Radiator Caps

[Rally Pack 2000]

Do you guys have a preference for a better than average quality radiator cap? The local made ones have gotten rather thin and rust in no time at all and it seems everyone has done away with the second top seal? For looks I then tried one of those Stainless Fah-ler caps and they do look good but even though 13lb is standard for Escorts this one will pop its pressure valve and dump coolant down the overflow whenever you stop. When the top tank of the radiator is empty then at that point seems give space in the radiator to take up most of the pressure and it stops dumping fluid. Its getting really embarrassing three people this week alone warned me the car was leaking fluid thinking it was broken. It also has week locking tabs as it now never locks in and will rotate indefinitely so you have to find the position yourself where you should stop turning it. So does anyone make a cap with both seals with a reasonable build quality these days maybe even shiny so it to achieve some level of show quality? Are these things now like Chinese shirt sizes that they made up themselves where in the case of caps  you have to get a 15psi cap to match the original 13psi?

[BIG G]

I've used Stant 22lb caps on my mk2 with a pinto for the last 20 years and never had an issue, great quality and the release leaver makes things safer. Being steel blocked and head with good quality gaskets means the pressure hasn't been an issue and I've always used electric fasns. 

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294504684775?hash=item4491d8dce7:g:4z0AAOSwd8FhfAPs

Edited November 4, 2021 by BIG G

[katana]

I've got a Stant on mine used with a hot running Zetec and Evans coolant . . . . . . . so I don't actually need a sprung rad. cap but they are nicely made!

[DT36]

2 hours ago, Rally Pack 2000 said:

Do you guys have a preference for a better than average quality radiator cap? The local made ones have gotten rather thin and rust in no time at all and it seems everyone has done away with the second top seal? For looks I then tried one of those Stainless Fah-ler caps and they do look good but even though 13lb is standard for Escorts this one will pop its pressure valve and dump coolant down the overflow whenever you stop. When the top tank of the radiator is empty then at that point seems give space in the radiator to take up most of the pressure and it stops dumping fluid. Its getting really embarrassing three people this week alone warned me the car was leaking fluid thinking it was broken. It also has week locking tabs as it now never locks in and will rotate indefinitely so you have to find the position yourself where you should stop turning it. So does anyone make a cap with both seals with a reasonable build quality these days maybe even shiny so it to achieve some level of show quality? Are these things now like Chinese shirt sizes that they made up themselves where in the case of caps  you have to get a 15psi cap to match the original 13psi?

Are you leaving any space in the top of your rad for expansion?

Where I'm going with this, is not to fill the rad to the bottom of the filler neck when cold.  Fill it above the inner core fins, but also leave some room for expansion when it gets hot. 

[Rally Pack 2000]

1 hour ago, dt36 said:

Are you leaving any space in the top of your rad for expansion?

Where I'm going with this, is not to fill the rad to the bottom of the filler neck when cold.  Fill it above the inner core fins, but also leave some room for expansion when it gets hot. 

Yes I do that but now its dumping the fluid to expose the fins.

[Rally Pack 2000]

3 hours ago, BIG G said:

I've used Stant 22lb caps on my mk2 with a pinto for the last 20 years and never had an issue, great quality and the release leaver makes things safer. Being steel blocked and head with good quality gaskets means the pressure hasn't been an issue and I've always used electric fasns. 

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294504684775?hash=item4491d8dce7:g:4z0AAOSwd8FhfAPs

If your running 22lb then using a 15lb over a 13 isnt going to cause much dramas then?

[Miniliteman]

Test if there isn't a (small) hole in the radiator or coolant system by pressurizing the system. It should keep the pressure you put on it. Also test if the head gasket isn't leaking (a bit). I have a CO2 tester, it tests the coolant for traces of CO2 which happens if the head gasket leaks a bit.

[DT36]

39 minutes ago, Rally Pack 2000 said:

If your running 22lb then using a 15lb over a 13 isnt going to cause much dramas then?

15ib over 13ib will be fine.  I'm running a 1.1bar (15.95psi) with fixed pulley original fan.  Had no dramas over around 8 years since fitting.

Can't remember my thermostat temp, but I did drill a very small bypass hole in it.  However, this plays no role when the engine is at temp.

The thing to consider when going higher, let's say 22ib, is that the boiling point of water is then increased.  In your climate, your probably better running a lower pressure cap.

As above though from Miniliteman, you might want to test the head gasket at temp for peace of mind.

