Not the same thing Lynn.
 > Ian is doing away with the low pressure catch can. Some late model
 > cars and trucks are doing this. The pressure tank is
 > only about 2/3 rd of the way full. There is no back flow valve
 > in the pressure relief cap. If the coolant expands beyond the
 > volume limits of the pressure tank it is lost over board for good.

It is the same idea. The catch tank after the Mazda pressure bottle is a
required 32 oz catch tank vented to atmospheric per the rules. I have never
managed to get anything into the catch tank since 1980. I ran the overflow
hose into the bottom just in case, but I only need the second bottle to be
legal. On my plane I will just run the overflow hose out of the cowl in front
of me so I can see a problem early. My wife had a Renault years ago. The
pressure bottle was quite large. The cap I believe was not vented at all. The
bottle was to be kept about 1/4 full. One day a service station kid filled it
all the way up. My wife got on the freeway and the system went into hydraulic
lock and the whole plastic end tank blew off of the radiator. So the larger
pressurized bottle works fine if you leave enough head space for compressed
air. I don't think it has to be bigger than the stock RX-2 bottle. The GM
style zero pressure bottle won't give back any fluid until the engine drops
below atmospheric. If you are having a big overheating problem that is not
going to happen for two hours after the landing. One time we took a wrench
through the radiator, and the driver was so busy he didn't notice the temp
gage peg and return to below normal. He finished the race with the power down
a bit and just a hint of smoke. When he got back into the pit area he
couldn't shut down the engine. I turned off the marine master switch and it
kept on running. I assumed that the master switch had vibrated apart as had
happened to a Lucas master switch before. The pieces inside the switch had
maintained continuity. That was all I could think of at the time. I yanked
the coil wires off. Still the engine would not quit. I had the driver put it
in 5th gear, hold the brakes and let the clutch out. That did it. It snapped
and cracked at us for an hour after that. The cast iron was OK. The rotor
housings were toast. It ran again after rebuilding. No problems.

Lynn E. Hanover

 
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