[77newell]

Photo from 93 coach Forest referenced

[Guy]

I'm going to have to do some housekeeping in the bay. You guys are neat !

[77newell]

Hey, it wasn't me, it was Forest that is neato

[kyleb]

Kyle, the arize is the original from Newell. After a period of time, they crack from either the heat or the UV shining in. But that may take ten years so........

That is a good point.

I don't know what I can do about the heat (It doesn't seem too hot, not like under a car hood). However, I do keep it parked inside, so maybe it will last longer.  

[RWH]

Let me start this with I hate plastic parts!

I was routing around by the radiator fan in response to a phone call from Bill Johnson.  He had found two hoses that were badly chafed.  The two hoses from the transmission cooler to the transmission cross under the radiator shroud and hose chafing occurs where they cross.  I would suggest that you check these hoses because if they blow you will be stuck on the side of the road.  The chafing on my hoses were not as bad as Bill's, but I wanted to shroud the two hoses from continuing to rub--future project will be to replace & reroute the hoses to avoid this problem.  As I was installing the shroud I suddenly was getting a coolant bath.  You guessed it I got into the coolant tank & it broke.  I hate plastic parts!

Having a background in auto racing there is no excuse for a part breaking twice.  Therefore I began looking for an alternative that would not break in similar circumstances.  I found a tank manufacturer in Kansas--http://www.aluminumgastanks.net/options.html  I spoke with the owner who stated he could make an 8" round aluminum tank, 16" tall with two 1/4" NPT bungs welded in the bottom for $174.  He stated polishing it was $225 more.  I ordered the tank on Monday and received the tank on Friday via free shipping UPS.  Tank was as ordered--rough aluminum with tank clamps and a nice vented cap.  

I had picked this size tank because I wanted to use the Arize tank's clamping system with the rubber mounting.  The new tank fit in the same spot.  You'll notice that the tank is polished--that is the result of ten hours of sanding & polishing.

Steve, what specs did you send for fabrication of the aluminum tank?
My CRS 300 is starting to leak at the bottom seam.

[rheavn]

Wayne,
I sent him a simple drawing of a 8" round aluminum tank, 16" tall with two 1/4" NPT bungs welded in the bottom.  If you look in the picture you will see how I positioned the bungs.  I also had him put a vented cap on top.  I picked this size as it fit in the same clamping system used by the plastic tank.  The only change was I had to use a little longer bolts on the clamps.

You might send him a picture of mine along with a drawing.

I hope this answers your question........................................

[Richard]

Yeah, the guy doesn't take much instruction to make it. The instructions above were all that he needed to make one for me.

[RWH]

Wayne,
I sent him a simple drawing of a 8" round aluminum tank, 16" tall with two 1/4" NPT bungs welded in the bottom.  If you look in the picture you will see how I positioned the bungs.  I also had him put a vented cap on top.  I picked this size as it fit in the same clamping system used by the plastic tank.  The only change was I had to use a little longer bolts on the clamps.

You might send him a picture of mine along with a drawing.

I hope this answers your question........................................

It does. I ordered the tank, today. Should be here in 8-10 Days.
Thank you for your information.

[bikestuff]

So...let me add my two bits to this thread.

On way back home this week, I noticed a few drops of coolant inside engine bay below the Arize CRS 300 coolant tank. I had just come from Newell and annual maintenance and figured they overfilled the radiator. Next stop I noticed a few more drops. Next stop I had a puddle. Time to really investigate.

What I found was that there was a crack in the plastic tank on the top edge of the mounting strap. After a little consternation, I slapped some flex-all tape on the crack and made my way home. I consider myself lucky that I did not have a sudden failure that would have dumped all my coolant on the ground.

Today, I ordered the tank discussed on this thread. It should be here in two weeks.

Lessons learned: 1). Plastic tanks and engine heat do not play well together. The failure was on the back side of the tank...so even if you look for degradation, you may not see it. My tank was replaced about three years ago. 2) If a trusted guru tells you that you should do something...you should do it. Steve told me about this upgrade even before he posted. He recommended that I also do the upgrade. I told myself that I should do that....but never got around to it. It almost stranded me on the side of the road.

[bikestuff]

Steve,

It looks like you have made a new sight tube on your installation. Can you share the specs of the tube that you used? It looks like you used one length of flexible tubing.

My tube from the Arize system is still serviceable but has a few cracks on the top. Would a polycarbonate tube be an option?

bill