DeTomaso Mailing List: December 98, Message #182

*sigh*


Well, I finally managed to get all the pipes and hoses
and crap back together for my cooling system "update"
which includes a new radiator, fan assbly, SS tanks, hoses,
thermostat, and so on.  I double checked every hose connection
and clamp and bolt to make sure nothing's gonna leak or
explode.

I started to follow the directions on how to refill the cooling
system as outlined in the manuals, but I only had 2 gallons of
Prestone, and they weren't enough to cause the dribbling out of
the top radiator butterfly valve.  So, I poured in my two gallons
and waited a little to see if anything would leak anyway.
Nothing did, so I jumped in Mazda and headed to the local
grocery store for a couple gallons of distilled water.  $1.58.  Cool.

I got back home and skipped on into the garage, ready to finish
the refill and start the up-n-down bleeding process, when I see
this HUGE puddle of fluorescent yellow-green liquid under the
radiator.  "Crap, what a mess."  I thought maybe two gallons
WAS enough to fill the system and I simply didn't wait long enough
to see.  But the release valve was closed tight.  Hmmm.  I couldn't
see any wet spots by the pipes, so I was pretty sure my clamps
were clamping and the hoses were hosing.

Then I look at the front of the radiator.  And there, about halfway
up, right in the middle, was the beginning of the long slimy trail,
ending in the drip-drip-drip onto the garage floor.  There's a
damned *hole* in my radiator!

I can't believe it.  After all the knuckle-busting, waiting,
thinking, cussing, fidgeting, and such-n-suching, my new radiator
leaks like a frickin' sieve.  Does Murphy have any second cousins?

Now admittedly, the spot where this leak is starting is where
some of the aluminum vane things got marred while I was trying to
install the thing.  The radiator tipped forward and rested for a
second on one of the spots where the cooling fan bracket mounts.
But it looked purely superficial, since these vanes can be bent
with my pinky finger, and I didn't think anything of it other than
it doesn't look as pristine as it used to.

Suggestiongs?  I really hope I didn't just buy $500 worth of scrap.

ARGH!!