[DeTomaso] Hot air

[Christopher Kimball]

Ok--tease me as much as you want--I still stand by my supposition that all that heat down there isn't good for the components!  Evidence of that is when I first started the car after the engine was put back in, one of the air conditioning hoses started smoking and probably would have burst into flames if I hadn't detected the problem (by sight and smell), turned off the motor and used some sort of cable tie or metal strap (I can't remember which) to move the hose further away from the right-hand header.  I also then covered both air conditoning hoses in that flame-resistant, sound-deadener stuff I used on the firewalls, just to be sure.
 
I'm not totally convinced it's just the extra charging load put on the alternator causing the issue.  Although that theory is a good one, the problem is if that were the case, then after sitting for a couple of weeks and having the battery do its normal draining thing, the squeal would be evident on first start up.  That isn't the case--when cold, I haven't noticed the squeal as much as I do after the car's been running for a while.
 
Besides, once y'all see the two, chrome, vertical pipes eminating from the top of my engine compartment, you'll all want that kind of bling!!! (Hey, is that a 12-cylinder Pantera?  It's got six pipes!!!  No Johnny, that car's owner must have always wanted to be a long-haul truck driver...)
 
I just know I'm driving some Pantera Purist out there crazy!  Don't worry, the spiffy new (and very unique) engine cover will be totally simple to remove (and discard) if it turns out to be too offensive or stupid-looking...
 
Sincerely,
 
Chris
#3846
 
PS:  Merry Christmas, everyone!
 
 
 


From: MikeLDrew at aol.comDate: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 13:51:09 -0500Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Hot airTo: forestg at att.net; chrisvkimball at msn.com; detomaso at realbig.comIn a message dated 12/18/07 9 20 20, forestg at att.net writes:
The squealing is not caused by the temperature but is the result of a high charge rate at the alternator replacing the power used to start the engine. You just need to tighten the alternator belt a bit. I have the same problem because I drive the alternator off the AC compressor so that both units load the belt that drives the compressor. I have been able to tighten the belt enough to stop this from happening.>>>I have had a squealing alternator belt that could not be fixed simply by tightening it; it looked fine but evidently had some form of wear that was causing it to slip.  Replacing it fixed the problem forever.  Any misalignment between the various brackets and pulleys could also account for a squeal.Yes, proposing putting fans in the engine bay to fix a squealing alternator belt instead of just attending to the belt is indeed a first!Mike**************************************See AOL's top rated recipes (http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004)