What did John break today? - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

P.E.Haiges · #16 04-08-2007, 06:25 PM

SgtJohn,

Use Evans Waterless Coolant and leave the radiator cap (where ever it is) loose. This way there will be no pressure in the system.

Evans works. It boils at 375*F. I have used it in 617 and 603 engines with no problems.

P E H

rkohut · #17 04-08-2007, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SGT John

I don't really think that epoxy is going to be strong enough to just reattach that hose. It was a clean break..

I was planning on either drilling out a hole and then using a thread in nipple, or drilling out a big hole and epoxying in a nipple that has the barbs on each side.

A couple years ago, I epoxied about a 3" piece of vacuum line inside the two broken pieces and glued them together. It's held so far.

Some pictures of the broken parts and the vacuum line that was about ready to be used.

#18 04-08-2007, 06:37 PM

Sooner or later you are going to have to replace it anyway; about $320 (OEM radiator), a couple of gallons of MB coolant, and an hour or so of work (I replace mine a couple of weeks ago due to a failed neck connection). If your temporary fix fails on the road, you'll also be paying for towing it home. If you are going to try JB Weld, it should be cold, clean, and dry, but I would only consider it a temporary solution.

sublettm · #19 04-09-2007, 06:47 PM

I did the same thing to the wife's car while replacing the alternator three years ago. I used some JB weld putty and it has held for three years now. I wouldn't go out and spend big bucks on a new radiator when there are fixes out there that cost hardly anything and do work.

SGT John · #20 04-09-2007, 07:47 PM

Well, I'm done. I kept the epoxy back as far as I could to make sure there was plenty of room for the hose to slide over the nipple and get clamped... Tell me what you think.

bullwinkle · #21 04-09-2007, 07:56 PM

Looks good from here, but you won't know until you get pressure on it if it will leak or not.

JimmyL · #22 04-09-2007, 07:58 PM

QuickSteel [which that looks like] is easier to form than JB Weld, but it seems to crack and come apart easier than JB weld. Especially when using with plastic. I think your attempt is valid, you will just have to see how well it goes. For a $320 dollar savings I would at least give it a try or two.....

SGT John · #23 04-09-2007, 08:03 PM

this is quicksteel. If it cracks, but the 2 pieces of radiator aren't damaged, I will try again with JB weld.

As far as pressure, I am really excited but I wanted to give it as much time as possible to cure before I changed anything at all. I did, however, just pull out the screw. I hope there aren't any plastic shavings anywhere.

SGT John · #24 04-10-2007, 05:44 PM

Well, first day and I have a small amount of wetness around the bottom of the job, and a very small hairline crack on the top that is a tiny bit wet. No steam blowing out or anything...

Should I add more quick steel on top to try to cover the leaking areas, should I throw JB Weld on top of my existing job, or should I try to remove as much as possible of the quicksteel and then use JB Weld?

rrgrassi · #25 04-10-2007, 05:52 PM

What is the inner diameter of the plastic? You could try a piece of aluminum tubing inside the broken piece and use JB weld to hold it.

Since Quik Steeel is prone to cracking get as much off as you can.

ChefHugh3 · #26 04-10-2007, 08:52 PM

I never got a good bond to the radiator, at first appeared strong, but later melted down to goo. Get a new radiator and learn from your heavy hands (elbows).

vstech · #27 04-11-2007, 08:47 AM

realize this. the hose does not normally have ANY water in it. working correctly, the MB radiator system uses the tiny top hose as a pressure equalizer to the expansion tank. liquid goes into and out of the expansion tank through the 1" hose at the bottom of the tank to the bottom of the radiator. look for high temp epoxy to repair this. let it cure for the entire allotted time, and it will hold for a long time. it is best to thread a nipple into the hole and attach a hose to the nipple, then epoxy that for a perfect seal.
good luck.
sorry your first attempt is leaking.
John

mytimeyet · #28 04-11-2007, 10:12 AM

Has anyone put in a longer hose and routed it closer to the body as a preventitive measure? Any issues with doing something like that? I broke mine too while straightning up the alternator adjustment brackets the PO had mangled. It had apparently been broken before since it was epoxied in there!

vstech · #29 04-11-2007, 10:22 AM

on both mine, I have removed the original hose, and put in a longer one that is easier to route. as long as it does not droop down to allow water to collect you should have no problem if you lengthen it to wrap around the entire engine bay. it just equalizes pressure for the expansion tank.
John

Jkid · #30 04-20-2007, 11:34 AM

I broke mine off a few months ago while I was monkeying around with the turbo. I bought a brass nipple to stick in the hole and used an epoxy to hold it in place. It worked for a while, but eventually the epoxy broke away from the radiator plastic. It might have held longer if I did a better job cleaning it first. I still need a better solution. I would think if you could thread it in somehow, it would at least hold the nipple in place. I have not found a suitable nipple though.
I assume that if the system is not under pressure that it won't cool as good. Anybody know about how hot it can get before I would have cooling problems? It seems to be fine in 50 degree weather, I'm not sure how it will be when it gets hotter out.