Reply to "Cannot get my Pantera to cool"

I have found that often on the Pantera, the cap on the tank is defective or not sealing properly.

I helped out a couple of other Pantera owners who couldn't find the problem and it was a bad cap.



Others have seen this as well even with new aftermarket caps.

I pressure test everything now. For one thing the pressure tester helps push air pockets out of the system.

I also pressure test the new cap. I have had new ones that were already defective.

The cap and the system should be pressure tested to 16 psi. The cap should be a 16 psi cap.



There are some new caps that will not seal properly on the seat in the neck of the pressure tank.

In that scenario, the cap and the system will check ok at 16 but still have a problem.

If you have one of those caps that is not long enough to reach the seat in the tank, you probably can double up the gasket by gluing it on with crazy glue. The Loctite brand works well and is an industrial and not a hobby glue.



This scenario is a unique situation to the Pantera and is not looked for by service technicians unfamiliar with the car. They just don't expect to see this.

A pressure testing kit is a good investment on a Pantera.



When my SHO was new and still under warranty, the car would overheat in traffic. It was towed in and serviced by a Ford dealer.

They changed the thermostat and it did it again.



I finally started testing the car myself and it turned out that the cap was defective and they never tested, looked at or replaced it. It was still the original cap from new.

I pressure tested the cap. Hissed away like crazy. That was the entire problem all along.

The techs just don't look for this.