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cam install last night, ran into coolant problem.... help!

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Old 11-25-2006, 10:50 AM
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Default cam install last night, ran into coolant problem.... help!

well some friends and i did my cam swap finally last night, and finished at 7am this morning... the only thing that caused a problem was a coolant issue on the radiator...





OK, so we were getting the radiator out, and the small tube that goes from the throttle body to the radiator right under the fill hole snapped off the radiator, you know, the one for the coolant to run through the TB.

so now i'm stuck with the tube coming out of the throttle body and the plastic peice from the radiator stuck inside the tube, leaving a tiny tiny hole in the plastic of the radiator, the idea right now is to epoxy that tiny hole shut, so it doesn't leak, bypass the throttle body, and run a tube to the OTHER tube that comes from the overflow tank, and just use a tee and tap into that tube....

the only issue is, will the coolant rushing from the TB to the radiator go down into the overflow, or suck up into the radiator? thats the only thing holding us back from just tapping into that line.


excuse me if im' not making any sense, its 10am here, and i've been up since 7am yesterday, so bear with me


any advice is appreciated.

oh we tried epoxy'ing the original peice that broke off back in its place, but it just wont stay there.
Old 11-25-2006, 10:58 AM
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Wow that sounds pretty messed up. I have no idea but i hope someon here can help you out. TTT for a fellow techer in need of help.
-Joel
Old 11-25-2006, 12:10 PM
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Go to a hardware store and buy a threaded brass hose nipple with a 5/16 hose barb and threads larger than the hole in the radiator. Drill the hole out slightly smaller than the threaded part of the nipple. Screw the hose nipple into the radiator. It should cut it's own threads in the plastic if you have the hole the right size. then JB Weld or epoxy around the hose nipple with the radiator out of the car laying flat. Make sure you rough up the plastic around the nipple and it is clean and dry. That is very important for the epoxy to stick. Your only other option is to take the it to a radiator shop and have them replace the plastic side tank with a new one. I've done the brass nipple repair on a car before and it is still holding after a couple of years of use.. You can not tap into the overflow hose or you will lose all your coolant.
Old 11-25-2006, 12:52 PM
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hows the cam greg??? why didnt anyone invite me

sucks about your situation
Old 11-25-2006, 01:34 PM
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lulz no one wants diabetes
Old 11-25-2006, 05:00 PM
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well we followed the advice of 2xLS1 and got the brass peice and tried threading/JB welding it in there, and that went horribly wrong... we were drilling the plastic and the whole side piece cracked right down the side, i'm about ready to give up.........











JK, we did follow 2xls1's advice, and it worked great, its actually curing right now, but it went smoothly and looks good.

thanks for the help
Old 11-25-2006, 05:03 PM
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Good to hear.
Old 11-25-2006, 05:06 PM
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very good to hear, i'm so relieved that thing threaded in there tight, i was about to kill somebody.
Old 11-26-2006, 01:09 AM
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Originally Posted by ryguy85
lulz no one wants diabetes
lol shut up haha
Old 11-26-2006, 01:26 AM
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Is that the tube that's supposed to bring warm water to your throttle body to get the engine up to running temps quicker on cold days which isn't really needed anyway which is why people do the throttle body bypass mod? If that's the case why didn't you just do the bypass mod and plug the hole in your radiator and be done with it?
Old 11-26-2006, 02:37 AM
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I think it still uses that path as a relief for the cylinder heads with the coolant flowing through.... either way we fixed it by drilling it out and threading an end with a nipple, and epoxy ftw
Old 11-26-2006, 03:11 PM
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ya i was told the coolant flowed from the TB to the radiator, so we would have had to get that coolant back into the radiator somehow.

that would be a radiator bypass
Old 11-27-2006, 01:36 AM
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You don't bypass the radiator you bypass the throttle body, but of you broke off the plastic nipple on the radiator itself that's going to reqire a creative repair if the plastic is thin gauge. I doubt it's thick enough to tap threads into. I would consider getting some plastic stock and epoxying that onto the radiator body so you can drill and tap it to accept a threaded hose barb. I thinik I'd do the drilling and tapping before I glued it on. Does the hose that comes to that barb come from the throttle body or the steam vent tubes?



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