[Rally Pack 2000]

13 minutes ago, Miniliteman said:

Test if there isn't a (small) hole in the radiator or coolant system by pressurizing the system. It should keep the pressure you put on it. Also test if the head gasket isn't leaking (a bit). I have a CO2 tester, it tests the coolant for traces of CO2 which happens if the head gasket leaks a bit.

It only leaks fluid through the overflow, the radiator has just been replaced so that's all good. Just rummaged around in the shed and found an old cap. When I put the old rusty Stant cap I took off before it stops dumping so much fluid. I'm wondering if its related to the fact that it doesn't lock down properly any more not so much its pressure rating. There may be less force being applied to the seal than it would if clamping properly not just that it doesn't lock into place but both at play together. The cap was virtually new too when I had the radiator re-cored last year.

[Rally Pack 2000]

I had an idea and just took the cap off the Twincam. I bought both caps at the same time. One has a lever pressure release that I put on the Twincam and then the regular type on the Mk2. Both are stainless Fah-ler 13lb caps. When compared the seals show surprising differences. Its like the regular has been barely sealing?

 

[Miniliteman]

Compare the height of both caps and the "filling holes" in the radiators.

[BIG G]

Approx. 1psi raises the boiling point of water by 3 degrees so the standard 13lb cap takes the boiling point to 139c so a 15lb cap will allow the water to reach 145c before boiling over. Therefore it's all about safety margins and being in OZ where its a tad warmer than the uk 😁

[Rally Pack 2000]

I suddenly remembered at the time I bought the cap in question I bought another as a spare as it saved on postage and all that.  Even though brand new this cap was ever worse than the first and simply would not lock into place and just constantly rotate. The tabs on it are just not bent correctly. Fah-ler caps with the pressure release lever have much better tabs and lock into place properly. Someone over there goofed for a batch of these things. They are supposed to be premium caps though.

[Rally Pack 2000]

Anyone deal with this company?

https://www.rc-supplies.co.uk/classic-ford-stainless-steel-radiator-pressure-cap

Caps are a reasonable price at ten quid but its costs 20 quid in postage to me LOL Free postage if you live in the UK, lucky pups!

[Ray]

39 minutes ago, Rally Pack 2000 said:

Anyone deal with this company?

https://www.rc-supplies.co.uk/classic-ford-stainless-steel-radiator-pressure-cap

Caps are a reasonable price at ten quid but its costs 20 quid in postage to me LOL Free postage if you live in the UK, lucky pups!

i can see from the picture your wasting your time, the bent clips are a fraction of the correct size, unfortunately its the case with most of them, and they just spin off, if you can find a new old stock quinten hazel one, they are ok, but dont buy the modern quinten hazel junk made by firstline, theyre rubbish as well, as is much of that junk they sell, they cant even get the bush bore diameter correct in their track control arms

the other option is to have a chat with your aussie mate justin, he usually has a genuine ford one tucked away somewhere for about a hunded quid

[Rally Pack 2000]

20 minutes ago, Ray said:

i can see from the picture your wasting your time, the bent clips are a fraction of the correct size, unfortunately its the case with most of them, and they just spin off, if you can find a new old stock quinten hazel one, they are ok, but dont buy the modern quinten hazel junk made by firstline, theyre rubbish as well, as is much of that junk they sell, they cant even get the bush bore diameter correct in their track control arms

the other option is to have a chat with your aussie mate justin, he usually has a genuine ford one tucked away somewhere for about a hunded quid

Im glad im not the only one that has had caps spinning out! (But both bought at the same time?)

Im in the process of buying a car this month so I would have to use my car money to buy an original cap from Justin so best I go QH I think! 🤣

[Rally Pack 2000]

A couple of developments with these. I actually made contact with the Fah-ler Factory in Turkey about their caps not clamping down properly. As it turned out there is a dealer in the UK that stopped being an official dealer but instead started selling knock-offs under the same name. They are trying to put a stop to it but its a slow process apparently. So naturally they were under no obligation to address any problems with someone elses fake caps but regardless they were very generous and sent me two replacements anyways. I certainly wasnt expecting such a good response and as such had already ordered some others from the UK! LOL. Anyways the first lot to arraive are the replacements from Turkey and they are definitely better made. They clip in as they should and you can feel the spring seal clamping into place. There are differences in appearance between the genuine and the fakes you will be able to see a comparison below. The genuine one is on the right and has an extra stamp "Since 1969"under the Fah-ler name.

I will post again when the British made stainless ones arrive to see how they compare.

[katana]

From the piccy, i'd assume the best quality chinesium knock off! You can usually tell by the letter work - its poor, shallow and indistinct! I hope the Turkish guys get some satisfaction by putting the bad guys out of business! 

