jc - when you ran the car with the new coolant and pump, did you have the chrome D shaped ring (expansion valve mounted on top of the plastic coolant tank) lifted in the up position?? You mention Allie saw the temp gauge going up and down before it pegged - to me that indicates air in the system. Every time I have replaced my coolant or pump, I leave the valve open for a few days (or several complete heat cycles) just to rid the system of air. And every time it cooled (overnight) sure enough I had to add coolant to bring it back up to the max mark.
Why the car failed to fire after stopping maybe another problem but I'll bet its got something to do with the excess heat....

I did have the vent or bleeder open and i noticed that is opens when the cooling system is under pressure. This figures as it's working against a spring....

New thermostat arrive late yesterday and Allie had to take the Mini Cooper home as the Box just wasn't ready. No breakdowns on the Jersey Turnpike allowed.

Will put the new thermostat in today and begin the process again. Also CPS will go in too. Time to resolve the hard start when HOT issue as well.

I will update when I have some new pics and info.

Thanks for the input.

The cooling system saga continues. I guess y'all are tired of this already but I think I have gotten to the bottom of my issues with the cooling and may have gotten the hard start issue resolved...

Initially, it was a leaking oil cooler that was allowing oil into the coolant. Then Once that was fixed, I was finally able to drive the car, it got hot and overheated. This I thought was the coolant tank leaking but it was a hose that blew off that BACK side of the manifold that went from the cooler to the tank. This was a PIA to fix because the back side of the manifold is deep in the dark corner of the engine bay. Long arms and no way to see what I was doing, made this quite difficult. Stubbornness can be an asset with these kinds of mechanical issues tho. Once that was on and not leaking, the car again overheated and so did my language... I did have the new coolant tank on hand because I ordered it when I thought is was bad but the hose had blown off. The old tank had a crack in it that was not visible but allowed water to leak out..another overheat and another FULL swear jar.

So, installing the thermostat is a pretty easy task. Lift the car, drain the coolant and unbolt the housing. First of all, it's not easy to figure out what you get when you're buying this online. Some show the thermostat, some the housing and some both. Well, I took a shot at one that had the picture of the actual thermostat as that is what I really needed and imagine my surprise when I opened the box and the full set was in there; Thermostat, housing and gasket!!

Break out the wrenches and get that bad boy off the side of the engine.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1...psqoqvgtly.jpg

4- 10mm bolts and off it pops and some coolant rushes out. I had my bucket at the ready and caught 95% of what can raining down.

Well, this is what I expected to see as the thermostat is held into the housing and not onto the engine. Nice and clean in there and no debris.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1...pshnxx5wuf.jpg

So now to inspect the housing and the old thermostat. I intended to take it out and boil it on the stove just to see what was going on. Well that isn't an option with this setup:

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1...psp7l9ixfj.jpg

Hmmm, the old thermostat seems to have melted away or something!! Maybe they should have use those idiotic Torx security bolts on the thermostats!! Looks like this is what kids really want to steal... Well, this could be part of the problem. No thermostat allows the coolant to move to fast thru the radiators to cool down and shed the heat. This over time will let the engine overheat. It was a common thing to do when I was a kid and we were running race cars at the local dirt track. We didn't want a thermostat failure so we popped the center out to provide the needed restriction in coolant flow but not have a mechanical part that can fail mid race. We had lots of other failure, but I digress to far....

The new one looks good and will replace the missing part.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1...ps2ppqt5to.jpg

It has the proper gasket, but being old school, I still use a really small bit of sealant on gaskets like this. I got to love 3-Bond, while working on my motorcycles. So I continue to use a small thin coating (not slobbering) on these surfaces. A very small amount goes a long way, so use sealants in moderation! Sort of a belt AND suspenders approach to leaks.

Now, on to the Crank Position Sensor (CPS), to try and get in front of the HOT hard starting issue.

The CPS lives in a dark place like the back of the coolant manifold.

