Can this be fixed ??!!
 

As I was pulling the exhaust manifold off of my engine, I accidentally leaned on the hose attached to the coolant resevoir, snapping the hose off at the top of the radiator. Is there any way that I could epoxy the thing back on , or do I need a new radiator?

*&$#, the things that I forget always seem to bite me in the rear.

#1 09-26-2006, 03:24 PM
Bens lover
Benz Whisperer Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Vancouver,British Columbia Canada
Posts: 256


Dont touch the over flow hose on your radiator!

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Hey folk's..
Your damn if you do and your damn if you dont!
I was doing a winter check up on my 1983 300SD when all I did was touch the small hose that goes from the over flow bottle to the rad....And guess what.The darn nipple broke off on the top of the radiator where the other end of the hose goes in too....Grrrrrrr f*^%$$#@@#%$%.
Well I had to get myself a new rad..300$
And the story goes like this...Only do a visual and dont touch the darn thing! lol
Yall come back now!
Regards
Dan
Vancouver Canada

If you have a real radiator shop in town, give them a call.

I would think you sure should be able too.

Find a drill bit that fits snuggly inside the nipple that was broken off
insert the bit into the broke off piece and the radiator, line up the
fit on the two parts and JB weld it in to place.

What are you out if it does not work?

That's probably a sign you could use a new radiator...

Another consideration. If the nipple was that brittle. Your plastic was very old and the radiator could have failed while driving. Stranding you somewhere.

Dave

Yep, happened on my SD... didn't drive it further until the rad was swapped!

An overheated engine?

If there's a stub attached to the radiator you might be able to fit an internal sleeve to hold the rest of the nipple. It usually snaps off cleanly such that a sleeve won't hold.

Sixto
87 300D

Are we not talking about the overflow hose?

Good point. I thought it was the nipple. Who'd bother to fix a hose with epoxy?

Sixto
87 300D

I have managed to make a similar repair in the past, by drilling the broken nipple stub and the stub still on the radiator out far enough to slip in a short run of copper tubing. I JB welded the copper tubing in the holes, and joined the nipples over the copper tube. Then I put the hose back on. Worked fine for quite a while, but, like someone noted the plastic is probably rotten from using Prestone green antifreeze. The main connection at the top of the radiator broke off, which I tried to fix the same way. That didn't last more than a year, so the radiator was changed out.

The failing plastic is not a good sign, but I would be inclined to fix the nipple first. Jim

Replace it!!!
 

Bens lover hit the nail on the head. Radiators are not cheap, but they are much chaeper than engine rebuilds. Fastlane has radiators available. The only way I would try to fix a radiator like that is if I knew the car was on it's last legs and I was praparing to part it out when it quit. If your car was ever run for any time with the green antifreeze in it the plastic in the radiator is likely weakened.

I drilled and tapped that small fitting on the top of the rad using a 1/8th npt+ hose barb, it worked ok for a few years.

You can use a piece of the larger vacum hose like the stuff that goes to the switch over valve from the alda as a liner. Use JB as noted. Also you can take the broken nipple piece in to the hardware section and find a threaded barbed hose fitting that will slide over the piece that is still on the radiator. Use JB weld. All of these things will work to get you through but it is time for a new radiator, the neck on top will be next (ask me how I know!).

Yes, snapped the nipple off. Per Larry Bible there is a repair involving a tire valve stem. I will try this first. If it leaks, its new radiator time.

I snapped the nipple off while working on my air cleaner resting my body on the hose. I drilled and tapped then screwed in a threaded teflon fitting (1/4 in dia IIRC) I had. Used 1 1/2 turns of plumber's teflon tape on the fitting. That was about 2 yrs ago. No problems since, but otherwise the radiator was in good condition, no cracks. I've seen a post where someone used a brass fitting as well. I was surprised how well the plastic took to the tap, although to be safe I bought a new drill bit and tap.

That's the way I'd go about fixing it if it ever happened to me except I use a plastic barb with threads on the end.