Any forklift gas experts?

[ColeyS1]

I can't comment on fork lift trucks other than to say that the FLT cylinders often have a dip tube fitted so the cylinder must be orientated the right way.
I've had 3 cars running on LPG. It burns cleaner & hotter than petrol - that's why the cylinder head must have hardened seats & valves - so I doubt you will be able to tell the richness or leanness of the mixture by looking at the plugs only if it's running too hot.

This bottle has an arrow showing which way the tank needs to be mounted.

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[ColeyS1]

I think I've found the water pump

The part directly behind the fan with the hoses coming out.
There's a v belt that goes around several things, looks like the alternator, pump and something further down. The belt looks a little worn (on the flat outside part) It couldn't be something simple like this belt slipping could it ?

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[ColeyS1]

Someone's taken the thermostat out......

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[Gerry]

Then it should always run cold and never boil over.
Either the waterways are blocked internally or the head gasket has gone. Looking at that picture there is a lot of corrosion so I would suspect it has blocked waterways. I would first give the radiator a good flush through and fit a new thermostat. If that doesn't do it I would whip the head off and clean all the small water channels out, check for cracks in the head and replace the gasket. Parts for this should be dirt cheap and readily available.

Gerry

 

[ColeyS1]

Then it should always run cold and never boil over.

Gerry

Thanks Gerry, I feel like I'm making progress now. If it's always running cold perhaps the water isn't getting hot enough to stop the regulator freezing up? I'm waiting to hear back from one of Noels links on a new radiator. It leaked slightly before so I poured in some radiator repair fluid. I'm not sure it could survive a pressure washing.
One thing I'm a little baffled by is how the thermostat must fit. The housing is smooth so I'm assuming the thermostat must push up inside the housing to form a tight seal ?



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[ColeyS1]

On the plus side after 36years of being on this planet I'm starting to understand a little bit of how engines work !!
Thanks guys [WINKING FACE]

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[Gerry]

If you clean all the old sealant and gasket off the thermostat housing and cover you will see a small rebate around the inside of the face. The thermostat fits in there. Thermostats are directional so make sure the spring side fits in towards the engine.

Gerry

 

[ColeyS1]

Thanks Gerry

If I push it in as far as the rebate as the water in the engine warms, would that not go straight into the regulator and be uneffected by the thermostat? So should the thermostat be before the small brass pipe that joins into the housing ?

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[Gerry]

No it should sit level with the join in the housing. I guess you won't know for sure until you get one.

Gerry

 

[ColeyS1]

No it should sit level with the join in the housing. I guess you won't know for sure until you get one.

Gerry

I've ordered one for £28, no chance of buying a new replacement radiator apparently. I'll try just the thermostat, if it still causes issues flush the radiator, if it's still performing after that I'll look at taking the head off so I can have a look. Whilst looking for thermostats last night I noticed a product that is supposed to fix head gasket issues without the need for getting it skimmed flat- sounds a bit too good to be true ?


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[Gerry]

Additives are temporary fixes at best, Snake oil usually.
Find a radiator re-conditioner and they will re-core your rad for you for less than the cost of a new one. As long as the header and footer tanks are OK it can be refurbished.

Gerry

 

[ColeyS1]

Additives are temporary fixes at best, Snake oil usually.
Find a radiator re-conditioner and they will re-core your rad for you for less than the cost of a new one. As long as the header and footer tanks are OK it can be refurbished.

Gerry

Thanks Gerry. I've found somewhere local that reconditions them but from memory I think it was leaking from the bottom and it also weeps from the top. I'll start spraying penetrating spray on the bolts so at least they might be loose should I need to take it out for them to look at.
I took the solenoid to pieces yesterday.

There was so much soot that fell out when it came to pieces.

The filter looked partially blocked in places. I gently blew it out with an airline and there was clouds of black smoke in the air. It looks almost orange now. Despite having 2 different forklift people look at this over the years it was 'Noels guy' that said there should be a filter in that solenoid somewhere. A few days ago I was at the end of my tether with this thing, it now seems I've got so many more things to try before dooming it to the scrap heap- much appreciated.

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[ColeyS1]

Then it should always run cold and never boil over.
Either the waterways are blocked internally or the head gasket has gone. Looking at that picture there is a lot of corrosion so I would suspect it has blocked waterways. I would first give the radiator a good flush through and fit a new thermostat. If that doesn't do it I would whip the head off and clean all the small water channels out, check for cracks in the head and replace the gasket. Parts for this should be dirt cheap and readily available.

Gerry

You little superstar you !!!

It's been a real enjoyable few days. I flushed the engine 3 times and each time lumps of crud and fine rusty stuff kept coming out. After each flush the regulator got warmer and warmer as the water began circulating. The engine and rad got cooler and cooler also. Gerry I think your guess about there being a blockage was spot on. Ever since I've owned the forklift I've never heard the regulator making the sound it does now. You can hear the water wooshing around and when you take the rad cap off while the waters still cold you can see it moving at a rapid pace.

The radiator was not as bad as I first thought. After using the rad flush treatment 3 times it did develop a small weep. I tried a soldering iron which didn't seem to get it hot enough then tried a blow torch on it.

The hole seemed to be where the two pieces of metal joined. To be honest I wasnt sure how to solder it properly so chose to just apply loads of it after cleaning the original back to shiny. The leak seems to be stopped...for now.

I haven't needed to fit the thermostat as it seems to be running just fine at keep the reg warm. I've ordered a compression gauge to check the head gasket (only £11) which I might still try out of curiosity.

Taking it on its first test drive after a few seconds there was an almighty bang and I turned around to see water gushing all down the concrete. I feared the worst but was pleasantly surprised to see it was a full bucket of water I'd forgot to remove from under the engine that had shattered - It near gave me a heart attack lol !

Really grateful for everyone who contributed to this thread. I couldn't have done it without you guys. Timber delivery next week, no more hair dryer jump starts, how exciting !!!!
Cheers
Coley

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[ColeyS1]

The compression gauge came yesterday and I got round to trying it today.
Cylinder 1 was 75 psi
Cylinder 2 was 103
Cylinder 3 was 25
And cylinder 4 was 100.
They peaked at that and swiftly dropped back to zero.

There's a break in the head gasket. It's so exciting so will have lots of researching to do later. The coolant keeps the regulator defrosted now. I'm hoping this will resolve the power/ spluttering issue.

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[Gerry]

Make sure all those gunged up waterways are nice and clear before reassembly. Stick something long and thin in them as far as possible then if you have a compressor blow the **** out of them.

Gerry

 

[ColeyS1]

I gave the head coolant holes a good clean, so many lumps were still coming out. Also ordered more engine flush to clean through the system again.

I cleaned the surface afterwards with wet and dry and everything appears to be nice and flat. I'll drain the rest of the coolant from the block this morning and use wd40 and wet and dry to clean that surface. Seeing it all in pieces now does make me think I should have quit while I was ahead. A new head gasket has been ordere which will take a few days to arrive. I read it was also a good idea to replace the cylinder head bolts? - how important is this ? - cheapest I can find so far is £15 per bolt !!! Interested to see what it could run like with a new gasket or whether it will even run at all ! Ha
Thanks Gerry


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[Gerry]

You will be OK with the old bolts. Yes it's good practice but to be honest I have never bothered and never had an issue even in a Rover K series engine where the bolts are the depth of the whole engine block.
As long as you have no air leaks that will run. It's not an overhead Cam or valve so no timing or rocker shaft to worry about.

Gerry