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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Coolant recovery system

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Coolant recovery system     Civilwarlife 10-27-2023 @ 1:48 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 42 Joined: Jun 2022 Does anyone know who sells a coolent recovery system I can use on my 38 ford? Thanks Terry They are only original once JayChicago 10-28-2023 @ 10:24 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 485 Joined: Jan 2016 I have to respectfully ask, why you ask? You already have one. It's the built-in tank above your radiator's heat-exchanger. It captures and recovers the coolant as it expands. A second, redundant recovery tank serves no purpose. And a second recovery tank sure doesn't look good, flies in the face of "they are only original once". If you are pushing out coolant, just don't fill the built-in recovery tank. Just fill to cover the heat-exchanger portion of the radiator. juergen 10-31-2023 @ 5:51 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 258 Joined: Jan 2010 The tank is not a recovery system since the coolant has not left the tank. Bob Drake sells such a recovery device. But to make it work you have to convert the overflow tube to feed the recovery system and install a higher pressure cap. It may be enough to put a pressure valve from Skips to the overflow tube and install a pressure cap. That worked for me. JayChicago 10-31-2023 @ 7:05 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 485 Joined: Jan 2016 “The tank is not a recovery system“ Yes, it is. The coolant expands to fill the top expansion tank, then is recovered as it cools. The extra quart of coolant in your remote recovery tank is not helping the cooling system, is just along for the ride. You only need a remote recovery tank if you have an aftermarket radiator without a built-in expansion tank. wmsteed 10-31-2023 @ 9:10 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 613 Joined: Oct 2009 Evidently there is some confusion as to how a modern coolant recovery system works. The early radiator do not have a neck that will accept a pressure cap! The early radiators have an expansion tank built into the upper portion of the radiator, if and when the coolant over heats and goes into the expansion tank, it is expelled from the system via the overflow tube. Once the coolant is expelled it is lost. A coolant recovery system works with a pressure cap and a recovery tank. When the coolant expands into the tank, it is captured within the tank, as the engine cools down reverse pressure (vacuum) pulls the coolant back into the radiator avoiding loss of the coolant and air intrainment (expansion/cavitation) in the cooling system. A pressure cap on a radiator raises the boiling point 3 degrees for every pound of pressure. A 7 # cap raises the boiling point 21 degrees = 233 degrees. I have recovery systems on every car I own. Bill 36 5 win delx cpe wmsteed 11-01-2023 @ 7:40 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 613 Joined: Oct 2009 The EFV8 radiators, and most other vehicles prior to about 1940 do not have a fill neck that a pressure cap can seat into. The fill neck will have to be replaced with a modern type of a fill neck. If I have to have a vintage radiator repaired/re-cored I have the neck replaced, just had this done on my '38... It is a very simple process to make a recovery tank. i use a piece of 2" black ABS pipe about 18" long, size depends on the amount of room. i use two ABS caps, one glued to the bottom with a hole drilled into it for a 1/8" brass elbow. I then measure down the ABS pipe about 3", drill a hole for another 1/8" brass elbow, I put ABS glue onto the elbows and thread them into the pipe, turning the upper one down. A second 2" ABS cap is placed loosely on the top. I attach a piece of clear plastic tubing to the bottom elbow running it up to the overflow port on the radiator. Attach another piece of clear plastic tubing to the over flow brass elbow near the tob of the ABS tube, extending it down below the vehicle chassis. The overflow tank is attached to the side of the radiator with a couple of clamps that are easy to make out of plumbers tape. The whole affair will cost less than $20., everything can be picked up at any hardware store. Most of the big box stores sell short lengths of ABS pipe. Of course you can buy a fancy polished billet recovery tank from Summit, Speedway, etc., for $60. or there a bouts. NOTE! I use clear tubing to connect the recovery tank to the radiator because it acts as a sight tube to tell me if the system is working with having to remove the cap. A word of caution! Do not remove the cap on a hot radiator, only do so on a cold radiator. Footnote! EXPANSION TANKS AND COOLANT RECOVERY SYSTEMS ARE TWO DIFFERENT SYSTEMS.. Bill 36 5 win delx cpe

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