Heat exchanger 360

Hey everyone, love all the info you guys post. I have a 2000 Modena which I’ve owned for about a year and the heat exchanger just went. Worked the last day getting the car all apart and finally got to the heat exchanger.

I can’t for the life of me figure out how to get those banjo bolts loose to free the exchanger. I have no leverage which is making this impossible.

What did you guys do here? I’m thinking of running to the store and buying a strap to secure it to the frame. I know someone people approach it from disconnecting the lines at the transmission and then securing the exchanger to a bench when it’s removed from the car. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

Never mind, took a much needed break and went back and realized there is a place for a wrench to grip below the bolt. Haha, I forgot how important it is to take a break every once in awhile.

 

My first symptom was mild overheating when at idle. I checked the coolant level and noticed it was a bit low so I topped it off with about a quart of coolant. Drove the car again for a few miles and when I checked the level again I found contaminated coolant which looked like it had dirt floating in it. After sucking some out and putting it into a clear glass I noticed it was oil drops. (See picture below). Also was a very dark color.
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I went at it from the top, which I’m glad I did. Was a total pain in the a$$ getting all those bolts off the plenum, but once you get that off it’s sitting right there.

 

It’s definitely torqued on there nice and good. I used a 22mm wrench and with some old fashion muscle it came loose. It looked in fairly good shape except for when I peaked down the oil line hole I could see some crud. I then blew on one end of the oil opening and plugged the other with my finger and after giving it a couple of breaths I could hear a tiny tiny whisper. Must have a small leak somewhere which was just enough to cause the cross contamination. I can’t imagine that much coolant got into the gear oil, but I’m still going to change it out to be safe.

 

Also, here is a picture of it from the top. I couldn’t get one of the hoses off the front of the plenum. It’s like permanently molded to the black metal tubing which I have no clue what it’s for. Decided ah well if I just move it over and tie it up it will be just fine to get access to the heat exchanger. Why make more work for myself?

I also just repainted that dreaded peeling oil drum. Having all the tubing out of the way it was a perfect opportunity. Have a few days til my new exchanger and gaskets arrive.

I’ll post some more pictures when I start putting things back together with the new exchanger on.
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I tried you method and it did break loose. Was on there pretty good but managed to wiggle it off and remove the plenum from the engine bay for further cleaning.

One question I have is I noticed my right fuel line to the fuel injector rail has split in a couple of places.

Can I cut this section out and use a barb fitting and steel clamps with new fuel line or would it be best to route a whole new line in? If so, any ideas on what size this fuel line is and how to access the other end of it?

Thank you all for you help!
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That makes a lot of sense now. I’ll put it all back together and check to see if there are any leaks. Thank you.

 

That’s very generous of you. I thought the same thing so I went online earlier about bought one from California at an exotic salvage dealer. I’ll keep you posted if I suspect it won’t work. Thanks again for the offer.

 

Update:
New heat exchanger has arrived. I took a side by side picture of it to compare. As you can see the one on the left has a dark opening from all of the gunk. When I blew through the new one the air flowed nice and good. There is a NIGHT AND DAY difference from the old one. I’d strongly recommend if you still have an original exchanger to swap it out, even if you have no leak symptoms. Notice the flange on the new one is wider too, which fits better on the banjo for less chance of a leak. My part said made in 02/19 so it must be the new design, ordered from Scuderia parts for $550. Well worth it.
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Update:

New heat exchanger is on and car is back together. Car started right up with no engine lights. Started the flushing process of the coolant using a dozen or so gallons of distilled water. I saved a little fluid from each flush to show the progress. Takes about 6 flushes to get all the old fluid and oil contamination out. See the picture below with the left being the first flush and the right cup being the last. I used one of those vacuum kits I bought off amazon for $100 to fill the system, and the adapter from my power brake bleeder (hooked up at 10 psi to my air compressor) to get as much fluid out during each drain. Seemed to be a smooth process.

New coolant will be going in soon, which by my math will take the mix to about 25% coolant and 75% water for the time being (since you are only replacing about half the fluid during each flush). I thought about just running water wetter in there for the summer but read about a lot of horror stories about it causing gunk in the lines. Not sure where the gunk would come from considering there is probably next to none old fluid in there now, but figured adding just regular coolant would be best. I’m using OEM Euro Blue coolant BTW.

I’ll do one more flush in the late fall before it gets cold out, and this should bring the coolant content up to where it needs to be to prevent freezing over the winter.

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