quote:Originally posted by mike the snake:
I did mention in my post that since the car was leaning, that the leak could have come from anywhere, possibly pooled a bit, and then when leaning at the gas station decided to leak out the right side.
Upon close inspection, I did find a slightly weepy/wet spot in the very left lower corner of the radiator, so my guess is a small pinhole leak.
This is part of why I bought this car! I speak 1972 just fine. Working on her is going to be fun and educational.
My last 2 cars (BMW 135i and Subaru BRZ) were both "tuner cars", so unless I learned how to tune modern FI and variable cam timing and valve lift, I was "married" to my tuner, which involved appointments, dropping the car off for a couple days, and it actually took a lot longer to get things dialed in than I had expected.
Snow White, gladly lifts her skirt for me on request so I can see all her beatiful underside, topside, insides, everything!
Like most hot chicks though, she has her moments where she acts up a bit and doesn't behave, but I'll have her straightened out in a couple days, then Snow White and I are going on some fun drives around the county, especially HW1 out at the coast. Planning on taking the Girlfriend out for Seafood!
"Lady or the tiger"? It's my opinion that in many cases one is better off with the tiger?
THE biggest problem with the aluminum radiators is that they really are showing in many cases but not all a life span of around three years.
Anyone off the street can speculate as to why but that is a debate that is relatively useless.
The fact of the matter is that you can't repair an aluminum radiator reliably, i.e., when it leaks, replace it.
The big brass radiators that Hall sells are thicker than the originals and repairable almost indefinitely. Are these as attractive as your "friend" in the push up bra? Hardly.
There are SO MANY individual points on a Pantera that can leak for any number of reasons. It could be a hose clamp (one of many), a hose (one of many), a leaking radiator, an overfilled "overflow tank", even a leaking heater supply pipe under the car, or a leaking heater core, or a heater hose.
What I would suggest is make sure the system is full (there's a science to that in a Pantera too) then use a coolant pressure test kit. Pump it up to 16 psi and see what happens.
The results should speak volumes and the results from the $100 you spend on the Stant test kit is worth it's weight in gold.
Things like the Pantera's cooling system, once YOU have to deal with it will make you question whether or not "you" ever understood cooling systems to begin with.