Radiator drain tap

[mark10337]

Hi

Does anyone know of a good quality radiator drainage tap part# C2354? I had one from SNG but the handle snapped on it, and it always dripped from the valve slightly. So I am looking for a good replacement. Alternatively, what is the thread size? and I might just use a set screw.

[44DHR]

One just about to finish on eBay uk ! £12.50. At 20.38 hrs UK time Tonight.
Regards,
Dave

[Heuer]

I always try and find/buy original tap's because they work 'as is' or are easily restored. My experience of the repro's is they are cheap cast alloy, rather than brass as original, and the arm snaps off when you try to open them.

[Mich7920]

Hi Mark,
I tried the repro C2354 from :
SC................LEAK !
XKE.COM........LEAK !
At last, I bought no esthetics drain tap in copper...and they also leak( Engine and radiator ).
I'm tired about this.
If somebody could explain how to restor the original it could be a good idea.
Better if it's with some photos. Thanks
Mich

[44DHR]

Mich,

Heuer is correct - so try to buy an old original brass drain tap - which do quite often come on on places like Ebay as they are used on other cars and in both the Radiator and Block drains on later 4.2 E types.

I try to buy these when I see them, but held off the Ebay one last night in case someone else wanted that one. The key to them sealing is that they are a taper fit into the housing. The moving Male in the static Female tap is retained by the strength of the spring below pulling the tapers together to create the effective seal, which is locked in place by a washer and split pin.

Once dismantled, the two components can be "lapped" using fine grinding paste to ensure a matched fit. Thoroughly clean and re-assemble. A quick paint and good as new. The hard thing is to get them to tighten to end up vertical, which is achived with a combination of one copper washer and red fibre washers as required.

Footnote as of 09.15 hrs Weds 12th Oct :- The used tap last night has been re-listed on Ebay again at £12.50 under "Jaguar E type Water Tap", but if you just type "Jaguar Water Tap" there are several at £20 each as a Buy it Now item with Free Postage. The Buy it Now seller appears to have captured the used market as he shows a photo of nine of these taps.

regards,

Dave

[Mich7920]

Ok Dave,
Thanks

[Moeregaard]

Unless originality is important, I replace drain taps with a threaded plug and safety-wire it in place, to avoid having to worry about this. I did this on both of my E-Types, and it is a suggested modification in the factory's competition tuning manual.

[Gfhug]

Moe, can you remember the thread size of the plugs you used?

Geoff

[Moeregaard]

The original drain tap used a straight thread, possibly 1/4" BSP, in conjunction with a fibre washer. I going from distant memory here, so you might want to gauge the threads on your tap.

[Herblay]

I reopen this old tread. Do someone has a good set of pictures of the original C2354 drain tap? I saw one in eBay (https://www.ebay.es/itm/285096745498?mk ... media=COPY) but unsure this is original and can be mounted on a 3,8 engine. Letters EW mean what?

[Gfhug]

If you look at post 8 here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=18589
You’ll see that replacing the tap with a simple screw in plug is a preferred solution. Even SNG Barratt now show one of those instead of the tap for part number C2354. Maybe talk to Radtec to ask if you can buy one of those plugs rather than hope an old one from eBay will be reliable?

Geoff

[Heuer]

That one looks to be original - cadmium plated brass. You need two, one for the radiator one for the engine block. As Dave says in an earlier post they rarely fail and can be restored easily. I will take a photo of mine tomorrow but they are pretty universal so don't focus on 'Jaguar' when searching. As for the FW mark I will check my records but it probably refers to the manufacturer.

[Herblay]

If you look at post 8 here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=18589
You’ll see that replacing the tap with a simple screw in plug is a preferred solution. Even SNG Barratt now show one of those instead of the tap for part number C2354. Maybe talk to Radtec to ask if you can buy one of those plugs rather than hope an old one from eBay will be reliable?

Geoff

Thanks Geoff. Indeed, the screw in plug is the right solution, but I tried to preserve full originality. I don’t discard switching to the practical solution though

[Herblay]

That one looks to be original - cadmium plated brass. You need two, one for the radiator one for the engine block. As Dave says in an earlier post they rarely fail and can be restored easily. I will take a photo of mine tomorrow but they are pretty universal so don't focus on 'Jaguar' when searching. As for the FW mark I will check my records but it probably refers to the manufacturer.

Thank you David for your remarks

[44DHR]

Yes, looks original to me too.
All my drain taps have EW cast in them. I have one on the bench that I am working on at the moment :-



Cheers,
Dave

[Heuer]

Any brass drain tap with a 1/4" BSP thread will work and there are lots to choose from on eBay. If you want originality this is what the one Jaguar fitted looks like:



Marked EW and either cadmium or chrome plated and not rare as they were used on the saloons (Mk2, Mk10, S-Type) as well. Several for sale s/h on eBay although prices are now a bit silly at about £40. Originally they used one copper and one fibre washer but you can use extra fibre washers to set the orientation.

The Xj6 saloons used a 1/4" BSP drain plug part C31616

[Gfhug]

There seem to be quite a few brass 1/4 inch bsp drain taps for stationary engines that could do the job at a significantly lower price, worth considering? Just search on fleabay for “1/4 bsp drain” or “stationary engine drain”

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from ... _PrefLoc=2

Geoff

[DWW]

Cheap

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373556260869 ... R8Db_-_eYQ

[Heuer]

Avoid anything that says 'new' as they will be of poor quality like the current repro's and made of pot metal rather than cast brass.