Help! Hubby is stranded near Gumbuya Park. Says the Gas Regulator is Freezing

[Miss_Aly]

Hi guys

Anyone please help, my hubby Brian says the gas regulator keeps freezing. Wants to know what he can do to fix it. Can someone with knowledge ring him to help him through it? 0411 813 170 He stuck on the highway

Its a BF XL Falcon Ute, tray back on Gas

[music189]

Originally Posted by Miss_Aly

Hi guys

Anyone please help, my hubby Brian says the gas regulator keeps freezing. Wants to know what he can do to fix it. Can someone with knowledge ring him to help him through it? 0411 813 170 He stuck on the highway

Its a BF XL Falcon Ute, tray back on Gas

If its freezing, it is out of coolant He needs to check coolant level in the reservoir probably blown a hose or radiator side tank split

Freezing of convertor is a by product of low coolant level
if a member best to call RACV

[Miss_Aly]

He has added water, defrosted it 3 times with no luck. He says its not getting any water going through it.

[Mechan1k]

It'll either be a coolant blockage .. or no coolant getting through the converter to keep the LPG as a gas.

vehicle may be sufficiently low on coolant that it can freeze when loading it up on hills and the like.

first thing if he can is try and add more water to the cooling system ... if the reservoir tank is low/empty at least ... and see if that remedies it for now.

[music189]

Originally Posted by Miss_Aly

He has added water, defrosted it 3 times with no luck. He says its not getting any water going through it.

if he has added water 3 times and defrosted, it has major water leak somewhere
dont keep doing that, as it will stuff the gas convertor

dumb question but the fan/serpetine belt is still on is quess??

[Mechan1k]

Hmmmm ... there;s a blockage somewhere then.
I think the hose coming into the converter comes from the firewall from the heater ... maybe the heater core is blocked and not letting water through ... could be a stuffed converter internally.

[Miss_Aly]

It has coolant, not getting any water through the convertor and also he has disconnected the hose from the heater and put it directly into the convertor with no luck. It says its almost like the water pump may not working? He says its running normal temp.

[mik]

sounds like a blockage problem, air lock perhaps?

[Mechan1k]

If the car is running normal temp ... then it won't be a water pump issue.
My old AUII had the water pump internal vanes literally corrode away ... but it caused overheating when stopped due to lack of water movement through the entire cooling system.

Are any of the hoses to from the converter hot at all????

[foxtrot3]

Hi. Keep pouring water over the convertor, the frost on the outside means there is a huge amount of ice inside and it may take 1/2 an hour of pouring water on the outside to shift it. Cheers MD

[blk6t]

My old work ute was a BA Ute on LPG, before the converter went it would freeze internally, the only way to get it going was to keep pouring hot water on the converter. Apparently it was gunk from the tank freezing in the converter??? Not an expert but it makes some sense.

[joolz]

Originally Posted by Mechan1k

Hmmmm ... there;s a blockage somewhere then.
I think the hose coming into the converter comes from the firewall from the heater ... maybe the heater core is blocked and not letting water through ... could be a stuffed converter internally.

The convertor is never ran via the heater core, what happens if the heater tap is off.

All that can be done is check for the hose temps. Both hoses in and out of the convertor should be hot to touch. If both cold there isnt any flow to the convertor. Without tools its gonna be hard to fix himself.

[Miss_Aly]

Brian managed to get the ute home safely, with numerous stops along the way. He pulled the small hose off the water tank from the thermostat housing and ran it over the regulator to defrost it while filling the top tank, it worked a treat. Seems like the convertor is blocked because both hoses are cold, when he brought the ute, recently it had no coolant in it, just water - thinks it could be corroded.

Does anybody know if they're repairable or better off getting a new one?

Thanks

Miss Aly

[Towie 1962]

Yeah, for the price of a new one, i belive a new one is the only way to go. Not sure if you can get a changeover and if so whats the price difference and warranty. cheers Neil.

[atec77]

Originally Posted by Miss_Aly

Hi guys

Anyone please help, my hubby Brian says the gas regulator keeps freezing. Wants to know what he can do to fix it. Can someone with knowledge ring him to help him through it? 0411 813 170 He stuck on the highway

Its a BF XL Falcon Ute, tray back on Gas

It will be caused by internal blockages inside the converter , physical scrubbing and some clr should fix it

[Miss_Aly]

Thanks for the info guys.

