Leaking drain tap

[smiffy]

Hi folks
I've had to drain the cooling system on my car a few times over the last month to deal with a leaking inlet manifold gasket. I replaced the coolant about 18 months ago, and had no problem, but since disturbing the radiator drain tap this time it has had a persistent slow drip. Any ideas for a cure?
Best wishes, David

[Martec]

Hi,

A similar fault was cured (for now) by removing the valve and using fine grinding paste to polish the valve in, its just a tapered plug valve.

Alternatively you could carefully tap the outlet and fit a short screw with PTFE tape to seal it.

Brian

[smiffy]

Hi Brian
Thanks, I assumed that this would be the case. I can stop the leak with downward pressure on the valve through the control rod, so perhaps the spring tension also is not adequate. Sounds like a strip down, clean up and polish is the way forward. I'll add this to the list........
Best wishes, David