Re: rubbing noise, coolant leak

[deloreanernst@xxxx]

In a message dated 3/26/01 9:10:55 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
delorean@xxxx writes:

<< I could hear a rubbing
sound (like a fan blade scraping something, or the a tire rubbing on the
body) It came from the front right side of the car (my first thought was
the tire) but I just drove again, and had the same thing, but noticed I had
the heater on with the blower set to "1". If I turned it off while turning
or set it higher, the rubbing sound went away. Is the blower fan for the
heat located in the front right side of the car? >>

You might have sucked a dried leaf into your heater fan fresh air intake. I 
know... it's hard to believe a little leaf could make so much noise. My D 
isn't garaged, and I only cover it when I expect snow. So I had this happen 
myself- not in the fall actually, but in the winter. If I hadn't had it 
happen before, I would never have believed that's what is was. If that is 
your problem, varying the fan motor will definitely change the sound, and it 
always will be absent with the fan off. It would sound like the noise comes 
from under the dash on the passenger side. The good news... if that's your 
problem, it will go away on its own as the leaf chips away. 

Regarding the coolant, D's are prone to get air bubbles in them, which is why 
there's a bleeder screw on the top left of the thermostat housing, right on 
top of the water pump. Somewhere in the DML archives there is a procedure 
spelled out for bleeding the system. I put a bleeder line on mine. It 
provides a constant bleed capability. Got mine from Arnie Brandon, but DMC 
Joe has them too, and he'd be easier to reach. They're probably on his 
website too. Some people say they don't know if it really does that much, 
but it was the first thing I put on my D, and I've never had any problems. 
And it's not expensive either. It's a "tinkerer job" not a major mechanic 
job. 

Wayne A. Ernst
The New DeLorean Manuals Project
vin 11174