[DeTomaso] Complete coolant flush?

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 7/31/13 9 32 18, niserybumchuckely at gmail.com writes:


> What is the easiest way to drain ALL of my coolant?
> 

>>>Well, there are pipe plugs on the sides of the engine block that will 
allow water to drain from the block.   But another thing you can do is pop one 
of the hoses off one of the under-car pipes in the front, then jack up the 
rear of the car.

You say your mechanic had been working on the car.   Did he perhaps change 
the coolant?   It is almost impossible to fully fill the Pantera cooling 
system with the car flat on the ground--the owner's manual has a specific 
procedure that calls for raising the rear of the car.   I know more than one 
person who has blown an engine because they just dumped out old coolant, poured 
in new coolant, and drove off without taking the care necessary to ensure 
the system really was full.

While it's possible that you had a blown head gasket that was allowing 
coolant to leak into the combustion chamber and be expelled in the form of 
gasses, you would probably have seen the steam coming from the exhaust pipes.   
So at this point I'd guess your cooling system was woefully underfilled 
leading to overheating and one or two blown head gaskets.

Hopefully the engine wasn't damaged, but in the case of my friends who did 
this same thing, the engines were wrecked. :<(

Mike