The red arrow is the actual location of the CPS and the blue arrow is the wire that goes to it. It's tucked away on there. It's not tight, but there are lots of things in the way.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1...psmcydzrdj.jpg

It's in there, held in with 1 allen screw. Look deeply into the cavern and there she is.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1...psvjabffsh.jpg

CPS plug, is the gray one and the Back 02 sensor plug is the black one in the way and needs to be unbolted from the engine. No need to unplug it.. These are up behind the exhaust, axles and frame pieces. They are both hard to unplug. To remove the CPS I had to remove the right rear wheel and use an 18" extension on my ratchet to get in there and turn out the 5mm Allen bolt. Once the wheel was off and the long extension it was a minute to get it out and the new one in.

OK, so we pour the coolant back in, add some new, break out a new gallon of demineralized water and top off the system. Fire up the engine, let it war and burp what air comes out. Feeling good about having a thermostat in the engine now and hoping this is the END of the overheating.

Top it off and go for a quick spin. Well, this did not end like I wanted. The temps climbed after a short while and when the needle got to the middle hash mark, I headed back to home.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1...psplcacgx4.jpg

I open the trunk and see steam. I have seen this each time I came back and i was thinking that this is just water steaming off that was splashed around during the refill. Since it's gotten hot than I'm comfortable with AGAIN, I head to the swear jar in advance and empty my pockets. Missus better 7/8ths hears the shouting outside and comes to take a look at what the commotion is all about. She's used to the garage sounding like a Tourette's convention when things don't go right but this was alarming in her opinion.

Steam from the coolant tank and a high temp is bad, bad, bad.

Why does steam come from here???

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1...psrzug7ghz.jpg

Well, I can tell you why...

Missus better 7/8ths comes out and looks in the trunk and says; there is steam coming out of that little box thing back there! That can't be good. Well, I bite my tongue and don't make the "captain obvious" comment and go over to stare holes in the coolant tank and begin to think about cracked heads. That is a dark place! Well, the Missus looks closely and turn to me to ask why is water squirting out of that black thingy with the shiny screws all around it. Even a guy having a Tourette's attack knows that coolant should not be coming out from back here. So we look closely and see a stream of water from the bleeder valve that shouldn't be there. Brand new OEM tank and it's defective. Back to the swear jar and it's full so I begin to fill a box.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1...pshme58sbt.jpg

Why does that have to be leaking?? Well at least it is replaceable. I have the old tank still so I remove the valve from that tank and mount it to the new tank. This worked and made a good seal, so I went out for another spin and this time the cooling system worked like it should. The needle of the gauge stayed very steady in the middle of the 0 the whole time. After about 10 minutes the little red light began to flash for the coolant tank being low and that is to be expected as air makes it's way out of the system. I headed for the garage and there was no steaming, no overheating, and no swearing.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1...psy8nghkqf.jpg


The car also started when hot, not easily but it did start. I have to work on this a bit more I guess.

Stay with it - compulsive reading for an old swear jar owner like me....

Every time I have bled the cooling system (1 x water pump & T'stat, 1 x coolant tank 1 x coolant change) the temp gauge has also gone higher than normal on the initial drive, only to settle back after cooling overnight and refilling. The M96 engine seems to be very susceptible to air locks, broken pump impeller blades and missing thermostats (?).
Looking forward to episode 64 where the mechanical hero finally drives the car more than 25 miles, quits swearing and drinking beer and gives the procedes to the local Porsche dealership....

Pictures?

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There are some pics in the thread. What would you like to see?

I'm retarded. I saw the pictures. I think will do the same. Love this post and have turned the shop that's doing the 3.6 swap onto your post.

