GTV6 multiple failure

["peter franceschina" <pfranceschina@domain.elided>]

Hi digesti, My first post to the digest, though I'm an avid reader of
many months (and an AROC member), so please be easy on me. I'm looking
for some diagnostic help on a very curious situation with my 85 GTV6
today, which left me stranded after more than two years of daily driving.Blasting
down I-95 today toward Ft. Lauderdale, my brakes went spongy, with much
longer brake pedal travel than normal, though the brakes still worked.
After fiddling with the pedal for a few minutes at high speed in intense
traffic, I noticed my + - battery light and temp gauge light were on,
just as I reached my exit. I don't know which occurred first, but I was
wondering if high temp led to the spongy brakes.I pulled over and the
radiator was puking its contents, blowing steam out of what seemed to be
a crack near the top of the radiator between the two fans. I've had a
pressure leak out of the radiator for a while, having to add fluid every
few weeks to keep it topped up, but I haven't had extreme overheating
problems even in near 100 degree temps and humidity. I knew this was
going to be an issue, and it looks like it's come to a head. I also for
the first time saw sandy calcified material in the overflow bottle. I
know what this looks like from my Spider, whose radiator I recently had
recored.I put nearly a gallon of antifreeze into the system after it
cooled, but the car still overheated in the two miles where I needed to
get. Oil pressure remained normal on the cool engine (and no oil-water
mix I could detect), for this 142,000 mile car. Brake pedal feel went
back to normal for that drive and subseqently getting set for the tow
back to West Palm Beach.My battery (alternator?) light remained on,
however. Can all of this be related, or do I have multiple failures of
different systems? Any help is greatly appreciated. (P.S. Fred, please be
kind. The new job is working out great, but I miss Fort Myers.) Peter,
West Palm Beach85 GTV6 (now resting)86 Spider (now elevated to winter
daily driver, just in time for the good weather) 

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