MV8

Silber, I suspected you had #6 hose but didn't see it buried in there. Pinch the #3 hose (in my diagram) closed with a vice grip or repair/position the heater valve to close and retest. I believe eliminating heater flow is the quick fix to get you through summer. Where is the indicating temp sensor located on the engine? Indicated temp, stat temp, and fan switch temp are usually not the same as they are in different locations. Stats are rated at the temp where they should start opening/finish closing. You could not know if the stat was completely closed. Relieving system pressure creates differential pressure in the system resulting in flow that could briefly warm the lower hose. I'd replace the stat as well, with a 180f and order two, so I have a spare at hand along with a replacement plastic manifold for the back for the head.

New VW rotors require machining to fit the hubs. Take both your hubs, old rotors, and new rotors to a machine shop. Better yet, have them machine a few you can have as spares or trade.

On my vehicles, I usually restrict the bypass to make the cooling system more efficient when hot and reduce the warm up time. Not on mazda 4 cylinder engines (B3,B6,BP, etc) though, since they usually have a steel pipe from the pump to the back of the head with an oring on the ends. The duratec just uses a long, molded hose. After it is plumbed like the oem, note if your overheat and warm up are greatly affected by if the heater valve is open or closed. Also, even if the expansion tank is half full not running, this arrangement may be circulating through the bleeder line in parallel to the heater, increasing flow cold/stat closed (we want just enough flow to prevent hot spots). The expansion tank probably needs to be connected to an upper or lower coolant pipe instead of the heater if it will have bleeder fittings. I'm not sure the bleeder is necessary with so much plumbing around it already at the same height. I would pinch it closed and test.

The bypass is for the #6 fittings. Apparently you are using the heater core as a bypass (separate loop on a duratec) without the oem circuit. I suggest rearranging to match the way ford intended.

Well, they can try.... Bonus points for them seeing you. You wouldn't happen to have a ten foot pole, do you? Treat them like poop. Don't get any on you.

Can't see (reminds me of the Borg for some reason), but when the heater is not installed, the lines must be looped, not capped. Don't know if that is the case. Stat neck small line goes to a port on the back of the head. This is known as a "bypass". Excessive bypass flow will cause the problems you are having with warm up and overheating. There is some kind of tee manifold connected to the bottom of the expansion tank. Draw the components and post a pic of the connections like a schematic. Steve has a tee in the bleed lines to the top of his expansion tank on a zetec. You appear to have a tee in your bypass and trouble with your hippopotamus.

Did the birkin come with a duratec or was this a diy effort by a previous owner? Lets start with pictures. There are many ways to plumb the system and setup a cooling fan. If everything is as it should be, the car should not: 1) take any longer to warm up to temp than a ford focus. 2) Cool down to 150f while driving 3) Stop all coolant flow with a closed stat. 3) go above 215f with the cooling fan on. I'd like to see the engine bay, radiator, fan, back of the head, and the left side of the engine under the intake.

Pressure test the system cold and see what vents first and at what pressure. Is this the only cap on the coolant system or do you also have a traditional type radiator cap with a vent port? Systems specs vary so post a pic of your system components/plumbing. The opening pressure is usually indicated on the cap. EDIT: If you don't know what adapter may be required, the full set is not that expensive and you can use it on any car. https://www.ebay.com/itm/335869269586?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D284064%2C283795%2C284136%26meid%3Ddef62f6199f34ed6a04e1e503ba48a24%26pid%3D101875%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D186850068386%26itm%3D335869269586%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2332490%26algv%3DSimVIDwebV4WithCPCExpansionFastIMARanker032025eCPM&_trksid=p2332490.c101875.m1851&itmprp=cksum%3A335869269586def62f6199f34ed6a04e1e503ba48a24|enc%3AAQAKAAABMKaEcTHAUF%2B%2FFR4OHhWiUku5hIsQWp7fwGDMMkUVoKldyxhxN25%2BWKNssJUKVG9e02gVRepi30iCbg3e%2BnXeMjnUHvdoXWXLAvVMinoZNsPbKkbwJkpH2m5ocpYMWMP9naH87cAEiE%2F7DrwrbQexSmvRYaAKB%2FPREBgpqn%2Bs6SAOtQn09cDdeK7v3Jqp5Mu0BDJH09Tu7PjhU5FX1%2FDexGS3Fx68C82FgygWIjklC4dgrSc0RwCm2%2FLtGnGa%2B2Iuq1q6J1pE3sZc8FFiW%2BQs97VmhwYx0aRhUxQt1jtO%2F9PzeSt7m3oBgy1LpEpUoveua1D%2F0wMU4HG9eD1Y%2FJVB7mrWoc%2BDpwQtUV07mV0bXl7aIIML1Xcf0fvOCGJjr9BgWU7Z%2FqBTl1twqEwxUESN4Xs%3D|ampid%3APL_CLK|clp%3A2332490&itmmeta=01JRGY6S64RAX3V0XV5799M2PQ

There are different thicknesses of laminated glass available from most residential/commercial glass shops.

Does it know the percentage of ethanol or is it just a switch to indicate ethanol is circulating in the fuel lines?

No issues John. Considering the location difference and lack of info, it is highly unlikely the seller is the builder/designer so I think they don't know exactly what they have under the bonnet. I'm confident it is an FJR1300. An easy way is to adapt the bike driveshaft to a typical small auto sized shaft of 2-2.5 inch tube with a machined bush and the bike output shaft is welded to that. The larger diameter is needed for the length and rpm range. There usually isn't much linear travel on the splines with a bike, so a two piece shaft with a support bearing and telescopic section would be good with a live axle. Not much issue with an irs and fixed location pinion. I have a lot of posts about bec engineering on locostusa.

That is a strange request. My response was regarding your wish to see more installation photos.

Can also mill it from a $5 block of plastic (such as black nylon from mcmaster) using a good one as a guide.

What would you want to see? Looks to be Yamaha FJR1300 based shaft drive with a custom driveshaft to a typical live axle. IMHO, a good choice if wanting to go BEC. DIY paddle shift instead of a lever, return type efi with msd external pump, probably uses the bike radiator, and needing some work in the fuel venting area. I assume those bikes have reverse. I hope they fit an accumulator.