[DeTomaso] FLUIDYNE RADIATOR STORY

LEVITT1946 at aol.com LEVITT1946 at aol.com
Sun Jan 26 14:28:09 EST 2014


 
Hello All,
 
Many of you go thru high heat issues with the Pantera. 
 
When I purchased my car in 2008 the previous owner told me if I was in  
traffic to just pull over . I was determined to cure this car from high heat  
exposure. 
 
The first things I attached on the car was the following:
 
Replaced Water Pump with Hi Flow Water Pump 
Replaced Thermostat ( many times)
Replaced the old brass radiator with an new Aluminum  radiator from  Summit.
Replaced Meriah fans with new sucker fans
Replaced antifreeze and purged air from system  (many times)
Did complete Tune Up. ( many times)
 
Now it was time for the big test. I got on the highway and the car was  
holding temp at a steady 180. The minute I got off the highway the temp started 
 rising to the point of boil over. I could hear my pressure bottle  
perculating.
 
This went on for years. I drove the car across the USA in the Gumball  
Rally.As long as the car was moving I knew we would be ok and we made it from  
Santa Monica California to Miami Beach safely.
 
The car was still running hot so I tracked down an NOS Pressure tank and  
overflow bottle from a place in Modena Italy. I thought maybe there was  
something wrong with my pressure and overflow bottles.
 
My local mechanic replaced the pressure and overflow bottles and the car  
started to overheat immediately. The only part to look at now was the 
FLUIDYNE  Radiator that I had replaced 4 years ago when I purchased the car.
 
We let the car cool a little and then restarted the car. My mechanic said  
he was going to run water over the front of the radiator when I started the 
car.  I was in the car while it was running to see if the water temp would 
lower as he  ran the hose on the front of the FLUIDYNE radiator. The temp was 
lowering! .  Then he said shut the car. My Mechanic said that since I had 
sucker fans my  car should have been sprayed with water when he ran the water 
on the front of  the radiator. Instead the car was DRY . This meant that 
the radiator was  now allowing the water to flow through and thus no air could 
flow through  either.
 
Next step was to reverse the fans to blow out the front of the car and  
leave it idling in place . The car ran at a steady 180 for 30 minutes and the  
temp did not rise. This told us that the radiator was fault and only flowed 
ONE  WAY .
 
I could not believe that the radiator could be faulty. I drove home and  
cleaned the radiator with a pressure washer and ruined every fin on the  
radiator. 
 
Then I contacted the owner of Fluidyne. I explained what we had done and in 
 summary we felt we had a one way radiator that could only flow air one way 
. I  also admitted that I had pressure washed the radiator and ruined the 
outside  fins. Hard to believe but TRUE.
He asked me to send the radiator to him and if they faund any defect in  
workmanship he would replace the radiator at no charge.   He came up  with 
every excuse possible. He cut the radiator in half to look at the internals  of 
the radiator. 
 
Here is FLUIDYNES actual response:
 
Good Morning  Robert, 
Further to our  investigation: 
·         Your  radiator was inspected upon receipt and found to be ‘bloated
’ … swollen in the  middle of the core, consistent with symptoms of  
over-pressurization. 
·         The fans  were tested while installed on the core and operation 
was verified.  They  seemed to pull a reasonable amount of air.  
·         The fans  were then removed and inspected.  The fans are “pusher”
 fans… not “puller”  fans as you were told.  [See pic 3 to see arrow  
markings] 
o   They most  likely were wired to work as  “pullers” but the performance 
would be  significantly hampered considering the pitch of the blade is  
backwards 
·         The  Inlet/Outlet water tank was removed to inspect the core.  
Debris was found  near the top & bottom [see pic 1 and 2] which had plugged 
several  tubes. 
o   This is  not a significant blockage but we noted that foreign debris 
was indeed inside  the core.  
·         The Return  water tank was then removed [pic 4] which showed a 
significant amount of engine  oil has passed thru the core.   
o   We suspect  this oil was introduced to the radiator by failure of a 
cylinder head  gasket. 
o   I appears  the oil remained in the core for some time as it would not 
wipe off.    
o   We also  assume this failure created the high pressure event that 
caused the core to be  over-pressurized. 
·         The Core  shows no internal structural damage and the outside 
structure [air fin] was  heavily damaged as you know and has rendered the core  
useless. 
Conclusion: 
The outside air fin has  sustained significant damage and 90% of the 
louvers have been bent shut in both  directions.  The radiator core appears to be 
sound.  We noted no  failures of our Materials or Workmanship nor evidence 
of Electrolysis  erosion.  The over-pressurization event, while it likely 
created the  ‘bloated’ shape of the unit, does not appear to have affected the 
core’s  performance.   
The only anomaly we  discovered was the fact that as installed, the pusher 
fans were likely wired to  run backwards as puller fans.  This creates 
significant turbulence in and  around the fan housing and would reduce 
performance by as much as  50% 
Next  Steps: 
As  I mentioned, we have initiated production of a replacement radiator 
[with the  new 5-row Pantera core] for you.  Per your instructions, we will 
install  your fan temp sensors on the new core.  You have also asked us to 
install  your fans but in light of the problems noted here, I believe you may 
want to  consider replacing these units.  We can install new Spal units [the 
only  brand I handle] if you prefer and I also suggest we install a Zinc 
Anode in the  drain bung to protect against Electrolysis in the  future.
All of FLUIDYNES excuses and blaming the engine had cylinder head  gasket 
leaks was a bunch of BS. I ended up paying for the new radiator and fans  
because I had no choice . Fluidyne should have stood behind their product but  
they DID NOT.
 
We installed the new radiator on the car as well as two lights on the dash  
that would tell me when each fan was on and off. This way I knew the fans 
were  working.
 
We let the car run for  a solid hour at the shop and the car never  rose 
over 180 degrees. The high heat problem that existed for years was finally  
gone. My mechanic said that once I hit the highway the fans would actually  
shut off. 
 
On the way home from the shop both fans were RUNNING as they should. I  
entered the highway and in five minutes one fan shut down and then the other. I 
 now had total confidence in the car. 
 
I guess the cylinder head gasket leaks that Fluidyne said my engine had,  
repaired itself .  BS
 
Just thought you guys should know.
 
Best ,
 
Bob Levitt
 
  
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