>> Bit it misses is the inlet manifold. It PLASTIC!
>
> Plastic is GOOD! Gotta use up all that surplus petroleum somehow...
>I suspect plastic is great for a while, but what about 10 years later? Will
>it be in a similar condition to the top tank on my '94 radiator? I guess
>car manufacturers are not to concerned about what happens once the vehicle
>is out of warrantee, and no longer in the hands of the original owner.
Good chance in 10 years it will need to be repaired, at the owners cost.
pws - 26 May 2006 07:44 GMT
> Good chance in 10 years it will need to be repaired, at the owners cost.
Just wait for Jackson Racing to come out with a CAI for it. Then you can
replace the plastic box every 2 to 3 years or have fun constantly gluing
it back together. ;-)
Pat
Dana H. Myers - 27 May 2006 23:11 GMT
>> I suspect plastic is great for a while, but what about 10 years later? Will
>> it be in a similar condition to the top tank on my '94 radiator? I guess
>> car manufacturers are not to concerned about what happens once the vehicle
>> is out of warrantee, and no longer in the hands of the original owner.
> Good chance in 10 years it will need to be repaired, at the owners cost.
What makes you think that? An intake manifold is under a different
kind of stress than the top of a radiator.
Dana
Mal Osborne - 28 May 2006 14:57 GMT
>>> I suspect plastic is great for a while, but what about 10 years later?
>>> Will
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> What makes you think that? An intake manifold is under a different
> kind of stress than the top of a radiator.
I suspect it's more heat that does the damage. I would expect parts of the
Inlet manifold bolted to the head to be subject to a similar temperature
cycle to the radiator top tank. If they are the same type of material, I
would therefore expect similar degradation after a similar time.
I will tell you for sure in about 2020.
Tex - 28 May 2006 19:11 GMT
>I will tell you for sure in about 2020.
If it lasts until 2020 it will probably outlast me!
> I suspect plastic is great for a while, but what about 10 years
> later? Will it be in a similar condition to the top tank on my '94
> radiator? I guess car manufacturers are not to concerned about
> what happens once the vehicle is out of warrantee, and no longer
> in the hands of the original owner.
Plastic intakes are not new. I don't know how well they stand up.
BTW, most radiators with plastic tanks have the gasket between the tank
and the core fail long before there's any problem with the plastic
itself.
Chris D'Agnolo - 26 May 2006 23:42 GMT
Your experience obviously differs from mine. I've owned quite a few plastic
tanked radiators and had almost as many fail. My problems have been
consistently with brittle plastic tanks giving up the ghost. I've not had a
single problem with the metal 'core' portion of the radiator.
Chris
99BBB
>> I suspect plastic is great for a while, but what about 10 years
>> later? Will it be in a similar condition to the top tank on my '94
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> and the core fail long before there's any problem with the plastic
> itself.
XS11E - 26 May 2006 23:48 GMT
> Your experience obviously differs from mine. I've owned quite a
> few plastic tanked radiators and had almost as many fail. My
> problems have been consistently with brittle plastic tanks giving
> up the ghost. I've not had a single problem with the metal 'core'
> portion of the radiator.
The problem I've had isn't the tank or the core, it's the gasket that
seals the two together. When they get old they leak. We've replaced
dozens of radiators when there was nothing wrong with the radiator
other than the gasket but...... we sent out all our radiator work and
we never found a shop that could replace that gasket. The fix was
always to replace the tank which was still useable.
Lanny Chambers - 27 May 2006 01:12 GMT
> We've replaced
> dozens of radiators when there was nothing wrong with the radiator
> other than the gasket
Miata radiators? No, I thought not. Miata radiators have a solid history
of split plastic tanks--once it turns green, it's due to fail. The fix
is a cheap ($130) all-metal radiator with twice the capacity.
In a spasm of uncharacteristic foresight, I actually replaced mine
before it split. Unbelievable.

Signature
Lanny Chambers
'94C, St. Louis
http://www.hummingbirds.net/alignment.html
Mal Osborne - 27 May 2006 01:43 GMT
Or triple that for a replacement plastic one if you live in Australia. :(
> In article <Xns97CFA0D1F737Exs11eyahoocom@70.169.32.36>,
> Miata radiators? No, I thought not. Miata radiators have a solid history
> of split plastic tanks--once it turns green, it's due to fail. The fix
> is a cheap ($130) all-metal radiator with twice the capacity.
Mal Osborne - 27 May 2006 04:13 GMT
I have had 2 cars with failed top tanks. My current '94 Miata, with a crack,
and a '90 Falcon, which broke when I tried to pull a rubber hose off. In
both cases the material of the tank had gone brittle & weak, bit the gasket
was fine.
>> I suspect plastic is great for a while, but what about 10 years
>> later? Will it be in a similar condition to the top tank on my '94
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> and the core fail long before there's any problem with the plastic
> itself.