Location: Fort Lauderdale
Posts: 4,740
My VIN: 02613
Club(s): (DCF)
So how much material do I have to remove from the "new and improved" radiator duct before it will fit? On the left side, the A/C hoses are in the way of getting it installed, and on the right side, the body of the car is in the way of getting it installed.
I paid almost $200 for this posterboard-thin piece of ... er, piece of fiberglass (with casting flaws built-in, by the way) and every time I try to fit it into place, I can hear it cracking internally with each flex. If it is really so much easier to install than the original one-piece duct, then it's no wonder my car hasn't had one since before I bought it in 2007.
3.0L, automatic, carbureted
Location: Reedsburg, WI
Posts: 4,026
My VIN: 5180
Club(s): (DMWC) (DCUK)
The OE plastic ones aren’t much better.
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DENNIS
VIN 5180, Frame 3652, STAGE II, DM-eng Solid State Solutions (RPM Rly, Dm.Lt.Mod., Fan Fail Mod. , FAN Rly, HS.Rly) , HID headlights, SPAX user since 2009, Eibach springs, M Adj. Rear LCA's, DPNW poly-sway bar kit, DMCEU LCA Stabilizer link kit, DMCMW Illuminated door sills, Aussie Illuminated SS Shifter plate, REAL MOMO EVO Steering wheel, DELOREANA Extended View Side Mirrors w/ Heaters, DELOREANA LED Door Lights.
Location: Fort Lauderdale
Posts: 4,740
My VIN: 02613
Club(s): (DCF)
Radiator duct is no go, at least for now.
I started with the driver's side piece, since it looked like it would be the most difficult to install. Although I managed to grind and cut larger access for the A/C hoses, radiator lower bracket, and body, when I actually had it test-fitted, I could get it to line up with the radiator, but nothing else. The studs for the rock screen were at least two inches away.
I could narrow the margin by pulling the front spoiler toward the front of the car (essentially bringing the rock screen completely perpendicular with the ground, or even pointing forward slightly), but it still wouldn't allow the duct to fit over the studs. Although I could get it to line up a little, the studs were still too far away.
This may be yet another case of the Dreaded Previous Owner. This car's original engine had been badly overheated and I was not informed.
Now it looks like there may have been a front-end collision, of which I was also not informed:
(1) the fan shroud is damaged,
(2) the lower radiator brackets are cracked (when my car was in Bill's possession for the engine swap, he welded one of them because it was about to snap),
(3) the upper radiator brackets look bent, and
(4) the fiberglass behind the front fascia is cracked.
(The front fenders also seem to droop slightly - if you tried to draw a straight line across the rub strips, you wouldn't be able to, and underneath the rubber strips at the inner edges of the fenders there is dimpling toward the front.)
I am wondering if it would be possible to get the radiator duct to fit by removing the current lower radiator brackets one at a time and installing new ones, with new bushings, to angle the radiator slightly up and rearward (when I push on it, it doesn't go straight up, but pivots) -- and then I could pull the front spoiler into alignment to make the radiator duct fit. What do y'all think?
3.0L, automatic, carbureted
Location: Fort Lauderdale
Posts: 4,740
My VIN: 02613
Club(s): (DCF)
I guess photos would help, right?
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3.0L, automatic, carbureted
Location: Fort Lauderdale
Posts: 4,740
My VIN: 02613
Club(s): (DCF)
I drained two more gallons of dirty fluid from the cooling system today. The cylinder liners are still shedding rust, but at this point the particles are so fine that they remain suspended in the liquid rather than sinking to the bottom of the container I drain into. This is progress -- and so is the fact that rather than draining and filling every day, I can now go a week before the liquid in the expansion tank looks dirty, prompting me to drain and fill.
It's warming up again here in south Florida. Soon I will need to re-charge the a/c.
And the ATF cooler seems to have sprung a leak at one of the fittings. I have an aftermarket cooler installed at the front of the car, not the stock setup, so thankfully it makes this problem a little easier to address.
One thing at a time.
3.0L, automatic, carbureted
Location: Fort Lauderdale
Posts: 4,740
My VIN: 02613
Club(s): (DCF)
Drove for about an hour yesterday in stop-and-go traffic. Temperature never got up to 220°F. Cooling fans both working. Still haven't installed the radiator duct (have to install new brackets & bushings first, which came in the mail today).
Checked the coolant this morning. Looks good:
IMG_0325.jpg
This weekend's project will be the radiator brackets & bushings. If I'm lucky, they will raise the radiator enough to where the duct will install.
3.0L, automatic, carbureted
Location: Fort Lauderdale
Posts: 4,740
My VIN: 02613
Club(s): (DCF)
Drove #2613 to Miami and back today, around 50 miles round trip. Temperature on the way down rose to and held steady at just underneath 220°F. That was in the daylight hours with some clouds and light rain in the middle of the drive. I did not use the air conditioning.
At the end of my shift and before heading home I checked the coolant. It was a little less green, but the level was exactly where it should be.
On the way back home after sunset, the temperature rose to and then held steady at 205°F. I again drove through some very light rain, for about five minutes.
Tomorrow morning I will do another drain and fill of coolant. I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch, but it seems like this contaminated coolant problem may soon be over. This weekend I will work on installing the radiator duct, starting with the lower brackets and bushings. If things continue to improve, I will look into a new fan shroud and cooling fans. Buying just the fans and shroud will save me a bundle over buying them along with a new radiator.
Along the way I will need to investigate why the circuit breaker for one of the cooling fans keeps tripping. I have each fan on its own circuit breaker. When one or both of them are tripped, the "Fan Fail" light comes on. On today's drives, the "Fan Fail" light came on a few times, and then turned back off. I could hear the relay click as the circuit breaker reset, and with the windows open at a stop I could hear the other fan turn on (a slight drop in the fans' pitch). #2613's fans are not original, but they are extremely loud as the originals are said to be. Since I don't know how old they are, when I replace the shroud, I will replace the fans at the same time.
Other things of note: I am extremely pleased with my dome light and door switch modifications. They haven't given me any problems since installation. Nor has the rear headliner, which is attached by industrial-strength velcro instead of brackets. The door light circuit needs to be perfected, however: at the moment, the lights only come on when the driver's door is open, and there is no convenient delay-off when the door is closed.
3.0L, automatic, carbureted
Location: Fort Lauderdale
Posts: 4,740
My VIN: 02613
Club(s): (DCF)
Forgot to mention that I pulled out of a steep driveway when leaving the parking lot. I think I hit the sway bar brackets again. I will look at them in the morning. They've been scraped and painted a number of times over the years. But somewhere I have a set of brackets and bushings for the sway bar. I wonder: is it possible to do those one at a time? I know the bar is under pressure and likely to spring away from me if I try to do both at once. Hmm.
3.0L, automatic, carbureted
Location: Florida: Pinellas County
Posts: 2,096
My VIN: 5003 Never placed Concourse
Club(s): (DCF)
The sway bar will just fall towards the ground a bit with both brackets off. Easy to push back up and in position. You can do one at a time if you loosen the one you are not removing.
-----Dan B.