Hello Gentlemen So I recently purchased an '03 Coupe F1 with 12k miles. Everything checked out fine. Needed a fluid change though. So over the weekend, I put her on a lift, removed the front bumper and disconnected the radiator lines (lower radiator lines seemed to be lowest point in cooling system so would allow for the most fluid to drain). I removed the radiator cap to allow air to flow through and make sure all the fluid was out. I went inside for an hour and came out to find all the coolant had drained but dripping from the radiator lines was oil. Slightly reddish brown hue, not quite as viscous as gear oil though, almost as if it was motor oil. I spent the past 48 hours looking through diagrams and searching various forums. The closest I cam to an explanation was the heat exchanger (part #180846. Item 32 in this diagram http://www.ricambiamerica.com/parts_catalogs.php?V=diag&I=581 ) There is one on eBay ( http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FERRARI-360-MODENA-MANIFOLD-HEAT-EXCHANGER-SPIDER-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem5640986803QQitemZ370450917379QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ht_500wt_956 ) Any advice from someone else on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time gentlemen.
If it's motor oil from the heat exchanger then you're more than likely to have contamination in the other direction also as the water system is pressurised when hot and coolant would likely be forced into the oil mix. Is it possible that you let go the connections to the air conditioning condenser also? Or perhaps the cooling coil for the power steering?
There is a power steering coolant line on the drivers side front radiator if memory serves me correctly.. and my first inclination is to ask if that could be the source of your oil.. But from the sounds of it there is a reddish oil coming from the coolant line itself.. from where coolant had been spurting before... if this is the case the heat exchanger might be suspect.. any white creamy oil/water mix as well?
What an embarrassment.. First off, thank you gentlemen for the prompt replies. Went out to double check the other lines and it turns out the A/C condenser line was not properly torqued, which was causing the condenser fluid to leak down along the bottom edge of the radiator and down right from where the radiator coolant hose was removed, completely fooling me and causing unnecessary grief. Thankfully, this was discovered now. And not once the weather finally warms up around here. I'll recharge it now and get her back together Thanks for the input guys !
