[DeTomaso] Pressure cap question

[Charles Engles]

Dear Curt,


          After all these years hearing about the mismatch of euro tank neck
to yankee rad cap, I have *never* heard such a reasonable question: "Why not
just go to a Euro parts house and get a Euro Cap?"   Egad.  Genius.   I wish
I had thought of that.   Has anyone done this unusual thing?   Are there
actual Euro Rad caps that would work and are available at a local import
parts shop?


                 Warmest regards,  Chuck Engles



-----Original Message-----
From: detomaso-bounces at realbig.com [mailto:detomaso-bounces at realbig.com] On
Behalf Of Curt Hall
Sent: Sunday, August 21, 2011 1:10 PM
To: bluebugman2 at sbcglobal.net; detomaso at realbig.com; JDeRyke at aol.com
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Pressure cap question

Out of curiosity? Why not just go to a Euro parts house and get a Euro Cap? 

--- On Sun, 8/21/11, JDeRyke at aol.com <JDeRyke at aol.com> wrote:


From: JDeRyke at aol.com <JDeRyke at aol.com>
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Pressure cap question
To: bluebugman2 at sbcglobal.net, detomaso at realbig.com
Date: Sunday, August 21, 2011, 10:17 AM


There are two possibilities: boiling or pressure leaks. One reason for such 
troubles is, if you have a completely stock Pantera surge tank, a 16 lb cap 
will let go at around 10-12 psi because the tank neck is 1/8" too deep. 
It's sized for a European cap which is made longer than U.S   caps, so the 
spring pressure is less with a 'local' cap. In addition, on OEM tanks, the 
bottom of the neck is often very rough, so only a brand-new cap with a very
soft 
rubber seal will work. A year down the road, the rubber hardens from heat & 
age and you get leaks. As a final note, leaks   around the cap invariably 
run down the tank, down the inner fender and right into the oval hole in the

right frame tube.... where it does what water does best: it rusts the inside

of your frame rail!
The fix is not to shop around for off-sized caps; take the tank to a 
radiator shop and have them desolder the OEM neck and attach a U.S. made
neck. 
This used to cost $15 or so. You're correct that a 22 lb cap is too much.
That 
much pressure in a stock radiator may balloon or even rupture the 40-yr-old 
tubes, further reducing the cooling you get. Some all-welded aftermarket 
radiators will withstand such NASCAR pressures, but some won't and it's a
bit 
expensive to experiment. Good luck, Mike- J DeRyke
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