Hi everyone,

Some time during the winter (possibly after rain), the TR developed an interesting issue. At seemingly random intervals but especially in the mornings when cold, you can hear what sounds like water running behind the dashboard on the passenger side. It occurs for a few seconds at the most, and doesn't seem to follow any kind of consistent pattern.

A quick search of the forums turned up this thread (http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81033&highlight=water+sound). I've checked the coolant levels in the radiator and overflow bottle over several months, but there's been no change in the levels. There's no coolant leaking into the passenger footwell either, and the temperature always comes up to half way quickly and stays there like it should.

Coolant in the radiator looks great - was changed not too long ago - and if we want to start ruling out worst case scenarios, the oil looks fine as well.

I had the suggestion that it may be a blocked water drain somewhere, but I haven't checked for this yet. While the door drains are easy to find, is there also a windscreen drain that I should check? I suspected like some cars there may be a drain for any water that runs into the HVAC intake below the windscreen, but I wasn't able to find it from a quick check earlier.

Would be keen to start tackling this issue over the weekend, so any ideas are appreciated.


Cheers,

Michael

My bet is that it is water trapped in the wiper well underneath the plastic shroud. The water outlet is probably blocked with debris.

It may well be there is some air in your cooling system and you are hearing turbulent water in the heater core. Check the plenum drains though.

My bet is that it is water trapped in the wiper well underneath the plastic shroud. The water outlet is probably blocked with debris.

This is what I thought it could be, considering the circumstances in which it started. What I can't seem to find is where the water outlet is on a TR 2.6L. I'll take another look tomorrow, but any tips on where I should be looking?

Failing that, I'll turn my attention to the cooling system.

Remove wipers, remove plastics across bottom of screen.

Outflow is at either end, water comes out in the gap between the front of the front doors and the rear of the mudguards. Hose it out and you will see.

If it is just a heater core gurgle, there is nothing to worry about.

Sounds a lot like trapped air in coolant going through the cabin heater matrix. Happened to the wife's Holden 96 Barina, and would initially do exactly what you descirbe - no funny smells, no damp patches on the floor, no murky coolant, no contaminated oil or low coolant levels, but the sound of gurgling/rushing water behind the dash in the first few seconds after start up. Years later it gradully become more persistent and would always be heard no matter how long the car had been running, moreso when accelerating hard. Only time I could ever get rid of the noise was when we accidentally let the car nearly run dry! We sold the car before we could ever get it fixed, so I don't really know what the solution would be.

I'm glad you agree with me, ac1176.
The heater core is high up in the cooling system, and air may accumulate there with the engine off. You then hear gurgles next time you start.

Besides, a plenum full of water is going to sound more like water in a bathtub sloshing around. lol And you are more likely to hear it outside the car, probably would not hear it inside the car through the firewall.

Solution?
Some cars have a bleeder valve for letting out air in high spots, but the Magna doesn't. You could park the car with the front end high up - steep hill for example - and idle the car with the radiator cap off.

One of the things suggested to try out when I was researching the Barina "waterfall" problem was to give the upper radiator hose a few squeezes with the coolant bottle lid off. Forces any air to bubble up into the reservoir. As the air comes out the coolant level may drop a bit as the displaced fluid settles back through the cooling system. Top up with some extra coolant as you go. Seemed to help a little.

Blasted water through the windscreen drains, took a moment while it ran through the guards but came running out like it should.

Presumably then, the issue is in the heater core. It does seem to be increasing in frequency, so I'll have a play around with it next week and see what I can find. No steep hills nearby, so we may have to get creative.

Not to hijack or anything , but this thread helped me with my ts, doing same thing and inconsistent, turned out it was blocked water drain points, thanks guys

woo one of my old nub threads gets linked i feel special.


when i had the old 2nd gen , once that noise started it become a random occurance the last time it was neither door or shround and i never found out what was causing it prior to gettting rid of car..

hopefully urs is a easy one

I haven't ruled out the possibility of a water drain issue. The insides of the fenders are full of mud and grime, so it's possible there's still a blockage somewhere in there. I may need to remove the fenders at some point anyway - the passenger side one is catching on the door when it's opened. Some crash damage from way back that's slightly misshaped the panel.

I still need to go over the door drains as well. The sound definitely doesn't sound like it's coming from within the door cavity, but with an issue this inconsistent, I'd look in the boot if I thought it would do any good.

I don't know how relevant this is, but the sound you describe is common in 1st gens. Both of my 1st gen. carby models suffered from it particularly after first starting off. Neither of my efi 1st gens exhibited it at all. The issue isn't really to do with carby vs. efi other than that in 1st gens the cooling hose and pipe layout is slightly different between the two. In mine the sound was definitely turbulence in the cooling system pipes going to and from the heater behind the dash. Apparently coolant flows through the heater core even when the heater is turned off.