Capri Technical Forum:

Hello all,
This probably sounds all too familiar but here goes; I've got a 2.8 special with a new thermostat (the correct ford one 82-83%), new water pump, radiator, temperature sensor and it's also got an electric fan instead of viscous thats sucking air through the rad. It starts and runs fine with no steam and what seems correct gasses exiting the exhaust, but after driving for an hour and then checking, the header tank and radiator are completely empty. The surrounding area is covered in orange water that seems like it's constantly dripping from the rad cap - although it never gets hot on the gauge. I've checked and I've got the right caps on respective tank and rad so..... basically is there anything else i can try before I tackle the head gaskets??!!

Any help greatly greatly appreciated.

does the temp gauge work at all?
how does the heater feel when set to hot?

Could be that the fan isn't working??
Put 12v across it to make sure it actually spins (and in the right direction too!).
Also, how have you got the fan set up to come on? If it's on a thermostat it could be that it's set too high and so isn't kicking in at the right temp? The usual thing is to set the stat to come in just as the temp guages passes halfway, so as TheV8Kid says, ensure the temp guage is working first!
Other than that have you flushed the rad to make sure it's not blocked with rusty flakes? Orange water definately sounds like a rusty radiator.