Unsure about drillig the heater tap take-off on a Metro head. Need help!

Hi mate, don't worry, you won't knacker the engine. You need to drill the thermostat otherwise you will knacker your engine. All you do is remove the thermostat itself and drill the six holes around the edge of it, allowing water to pass before the thermostat opens.  On the mini water pump and head there is that annoying little bypass hose that allows this to happen the metro had an expansion tank and the sandwitch plate that you won't need.  The heater take off is just a case of drilling out where the blank is. Dead easy to do so don't panic mate. cheers, andy B.

Posted: May 03, 2006 10:53 AM

heated inlet manifold

Aahhh - beg to differ there Stu.. 'TOP HOSE? no no. The sies are immensley different. Best way is to take the hose off the heater tap (if fitted to head) and fit that to the left side of the manifold pipe, then a new bit of hose from the right side of the manifold to the heater tap. This way, you only heat the manifold when you heat the car - which is most likely to be when the carb is likely to freeze (cold/wet weather). This is assuming you have the heater tap on the head type set-up. The later cars had the heater valve mid-pipes. 

There's also an issue with pipe sizing. Some ally after-market manifolds and the MG Metro one has 5/8" bore pipes. The earlier Minis and ally manifolds designed for them have 1/2" bore pipes. So you'll need pipe size adaptors (Gates do some real nice plastic ones). KC

 

Posted: Apr 22, 2006 01:10 AM

No heat in car

For now, I'd start the car up from cold with the radiator cap removed, ensuring that the heater tap is open (again double check that it is actually opening the valve on the head or in-line depeding on your model/age Mini).

Then I'd leave it warm up until the coolant starts bubbling over slightly and then I'd replace the radiator cap.

That should clear any air locks, but if your heater tap was working properly, then some hot coolant should reach your heater matrix.

So the fault must be with the tap!

 

Posted: Sep 05, 2008 01:06 PM

Overheating Issues

First of all ensure that the heater tap control is actually moving the tap on the cylinder head.

So get someone to push & pull the knob (oh matron!) whilst you look at the tap to check it's moving correctly.  The knob should be all the way in for heat on your age of Mini.

You might find that you need to adjust the tap on the cylinder head to allow it to fully open.  That's simple as you just have to undo the little screw, pull the tap/valve and then re-tighten the screw.

To clear a possible air lock, just start the car (from cold), but remove the radiator cap.  Ensure the heater tap is open to allow coolant to circulate around the heater matrix too.

When the coolant starts to bubble up in the radiator, replace the cap and then see how it goes once the cars fully warmed up.

I assume you fitted an 88degree thermostat and did you flush the system through? 

 

Posted: Aug 13, 2008 05:15 PM

head/heater

if it has the plate on the head a metro cylinder head of this age would not have left the factory suitable for unleaded fuel, it is to early in production. unleaded metros were produced from 1989 and did not have plates.. remove the plate and fit the mini heater tap on, use a new gasket.

Posted: Jan 26, 2005 09:00 PM

Radio

You need a 12V feed that comes on with the ignition (unless you like flattening your battery) to power the radio. Get this from the right hand side of the fuse box (RH as you sit in the car - LH when you open the bonnet and look in) and fit an inline fuse holder. Its usually best to avoid running anything new through the existing fuses because they havent been rated to take the new stuff. You will need a ground point too, but as this is a radio, it will need to be a clean earth. Generally a small hole in the body with a self tapping screw through the earth eyelet works well. Place this well away from any motors (wipers, heater etc) but no more than 100mm from the radio. If you want the radio to keep its memory, youll need an additional constant power feed for that. Get that from the fuse box too and fit an in line fuse holder here too. Use a circuit tester (usually a small screw driver with a light in) to find which connections on the fuse box are live with the ignition off and on to pick the right ones. Circuit testers are very useful with Minis anyway, so its worth getting one.

