Re: Overheating...

[jtrealty@xxxx]

Besides all of the known electical problems affecting the cooling 
system I believe the largest source of trouble is LEAKS. The cooling 
system in the Delorean has many hoses and connections, many more than 
most cars because of the placement of the engine and radiator. If you 
haven't changed ALL of the hoses in at least the last 10 years you DO 
have leaks. Some of the leaks are very insidious. When the engine 
cools down they allow air to be drawn into the system. This is bad 
because air circulated in the coolant reduces the coolant's ability to 
tranfer the heat out of the motor into the radiator. Worse than that 
as the air passes in a "bubble" it causes the pump to stop 
momentaraly. The auto bleeder, if installed, helps but only so much. 
Some of the leaks are on top of the motor under the air intake 
manifold. They can't be seen as the coolant puddles into the recesses 
in the block and is evaporated by the heat of the motor. There are 
several seals and hoses that can't be seen so if your system won't 
hold 15 psi for 15 minutes without losing pressure assume the worst. 
If you find yourself adding small quantities of coolant after using 
the car, coolant isn't consumed, it has leaked out and gets replaced 
by air. Eventually you may notice that the heater doesn't work before 
the temp gauge starts to move higher than normal. Be warned that in 
the event of a large loss of coolant you cannot trust the temp gauge 
as there is no coolant for it to measure! You wouldn't drive on 20 
year old tires but many of the Deloreans that I have seen still have 
origional belts and hoses. With winter comming and many owners putting 
the car away for winter now would be a good time to put some new parts 
into the cooling system, it is one of the least glamorous and most 
neglected systems on the car. The PRV-6 is very rugged but it can be 
damaged by overheating it. The parts you would need, although 
expensive, are still cheaper than getting stuck, towed, and then doing 
all of the work anyway especially if it happens away from home. 
Unfortunatly that is exactly what happened to one of the participants 
in last year's Fall Tour. He knew he had "something going on" with the 
cooling system yet neglected to take care of it. His radiater after 
probably leaking for some time had it's left header tank blow off in 
downtown Newport. There was nothing anyone could do for him exept help 
him get it flatbedded to a shop. He was stuck several days till Rob 
Grady got home and shipped the parts and the shop could put them in. A 
little preventive care goes a LONG way. Before you go and buy door 
launchers or a luggage rack or fix up the interior money spent making 
the car more reliable is a much better investment. You may be looking 
good but you may also be stuck on the side of the road! IMHO.
David Teitelbaum
vin 10757