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Surge Tank
Ye Olde 64 Thunderbirde is sick again . . .
This time it’s a bit strange. For awhile I’ve noticed a slight anti-freeze smell a short time after heading down the road. Then it disappears. I’ve looked under the hood and found nothing – except a small blemish/buildup on the back side of the surge tank. Could this be a pinhole leak?
I never actually see it leaking – hot, cold, or in between. I’ve added anti-freeze, so there’s a small leak somewhere. So I cleaned off the blemish and applied black spray paint. Later, blemish returns.
Here’s where it gets weird: this morning I drove to the store to pick up a prescription. Being the first car in the driveway, I took the T-Bird. This was about four miles. I parked and got out. About a minute later I noticed steam coming from under the hood, so I opened it. Sure enough, steam was coming from that pinhole leak like a tea kettle. However there was also a cluster of steam coming up from the firewall – around the power brake booster. I could not see where this was coming from.
Went inside, picked up my prescription, went back out to the car. No steam. Got in the car and drove home. No steam.
Mystery #!: Has anyone ever heard of an intermittent leak of this sort? Temperature maybe? It appears to leak just as the engine is getting warm, then stops.
Mystery #2: Where is the other steam coming from? After thinking about it, I can only conclude that maybe the steam from the tank gathers by the firewall, then rises from that point. The heater core is on the other side, and if it leaks it would be inside the car – believe me I know it; this one’s new. But even if it were an inlet or hose, these are on the opposite side of the car. Then again, the surge tank is located more toward the heater than the brake booster. But it’s strange enough for ONE leak to be intermittent, let alone two, in sync.
I mentioned this to someone else on the internet. He told me he has a surge tank for a 63 Galaxie; I can have it for shipping. Seeing the price of these, and seeing as how this one has been repaired numerous times, I’d like to take him up on the offer. But – will a 63 Galaxie surge tank fit a 64 Thunderbird? Anyone know?
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