I am sure this has been a thread in the past but maybe worth a review. After Mondiale Finale I had terrible overheating and seemed to be loosing coolant. After mild panic and then some thoughtful checking I suspected the cheap plastic cap on the expansion tank. I had the dealer do a pressure check and replace the cap - problem fixed. Here is the warning! As I have never had any cooling issues in 12 years and 22k Miles I rarely check the coolant. I had blown out almost all my coolant (5litres) and was probably very lucky I did not do any serious damage. The stupid cap is $50 and in hindsight I should probably just have replaced it years ago. I will probably buy a spare and write myself a note to replace the cap again 5 years from now so I don't risk an expensive problem
They are junk. I buy them by the bag full and their average life before failing a pressure test is 2 years. I test them at every annual service.
Cheap part. Plastic and rubber degrades with the heat. I bought an extra on eBay for like $15 bucks and put it on. I'm going to just keep an eye on things and if I hear any buzzing sounds (pressurized air escaping) from the cap after a drive its getting replaced.
Just had 30K service done on my 1999 Modena. Shop replaced the cap, and said they generally do this every 2 years as the caps leak/fail. Cheap insurance. I think the cap was about $20.
I bought a spare from Daniel (Ricambi) 2 weeks ago to carry around as a spare. I am now going to install it instead. Thanks for the heads up.
This one. I just replaced mine, was $50 from Ricambi. Not sure about the $10 ones, maybe someone can post a link?
LOVE the metal cap. Totally fits the 80's Chevy radiator look. Chikka chikka bow bow.. Edit: looks like the cheap chinese $15 knockoffs aren't on ebay anymore.
The only alternate I found was for Alfa Romeo. One would think they used the same vendor but they do not and so many failed to hold pressure right out of the box I gave up.
Brian, are you finding better longevity with the Ricambi part now (assuming that's what you're using)?
Irregularity in the rubber seal or defect in the spring seating? I guess I got lucky.. the cheapie actually works in the heat! Thank you for the update on the possible alternative part. I guess its ricambi if we need one.. maybe I'll try awitalian..
Over the ten years I owned my F355 spider, I went through three caps... I bought one from Ricambi, but was surprised to see them offered on Ebay from awitalian for around $35 delivered. But that was 4 years ago for the last one...don't see them that cheap now.
