Re: Crack in GTV6 water tank

[George Graves <gmgraves@domain.elided>]

I suspect that more GTV-6's have been scrapped because of  water 
overflow tank leaks than any other single reason. In this design, the 
overflow tank is under pressure -notice it even has a standard 
pressurizing radiator-cap. If it develops a leak, the cooling system is 
no longer water-tight, and hence, no longer functions (just like any 
car with a coolant leak). As the car warms-up, pressure will build and 
all of the water will be forced out of the crack in the tank , 
resulting in the engine overheating and expanding so much that at the 
very least it could blow a head gasket, at worst it could warp a head 
and I've even heard of overheating Alfa V-6s actually expanding so much 
as to pull the head studs out of the block by stripping the block's 
threads. So the short answer is NO you can't leave it and fix more 
important things first because there is no more important thing.

You are lucky. If you had encountered this problem a year and a half 
ago, you would have had two choices: 1) scrap the car or 2) find a 
racing shop which could fabricate a new tank for you out of aluminum or 
stainless (I have seen these; they are nice but pricey) because there 
were NO replacement tanks available. AR Ricambi in LA then found a 
source for them in Italy, and they all leaked, I mean ALL of them. But, 
about the middle of 2001, International Auto Parts (1-800-726-0555), 
also found a source for these tanks (part # 28267) and theirs DO NOT 
leak. The tank is about $40-$50 and I urge you to order one post-haste. 
The engine only has to overheat once to net you a healthy 4-figure 
repair bill.

George Graves
'86 GTV-6



On Tuesday, Jan 14, 2003, at 11:46 US/Pacific, alfa-digest wrote:


> Date: Tue, 14 Jan 2003 09:34:29 +0200
> From: Zak McGregor <zak@domain.elided>
> Subject: crack in GTV6 water tank
>
> Hi all
>
> My water tank has a small crack which allows some pressure to escape
> when hot. How serious is this issue? Can I leave it and fix more
> important things first, or is it likely to cause serious problems in 
> the
> short term?
>
> Thanks
>
> Cheers
>
> Zak
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