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Just a quick update:

That Box has earned the name Stella. Nice name for a car but I'm making reference to Brando and screaming Stella.Every time I find another issue, I get to do my impression....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7a1TxVV4Bg

And then head to the swear jar :-)

I'm still chasing the overheat issue. New cap, new bleeder diaphragm, $100 in antifreeze spread around on the local roads, a few trips to the swear jar and after 2 weeks of travel and no time for working on the car, it looks like we might have a leaking radiator up front on the drivers side. While I was away, I parked the car nose down in the drive, we have a slight slope and this would allow the tank to be high and help get the air out. I left the cap off the tank and while away, and while speaking to Missus Better 7/8ths, she mentions that there is water running from the car down the drive. Well, lo and behold we have a drip when the cap is off (no vacuum) when it filled up and not sealed. So the rad has a hole in it and will need replacing. THEN maybe I can move on......

maybe you should just fill the cooling system with water until you figure out the problem. Once it's good, flush and fill with the virgin unicorn semen Porsche calls coolant

That is the plan. I thought is had it wrapped up when I put the expensium coolant in there. I won't make that mistake again!

Working to replace the drivers side radiator. New one arrives tomorrow and should be ready to go right in.

Removing the front bumper cover is quite easy and reveals the plastic scoop things. Then when you pull them off, out falls a pile of leaves.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1...psn3prq944.jpg

Not the dog, just the leaves.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1...psysfdrxge.jpg

Next is to loosen the AC condenser to see what's back there.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1...psl5sfcfkx.jpg

You have all heard it before, but CLEAN those radiators!!!!

You can see the leaking along the bottom of the rad. It's corroded/rotten like.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1...pssezc8o3h.jpg

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1...ps6y3l1id4.jpg

I'd like to meet the guy who installed this clamp. Top hose, against the frame rail. Luckily, it has a 7mm hex on the clamp and a 1/4" drive ratchet fits in there and can swing a bit to loosen it.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1...pseujlswo2.jpg

New rad tomorrow and we may be non-overheating.....

never a dull moment

What's the rad on the other side like? If one has corroded out, the other won't be far behind....
You can grow spuds in the compost between the rad and condenser - ask me how I know.

The other side looks good and was very clean. The bumper cover on the right side has a big crack in it so I think it was replaced once upon a time.

Nice job with all of this. Just as a reference, when I run my car, the temp needle never gets past the 8...
http://i869.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps1fvqqkb2.jpg

This is one of the best threads EVER!!

And I mean this in the most respectful way possible - but I am glad to read that I am not the only person on the planet who ends up doing a job three times to get it right! I feel your pain in every post!

I also do a lot of work with my son's and its great to see another Father working with their son/daughter. Kudos!

Keep up the good work! :cheers:

I just finished reading all four pages of the thread. It was like a good book I couldn't put down. There were so many great story lines. I have to agree with Tom. Anytime you can do a project with one of your kids it's a good day. Nice job, great write-up. Thanks for sharing!

So. ...what is the latest?

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Well, an update won't hurt I guess.....

We spent the MONTH of December ( I kid you not) moving from our home for the past 15 years in NY to our new smaller (1/3 the size) early retirement home in MD. This was an epic and painful process. I will get my advice out there right away. NEVER move!!!! If that isn't possible, take all things you truly MUST have and place them in an anonymous storage unit, find your deed and homeowners insurance, go over to the furnace/boiler and begin rubbing them together. You get the idea.....

The Box was put on the back burner on about the 4th load of stuff here. It was running good but without time to fully run and drive to make 100% certain our cooling issues were behind us. We put it in the trailer and moved it to our newly rented shop in MD. We found a place right up the street that is 1500 Sq. Ft for all of the projects and to store some household items.

This pic shows about 2/3 of the shop size.

So, Stella (the Box name) sits there until I return from a cross country business trip. Once home, Allie and I will be actively working to finish her up and get her on the road. We are 3 hours closer to Allie's home in VA so she can just pop over on weekends to work on our other projects.

And that looks like a Mini Countryman with a 1967/8 UK registration, No?
Brings back happy memories....