[DeTomaso] Radiator Grommets

Mon Nov 14 12:19:27 EST 2022

Hahaha!

I’ve actually been able to get some 36 hour layovers which I deliberately chose so I could help people with their projects. In recent months I brought elements of the Ford tool kit to San Antonio to change rear wheel bearings on Michael Frazier’s beautiful GT/4-spec Pantera, tried (and failed) with Jim Demick to isolate an odd knocking in the front suspension of a friend’s Pantera in Albuquerque, etc. 

It sure beats sitting in a hotel for 36 hours watching Netflix!

So if I’m able to get a full day in Austin I guarantee I will bring grubby clothes and be ready to get put to work! 👍

Mike 

Sent from my iPad

> On Nov 14, 2022, at 08:53, Richard Greenblum <richard at richardgreenblum.com> wrote:
> 
> Thanks Mike.  I'm sure you know I was just tagging you for the fun of it!  We'll stick with just lunch during your Austin layovers.
> 
> Richard
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mike Drew <mikeldrew at aol.com> 
> Sent: Monday, November 14, 2022 10:48 AM
> To: Richard Greenblum <richard at richardgreenblum.com>
> Cc: Doug Braun <doug351c at gmail.com>; detomaso at server.detomasolist.com
> Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Radiator Grommets
> 
> Richard,
> 
> I don’t think I would have arrived at any different solution than you did. I haven’t had to do that job for a few years, but in the past the grommets were soft enough that if you weren’t careful it was easy to accidentally push them fully through the holes and drop them and have to fish them out. 
> 
> Perhaps vendors decided that they were too soft and lacked the necessary longevity, so specified a more durable version which may now be too hard? 
> 
> I dunno…
> 
> Mike
> 
> Sent from my iPad
> 
>> On Nov 14, 2022, at 07:09, Richard Greenblum <richard at richardgreenblum.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Thanks Doug.  That was what I attempted, but without a helper or bent screwdriver.  In fact, that's how I accidentally sliced the first one (the inside edge of the hole did it).  I decided to keep going and finally stuffed the rest of it in.  It fit so well that I took a box cutter to the other one and worked it in kind of like mounting a tire.  Getting the last bit of the grommet in was very tough which I think was a good thing because it's a very tight fit.  I'm very glad to know I'm not crazy in being the only one with this issue!
>> 
>> Next time I'm just going to wait until Mike Drew has a scheduled layover in Austin and have him come over and do it...
>> 
>> Richard
>> Austin, TX
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Doug Braun <doug351c at gmail.com>
>> Sent: Sunday, November 13, 2022 9:33 PM
>> To: 'Richard Greenblum' <richard at richardgreenblum.com>
>> Cc: detomaso at server.detomasolist.com
>> Subject: RE: [DeTomaso] Radiator Grommets
>> 
>> Richard,
>> 
>> I was able to get my replacement radiator grommets in cold, without having to split them and only slightly damaged one of them with the screwdrivers I was using.  
>> That said, I don’t think that splitting the grommet would affect its performance given its tight fit and hardness.
>> 
>> To get mine in without splitting them, you squeeze it with a pliers into an elliptical shape and force one of the pointy ends of the ellipse into the bracket hole.  Make sure that that pointy end's groove of the grommet gets fully seated against the bracket hole edge.  Then replace the pliers with a screwdriver at the other pointy end of the ellipse that is sticking up out of the hole to hold the grommet in place.  This is where a helper is useful to hold this screwdriver which frees you up to concentrate on working the grommet in with a second screwdriver.  With the second screwdriver, start near one side of the pointy end of the ellipse that is already in the hole and work your way around.  When I got to where the radiator crossmember gets in the way of coercing the grommet with a straight screwdriver, I used a 90 degree bent screwdriver instead with the bend about 3/4" from the tip.  This wastes a perfectly good 3/16" screwdriver but it then becomes an essential Pantera tool.
>> 
>> Hope this helps,
>> 
>> Doug Braun
>> Soon to be Blue again 73L #5505   
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Richard Greenblum
>> Sent: Saturday, November 12, 2022 8:26 PM
>> To: Doug Braun <doug351c at gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Radiator Grommets
>> 
>> Doug,
>> 
>> I thought the first set were NOS so I got another couple from another 
>> vendor with no change—hard. I ended up slicing them vertically so I 
>> could work them in. They are very snug, so much so that they don’t 
>> rotate despite the slice in each grommet.  I installed them with the 
>> slice forward thinking the lay down radiator will push back most of 
>> the time. I also think the dowel will help keep the grommets in place. 
>> What do you think? It isn’t too late to toss them and try again. My 
>> first try was with screw drivers and I cut the grommet in half…
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>>>> On Nov 12, 2022, at 22:15, Doug Braun <doug351c at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Richard,
>>> 
>>> I ran into the same thing.  What worked for me was using two 3/16" wide flat blade screwdrivers.  I used one to hold a leading edge in place and the other to work the rubber edge around its perimeter to coax it into place.  I'll agree it's not easy but it can be done.  I also agree with you that the durometer (hardness) of the replacement grommets is much higher than the original ones.
>>> 
>>> Doug Braun
>>> Soon to be Blue again 73L   
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: DeTomaso On Behalf Of Richard Greenblum
>>> Sent: Saturday, November 12, 2022 8:24 AM
>>> To: Mike Drew <mikeldrew at aol.com>
>>> Cc: detomaso at server.detomasolist.com
>>> Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Radiator Grommets
>>> 
>>> I haven’t measured anything because the new grommets and the old are identical in size and shape. The only difference is the old we’re soft, the new hard. 
>>> 
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>> 
>>>>> On Nov 12, 2022, at 10:10, Mike Drew via DeTomaso <detomaso at server.detomasolist.com> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Richard,
>>>> 
>>>> Have you measured the inside diameter of the hole in the metal 
>>>> support bracket vs the outside diameter of the groove in the middle 
>>>> of the grommets? If the hole is smaller than the groove it will never work.
>>>> If the hole is larger than the groove, then you aren’t trying hard 
>>>> enough. :)
>>>> 
>>>> Mike
>>>> 
>>>> Sent from my iPad
>>>> 
>>>>>> On Nov 12, 2022, at 08:04, Richard Greenblum <richard at richardgreenblum.com> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> Anyone have any tips on installing the lower radiator grommets?  I’ve tried everything I know.  Boiled into oblivion, silicon on the grommet and the bracket, screw drivers, pliers, even a ¼ inch to ⅜ inch socket converter with extensions to push it in with the help of a rubber mallet.  I’m not getting close because the rubber is so hard, even after 20 minutes in boiling water.  
>>>>> 
>>>>> Richard
>>>>> Austin, TX
>>>>> 
>>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>> 
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>> 
>> 
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