defective delorean europe plastic water bottle

[Rich Hanlon]

Whoah - mis-read that as "17th Birthday" - was thinking you must have a very long paper round to have a Delorean before your 17th Birthday!

[jamespi]

Haha, I would have loved that.

[dmc4087]

Rich Hanlon Wrote:Whoah - mis-read that as "17th Birthday" - was thinking you must have a very long paper round to have a Delorean before your 17th Birthday!

I managed to get mine before my 17th birthday lol. It took me a year of saving in a part time job (with overtime) and it was a pile of crap but it resembled a Dmc.

[Rich Hanlon]

True, I remember that, I was amazed that you were so committed and clear of what you wanted at that young age!

[dmc4087]

Rich Hanlon Wrote:True, I remember that, I was amazed that you were so committed and clear of what you wanted at that young age!

I wouldnt do it that way again but sure.

[Starglider]

I asked Ed about this yesterday, he said that the brass ring in the neck has a higher thermal expansion coefficient than the plastic, so it inevitably cracks after enough heating/cooling cycles.

We're definitely using a small thermos style header bottle on my engine, so I have a surplus new stainless bottle with brackets. It's available for 100 GBP including shipping to UK mainland. Please note, it didn't come with a cap.

[Rissy]

Starglider Wrote:I asked Ed about this yesterday, he said that the brass ring in the neck has a higher thermal expansion coefficient than the plastic, so it inevitably cracks after enough heating/cooling cycles.

This makes sense. I was almost going to suggest something along these lines earlier in the day. The question is, why are these still being sold if people know that they are going to fail due to the inherent properties of the materials used to make them....and especially without advising people that if they buy this bottle, it WILL fail if actually used!? (slap to the forehead!)

[Starglider]

Rissy Wrote:The question is, why are these still being sold if people know that they are going to fail due to the inherent properties of the materials used to make them....and especially without advising people that if they buy this bottle, it WILL fail if actually used!? (slap to the forehead!)

I can't speak for Ed on that, but my impression was that he only recently discovered the problem.

[delorean88us]

Rissy Wrote:The question is, why are these still being sold if people know that they are going to fail due to the inherent properties of the materials used to make them....and especially without advising people that if they buy this bottle, it WILL fail if actually used!? (slap to the forehead!)

The same reason DMCH continued to sell the failure prone lower ball joints.

$$$$$ :roll:

[jamespi]

If the brass ring was on the outside of the neck it would do the same job without cracking the neck. Does this mean any other hose connectors on it with brass inserts will crack soon? Or was it just the neck because the top half of it stays colder?

Ed Has got back to me and said I can just pay the difference to upgrade to a stainless bottle. Incidentally I tried a desperate bodge on the bottle neck that seems to be holding. I filled the crack with bathroom caulk sealant then put a cable tie round the bottom of the crack which is the only part below the level of the bottle cap seal. I've been driving for 4 or 5 days like that with no noticable coolant loss or overheating. I will be paying for the stainless bottle next week.

[JamesRGUK]

Starglider Wrote:

Rissy Wrote:The question is, why are these still being sold if people know that they are going to fail due to the inherent properties of the materials used to make them....and especially without advising people that if they buy this bottle, it WILL fail if actually used!? (slap to the forehead!)

I can't speak for Ed on that, but my impression was that he only recently discovered the problem.

Hmmm... This was known about at the EuroTec event I went to last year, I'd be pretty miffed if I had been sold one of these in the last 12months.

Potentially a faulty coolant bottle could write off your engine, it wouldn't be impossible for a boil over to go unnoticed if driving at night for example, then what would happen, a fat lot of use a stainless steel coolant bottle is after your engine's seized.

This kind of stuff really frustrates me, when known, potentially costly faults are ignored by suppliers/manufacturers and it just has to be buyer beware.

Ridiculous

James

[dmc4087]

It is ridiculous, you really need to be careful with the remanufactured stuff. Quality is seriously lacking.

[jamespi]

Presumably the stainless bottles can be trusted

[delorean88us]

jamespi Wrote:Presumably the stainless bottles can be trusted

Yes, but then you can't see the coolant level at a glance.

[Rissy]

...I HAVE seen stainless bottles....somewhere...which had a glass on the side to show you where the level was. I just can't remember where...?