hard up against the bonnet lock shut panel?

IMG_5140.JPG (1.69 MiB) Viewed 2207 times

3081f8ad60ff8d2cd03c63674881dfa1.jpg (79.63 KiB) Viewed 2207 times

[cass3958]

Good point Glyn and the simple answer is I have no idea. I was not even aware until you pointed it out.

It is the original radiator that was in the car when I bought it just re-cored. Below is a photo of the car taken on the day I picked it up before any work was started by me and you can see there is a gap there in front of the radiator. I just put it back in the way it came out.

DSCF6071.jpg (3.36 MiB) Viewed 2199 times

I installed a new top hose set which fitted perfectly so it is not as if the radiator is too far back towards the engine. If the radiator was further forward the hoses would have been too short!

Anyone else with photos of their radiator with or without the gap taken from the same angle as this one so I can judge the spacing between the radiator and the engine?

I had said recently that the gap between the front of the radiator and the engine fan was too tight to fit the cowling over the fan with the radiator in place but the cowling sits perfectly over the top of my fan. Is this correct or is the gap between the engine and the radiator meant to be larger?

You can see in the second shot taken recently that the radiator fixing bracket is hard up against the front bulkhead so it cannot move any further forward than where it is unless it is the wrong radiator that has been changed many years ago before I had the car.

IMG_6898 (2).JPG (390.09 KiB) Viewed 2195 times

[NigelW]

I've seen this gap on a few S Types. Rob can you put a tape across the slam panel like this photo?

[David Reilly]

Here are some very early engine detail photos(probably in the 1980s) of P1B79909DN
Cheers
David

[cass3958]

Here are a couple of photos similar to yours Nigel to show my gap between radiator and slam panel. The second one shows the tape measure going level from the end of the chrome on the grill right across the radiator to the front of the engine and I would appreciate a photo of your car with a similar pose so I can see where the radiator sits in your car in relation to the front of the engine.

My car is an Auto and I am wondering if this has a bearing. My radiator has the gearbox cooler in the bottom and might have been positioned slightly to the rear to accommodate the greater depth of the radiator? My radiator from what I can tell is 23 inches high and the bottom sits slightly below the flat area behind the grill. The bottom section is brass, (as the top but not polished I have to point out,) and where the oil cooler sits for the gearbox. This section is below the flat panel behind the grill so I would not be able to draw the radiator forward towards the slam panel as the bottom of the radiator is too deep.

IMG_6989.JPG (2.13 MiB) Viewed 2182 times

I am interested in the distance the radiator sits away from the front of the engine because if the gap from radiator to engine is the same and is governed by the fan blades and cowling then my engine must also be sat further back in the engine bay!

IMG_6992.JPG (1.98 MiB) Viewed 2182 times

Sorry for some stupid reason either my computer or the attachments program is playing up as it will not allow me to post these pictures the right way up. Stupid thing!

[Orlando St.R]

Well, I've never noticed that before, Rob. I'm amazed you can get the water pump and fan in that space. I don't think it can be right having that gap there. Surely the air flowing through the radiator grille will take the path of least resistance and go up through the gap and over the top of the radiator.

My car has no gap, but it does have the DG gearbox which doesn't have an oil cooler, so the radiator can be bolted up as close to the front as you like.