3/3/09
Fluid Leaks and Phoenix Podcast

We had a small coolant leak on the PF Coupe at the intake pipe to the water pump. I don’t know if it was from the new formulation of the coolant, or simply old gaskets, but it was dripping enough to form a puddle under the car overnight. We were hoping the gasket would swell up after the radiator was filled with antifreeze, but we didn’t have such luck. Getting to this pipe was not an easy task, but after grinding down a wrench, I was able to get to one of the hard to reach nuts. The original gaskets were much thinner than the modern replacements, and showed no signs of RTV on the surfaces. As much as I hate to use RTV to seal up these surfaces, it’s about the only way to insure a leak proof seal. I use only a smear of sealant to keep any of this stuff from getting into the rest of the engine, and assemble the parts.

You can see from this shot how tight the stud to the water pipe was to the fuel line and chassis. I also had to address a leaky fuel leak at the banjo down by the fuel pump. We like to use copper washers on these fittings as they’re not as susceptible to drying out like the red fiber washers, but small imperfections in the banjo fittings can leak.

(click on picture for podcast)
A couple of weeks ago on the road trip from Phoenix to San Francisco, I recorded another podcast. Tom Budinger, the new owner of the 365GT 2+2 we were driving to SF owned three Ferraris before the Queen, a 400i, a 456GT, and a 612 Scaglietti. With all of these cars being 2+2s, he has some insight to the differences between the models and the age of these cars. I asked him to explain the differences in this Podcast.

If you haven’t heard the other Podcasts, look for them here.

MARK THE DATE: Saturday, May 2nd 2009
The Tomyang.net/ Radcliffe Motorcars Spring Event
12340 Owings Mills Boulevard
Reisterstown, Maryland 21136
Read about last year’s event.
Information on this year’s event.

Just a reminder, I’m looking for a new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car on this website! My E-mail.

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