[sgt_doofey]

I had a new converter put on my EL a year or so ago. Cost me $350 from memory.
If both hoses are cold, then I'd point towards a blockage in the cooling system, possibly the hose leading to the converter. If there was a blockage in the converter, then one hose would be hot and the other one cold.
I've had freezing issues in mine as well. It's fine over winter but flares up over summer. I'm leading towards a stuffed thermostat (open all the time) in mine as the car doesn't warm up quickly and doesn't get that hot.
When I do get freezing in summer, it's in extremely hot weather, so the car is under extra load and I don't think enough coolant is flowing through the converter and it eventually freezes.
Things I've done to rectify this is replace the hoses, replace the radiator and the converter. Next step is the thermostat and see if that helps me.

[BRI BRI]

It must be a blockage in converter, the ute has only done 70,000 Ks and being no coolant in the cooling system has probably caused the converter to grow corrosion inside. Having not pulled one apart before, Im guessing the water circulation area is very small inside that little bathplug. I will dissect it on Monday and give a report on the outcome.
Thanks for your help guys.
Cheers little dick.

[foxtrot3]

Originally Posted by joolz

The convertor is never ran via the heater core, what happens if the heater tap is off.

Hi. The BA and BF Egas cars are quite safe to do this on as are aftermarket conversions on them as they have no heater tap. Cheers MD

[foxtrot3]

Originally Posted by sgt_doofey

If both hoses are cold, then I'd point towards a blockage in the cooling system, possibly the hose leading to the converter.

If there was a blockage in the converter, then one hose would be hot and the other one cold.
Once the converter has a lump of ice inside blocking the flow then both hoses will cool at the same time

Originally Posted by sgt_doofey

Next step is the thermostat and see if that helps me.

Make sure the one you get has no foot valve on it or try cutting about 1/3 of the foot valve off yours. Cheers MD

[BRI BRI]

I disconnected the heater and ran the hoses direct to the converter, but both hoses were still cold at the converter.

[yift]

these convertors (factory e-gas ones) are rebuildable. a gas parts supplier or even a taxi depot will sell you a seal kit to rebuild it. i remember from doing them they block up to all buggery with dirt from the water.

[gtfpv]

is the converter lower than the top of the radiator ? also many overlooked the possibility of a gas leak which will cause freezing ?
often fords converters are placed too high .

[BRI BRI]

Originally Posted by yift

these convertors (factory e-gas ones) are rebuildable. a gas parts supplier or even a taxi depot will sell you a seal kit to rebuild it. i remember from doing them they block up to all buggery with dirt from the water.

Thanks heeps for that info, that will save a few dollars.
Cheers,
Bri Bri.

[BRI BRI]

Originally Posted by gtfpv

is the converter lower than the top of the radiator ? also many overlooked the possibility of a gas leak which will cause freezing ?
often fords converters are placed too high .

The converter is level with exhaust manifold, I think it's the same on all late model Egas cars. I will check for leaks when I remove it.
Thanks Bri Bri.

[gtfpv]

Originally Posted by BRI BRI

The converter is level with exhaust manifold, I think it's the same on all late model Egas cars. I will check for leaks when I remove it.
Thanks Bri Bri.

it is most likely a blockage in the converter , or circulatory feed . gas leaks are best detected when car is running , you can smell and sometimes hear it . a soapy water spray is good for minor leak detection , however to freeze the convertor it would have to be significant . . regarding the convertor height , no hose should be above the radiator , and the top of the converter should be below the top of the radiator , and the radiator full . infact the lowest possible position for the converter is the best . IS YOUR HEATER WORKING ?

[BRI BRI]

Originally Posted by gtfpv

it is most likely a blockage in the converter , or circulatory feed . gas leaks are best detected when car is running , you can smell and sometimes hear it . a soapy water spray is good for minor leak detection , however to freeze the convertor it would have to be significant . . regarding the convertor height , no hose should be above the radiator , and the top of the converter should be below the top of the radiator , and the radiator full . infact the lowest possible position for the converter is the best . IS YOUR HEATER WORKING ?

It wasn't working when this happened

[Jason[98.EL]]

THERMOSTAT

when my EL was on gas i had the same issue

Jason

[sudszy]

Have you tried running a garden hose through the converter? That will tell you if its internally clogged.

Sometimes you can end up with an airlock in the converter and that can cause the problem. The solution is to bleed it by using a garden hose to get both hoses and the converter completely air free.

A few ways to do it. Here's what I do, disconnect the top converter hose from the engine block, or wherever it comes from. Plug the hole on the block, finger, rag etc. Remove rad cap, put hose in converter hose and run hose until radiator overflows. Refit hose letting as little water out as possible.

[BRI BRI]

Good idea I will try that before pulling it off. Im down at Moe renovating so I wont be able to get to it until Monday.