Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Coolant drip on Trad. Duratec

Last year, my local eagle-eyed MOT tester noticed a small drip of coolant somewhere from the rear of my 2 litre Duratec engine, onto the bell housing and down to the ground. He suggested I keep an eye on it.
This I did for the past 3k miles, and with a piece of cardboard under the car, I had a very small wet patch appearing. Over 6 months, I may have only needed to add a cupful of top up. Having checked the hoses, doubled up on the clips, the drip prevailed and would accumulate under the thermostat housing manifold pipe, which sits hidden under the coil pack. Apparently, they are notorious for failure due to being plastic.
I sourced a Quinton Hazel replacement from ebay for about £30, and having changed it out, the drip has been cured.
I was hoping to see a nice crack on the old one but nothing is obvious. It is quite a complex moulding with many moulding seams.

Although it is difficult to see in detail, once the air filter, coil and mounting plate have been removed, it is relatively easy to change out.

Incidentally, Ford POAT coolant which has been orange for many years, and went by the moniker “Super Plus” , now has a new spec
WSS-M97B57-A1 and is now coloured green. Ford say it is compatible with the previous spec. and can be safely mixed.

Interesting and thanks for the pointer Doug. Mine lost a tiny amount over last summer. Its been teasing me for a while. I suspect its leaking somewhere as I get an occasional whiff of coolant when driving. Haven't been able to find any drips yet, even at the back there.

Different engine same problem. Mine’s a Zetec and I had a slow loss of coolant which I couldn’t find. Eventually it got worse (after a trip to Cornwall) and I traced it to the thermostat housing. Removed it and there was a small section of the seal retaining wall warped allowing it to leak. New housing fixed it.

I think it is the same thermostat housing on the Sigma 1600 in my 4/4. Same symptom in mine started 3 years ago as a slight weep. New housing fixed it. Not easy to fit on a Sigma as the thermostat housing is directly beneath the alternator.

I read this thread because I also had a coolant drip, but it was under the left hand side of the radiator.

There is a small weak point in the radiator design in that an 'O' ring in a the mounting of a small spiggot on the top of the radiator can start to leak. I suspect quite a few owners have replaced their radiators because they could not find a small spare part or the source of the leak-

Mattmog put me on to the solution, and then I found a reference which gave us the part number on, of al places, a Ukrainian forum.

Here is the photo of the part, showing the part number, that Mattmog purchased.



I carry a spare in the Morgan just in case I get a failure on a trip.

I mention it here because, although the source of the leak is different, someone might find this thread while searching for a solution.

Good find Peter, looks like it's made in Germany (I wonder if the OE rads are too ?)

Sorry I should have mentioned that the original part number was for Mercedes-Benz.

I would imagine that Morgan sourced a radiator that was used in some Mercedes-Benz or BMW model rather than having a custom radiator built.
I sourced my spare from a Mercedes dealer but the Ukrainian forum was for BMW owners. The Ukrainian gave the Mercedes part number but it was for his BMW. He could not find an equivalent BMW part.

In reality it is only the 'O' ring that needs replacing but it is almost impossible to remove the spiggot without breaking it. The plasticis probably somewhat "cooked" after several years in boiling temperature water.

Below is the translation of the post that was on the Ukrainian BMW forum: