F451

My rad guy was very knowledgeable about the Behr radiators and their side tank fix and the care that needs to be taken with the tabs. I think he charged me $75 to mount the passenger side end tank. I supplied the end tank and large o ring. He also cleaned the rad up and pressure tested it when done.

Very easy process, rad has been working great since.

mark kibort

actually, the shop did the removal of the side tanks. I wouldnt have attemped it, unless both the core and the tanks were junked. But, it did look like the core they freed from the side tanks did get abused on the tabs. I wonder if they just pulled it apart to get the tanks off and were not being careful. my radiator looks great, and the tabs all look engaged and no distortion. they replaced the o ring too.

If I do this again with new side tanks from Roger, and if this core is still good, Illl take it to San Carlos. Thanks for the reference.

By the way, those coolers only hold about...?.............. ________ounces of oil. Guess how much!

mk

mark kibort

No one wants to play? anyway, 6 oz of oil. I thought it would be more like a quart.

anyway, all is good with the engine. no overheating, no leaks, and best of all, no oil or water mixed either way. !!!

flushed out the water over 2 heat cycles and got most of it out. even washed out the overflow with dishwashing soap and rinced it out. Still a a slight residue of oil in the water, but its very faint. Im wondering if that is an issue, brefore i start to add water wetter and some antifreeze (usually only a quart, just to have some pump lubrication)

how clean does the water need to be? I put distilled in and could drain out a couple of gallons and refill just to make sure its almost perfectly clean.

best of all, oil is clean and both levels are not moving!

Im thinking an hour of driving today, around the block and even on the highway, at oil temps around 210 degrees, but mostly 190 degrees, should have boiled off any water mixed in the oil.

Thanks for all the help on this chapter of the rebuild of the race car. Especially, the help from you Greg! Thanks again!

mk

SharkSkin

I saw the tabs were bent back by hand and assumed it wasn't a shop that did it. Is this the same shop that gave a clean bill of health on the busted cooler? Anyway, sounds like you're in good shape. Cleaner is better with the water, but you don't want to get so aggressive that you do something bad to the WP seal. I'd say just give it the soap treatment any time you replace the coolant, over time the oil will get worked out of the system.

mark kibort

Yes, same shop, but when he heard of my dissatisfaction, and what I needed done, he convinced me to let him prove that his team is the best. so, i figured, how hard can it be to actually replace the tanks if you do it everyday. I think the diagnostic stuff is harder and you need to be smarter anyway, especially if it is something as hard to detect as a 1 drip per 10 second water leak.

anyway, the tabs do look manhandled, but maybe the the guy doing the work, just thought I wanted the tanks off to toss the radiator. I dont know, but do they look too bad to work if another set of tanks were used on it. they do look a bit twisted, but the radiator that had the oil tank insert replaced looks very good.

Ill probably just toss out 2 gallons of distilled water that seems to have a haze of oil . I have to imagine that it might be a good lubricant in the oil, no??

Ill keep on draining out a gallon or so at a time, until it looks real clean.
is there any issues with the slight amount of oil in the water?

anyway, the engine is running great, its great to have the performance side of the project completed. now, onward to cage, assembly work, and paint.

thanks for the help, as usual!


mk

dr bob

Mark--

Do the Liquid Tide treatment and get ALL the oil out. Oil will gather in a film on condcution surfaces and prevent heat transfer. Simple as that. Get it all out with a dose of Liquid Tide and a few rinses, and you are done. Then if you do see any oil film or residue again, you'll know right away that it is new.

No coolant or Water Wetter right away until the oil is all out of there.


Free advice, worth every penny. maybe more.

mark kibort

good advice. Ill use it, especiallly, since we have found the leaks and am ready for the next stages in getting this thing ready for the track!

mk