[BIG G]

There's lots of fakes about at the moment including Motorcraft stuff, especially on ebay, Always buy from trusted sellers and remember buy cheap buy twice 

 

[Rally Pack 2000]

11 hours ago, katana said:

From the piccy, i'd assume the best quality chinesium knock off! You can usually tell by the letter work - its poor, shallow and indistinct! I hope the Turkish guys get some satisfaction by putting the bad guys out of business! 

Yes I suspect that is the case now that you mention it. I just thought getting them from a UK distributor would negate that sort of thing. I didn't even consider a UK vendor doing knock-offs of a Turkish made product? It turned out a bit of a reverse what I knew of the copy trade. The box packaging is even superior to the genuine one which adds to its authenticity but its very careful not to give the country of manufacture just simply "Distributed by Fah-ler UK' and I think that's how he is getting around some of the legal issues as he was once their dealer. The genuine cap has "Made in Turkey" on the box. I think their boxes may have looked identical to the replicas at some point in the past and they have changed in order to allow buyers to distinguish between them today.

10 hours ago, BIG G said:

There's lots of fakes about at the moment including Motorcraft stuff, especially on ebay, Always buy from trusted sellers and remember buy cheap buy twice 

 

I did look into getting a Motortcraft one for the sake of authenticity but some definitely looked strange. In the end I decided to go stainless just so it would retain a nice finish and got stung anyways! They weren't cheap however I did pay a premium price for them.

[Nursebetty]

Wow after reading this i feel someone feels my pain after chasing a Stant cap for my new GRP4 radiator here in aus.

I ended up emailing a place on ebay that listed the one i want which assured me they do have the item but then gave a postage time frame of 2 weeks to get it from their storage facility.

I felt a little 'crazy' looking at caps for hours trying to find part dimensions and specs to make sure i get what i needed.

[Rally Pack 2000]

1 hour ago, Nursebetty said:

Wow after reading this i feel someone feels my pain after chasing a Stant cap for my new GRP4 radiator here in aus.

I ended up emailing a place on ebay that listed the one i want which assured me they do have the item but then gave a postage time frame of 2 weeks to get it from their storage facility.

I felt a little 'crazy' looking at caps for hours trying to find part dimensions and specs to make sure i get what i needed.

Maybe its an Australian thing!? Lol

I didn't have any problems with the Stant one I had before only that it rusted and looked a bit untidy so when I re-cored and painted the radiator I just wanted a shiny stainless one. But as it turned out the Chinese have muddied the waters with their poor quality copies.

[Nursebetty]

22 hours ago, Rally Pack 2000 said:

Maybe its an Australian thing!? Lol

I didn't have any problems with the Stant one I had before only that it rusted and looked a bit untidy so when I re-cored and painted the radiator I just wanted a shiny stainless one. But as it turned out the Chinese have muddied the waters with their poor quality copies.

Yeah i understand you, im actually spewing the stant cap i have doesnt fit the new radiator but oh well, new one i ordered has the lever, which looks a bit racey!

I dont understand, all that time and effort to make a fake radiator cap, who would have thought there would be profit in it.


 

[Rally Pack 2000]

6 hours ago, Nursebetty said:

Yeah i understand you, im actually spewing the stant cap i have doesnt fit the new radiator but oh well, new one i ordered has the lever, which looks a bit racey!

I dont understand, all that time and effort to make a fake radiator cap, who would have thought there would be profit in it.


 

The Stant one I was replacing had a red plastic lever. It worked fine though

That's how I got caught I would never have expected a UK company would sell Chinese knockoffs of a Turkish product! Who would have guessed or even considered that? But when you have both in front of you and clip them on you can tell the difference. The car hasn't leaked coolant since the Turkish originals arrived and the car has run slightly cooler on the gauge too, its been good.

[Nursebetty]

Well the ball keeps rolling on this for me, My ?stant cap arrived today. Packaged as allstar performance with no stant markings other then on the label. This is what the ebay ad shows. Im a bit disappointed as i want to use a stant cap for the quality. Im finding it strange i can not find a standard radiator stant replacement cap, or even part numbers so i can chase up the correct one.

Too much time and worry for such a small issue but i feel i have to solve it, ive emailed burtons to see if this works with a grp4 radiator. GRP4 themselves said they use a stant 30130 cap but that is rated 18-22psi. Not sure how that would work on my standard pinto. 

https://www.burtonpower.com/stant-radiator-cap-16-psi-with-release-lever-11330-stant.html