 

Posted: Aug 04, 2005 08:42 AM

Mini Heater Wanted

Have you tested the spare heater fan motor to make sure it's working correctly?  If it's in first class shape and feel confident then here's a rough guide I recently gave someone on a different Mini Forum:- 

Removing isn't that difficult but it helps if you follow the Haynes manual as you have to undo 2 screws securing the heater at the front and slacken off a nut securing it on to a mounting bracket at the back, then pull away the 2 plastic tubing pipes from each side of the heater unit & carefully lower the heater. You should cover the carpet to protect it against water/antifreeze and put a bowl under the pipes/heater and don't forget to turn off the heater control tap, but I doubt you'll get much water/anti-freeze leak out (other than whats in the matrix) since it's not under pressure. Then undo the 2 hose-clips and pull off the hoses. Oh and you'll have to undo the large air-intake vent on the rear/side too!

The only other thing you have to do is then disconnect the spade connector from the rear of the heater fan/switch and disconnect the bullet connector which you'll see once the heaters lowered. I generally use a small screwdriver to prise it apart.

Okay it's then just a case of undoing all the little posi-screws and lifting one side off, then you'll have access to the internal gubbins and you can remove the motor.  Whilst it's apart it might be worth giving the inside a bit of a clean and remove any dead leaves, flies, dust etc!  The matrix foam packing may be in a bit of a state though, so if you're able to replace it with fresh foam, now would be the best time.

Then as the Haynes manual says, refitting is the reverse of removing or whatever but I find it's easier to refit the large air-intake vent at the back of the heater before re-mounting the unit because it's a fiddly potch to get it back on when the heater's back in place.

So once that's done and your hoses are all back ship shape check your raditor level and top up as necessary after running your engine with the heater tap open so the antifreeze/water mix can circulate around you're heater.

Hope that helps!  

 

Posted: Feb 25, 2007 05:18 PM

re

there isnt alot to worry about ul need a new top radiator bracket if old engine is 998, the oil breather on rad side of engine may need flattening a bit with hammer to clear fan from old engine. rad should be ok from 998 as it was same 3 core one used on all models but uprated one may avoid overheating in hot summer traffic jams but itsnt esential but give it good flush with tap/hose. late 1275 metro use cable clutch i think 85 should be ok, think its hydralic still. carb need is fine, speedo should read correctly if ur mini is post 1980. brakes if ur mini is pre 84 might be worth upgrading to discs for safety metro brakes can be modifyied to fit so worth holding onto them if metro gets scrapped. the heater hose outlet will need drilling out on 1275 metro just so some water can flow about 10mm drill bit. i think thats pritty much it. buy new engine mounts x2, engine steady mounts x2, water hose gasket, may need new heater hoses/vacume pipes. also if ur mini hasnt got servo brakes u will need a plug to blank servo take off on intake manifold. ul need an engine hoist to get engine out iv done without in past its not worth it, also make sure u connect speedo cable before engine fully in car.  water pump on metro will be standard large one and clutch type wont matter.  if its pre 1980 mini say il list extra things ul need to do.

ps ur best fit stage one kit at same time as if not ul need a 1990-1991 mini cooper exhaust down pipe which is expensive and rc40 kit which costs nearly as much as stage 1 kit

 

Posted: May 13, 2009 09:42 PM

1982 mini city 998 engine cut out

Your starting problem sounds like there must be a fault in the ignition switch.  Sorry, not much fun getting that out.

Speedo problem is probably a damaged speedo cable.  Try taking it apart and lubricating it first, but if that doesn't help a new onbe is cheap enough.

Heater problem could simply be that the tap on the cylinder head is turned off, or jammed up.  Not serious, but check that the radiator is full.  Temp gauge could be a faulty gauge, faulty sender, or simply a wire fallen off somewhere.

 

Posted: Nov 19, 2010 06:57 AM

Re:

Another way of helping to prevent overheating whilst stuck in the middle of gridlocked traffic on a very hot day is to switch on the heater.

Pull the heater control knob/tap out (or in on earlier models), select 'Car' on the front of the heater control panel and switch the heater blower fan on.

It will help cool down the coolant as it has to pass through the heater matrix and the heater blower fan also helps to cool it too.

It won't be much fun sitting in the car with the heater belting out full heat, but you can always open all the windows.

 

Posted: Sep 19, 2009 02:08 AM