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  #16  
Old 03-26-2008, 01:07 PM
Craig
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vstech View Post
My 78 had a brass replacement radiator in it when I got it.
I moved it to the 79 wagon when it failed, it's still going strong.
obviously, the originals did not last forever...
I pet a new plastic one in my car a couple of years ago (I wanted it replaced the same day). Maybe next time I will have a metal one fabricated someplace.

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  #17  
Old 03-26-2008, 01:09 PM
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Plastic is plastic, doesn't matter what car its in after 20 years its brittle and shot.

At least radiators are cheap on W123's, whats a Behr like $200? Price one out for an SDL, you could buy two for what mine costs!
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  #18  
Old 03-26-2008, 01:14 PM
Craig
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Originally Posted by Hatterasguy View Post
Plastic is plastic, doesn't matter what car its in after 20 years its brittle and shot.

At least radiators are cheap on W123's, whats a Behr like $200? Price one out for an SDL, you could buy two for what mine costs!
I think I paid about $250 for my Behr, retail from my indy (worldpac).
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  #19  
Old 03-30-2008, 07:38 PM
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Ah, the broken neck. Well, I am an inverterate "fixer," and the broken neck presented a persistent challenge. I certainly didn't want to mickey mouse around with the cooling system, so I chose my repair items carefully. If I wasn't 1000% satisfied, it was off to the boneyard.

JB weld, epoxy and super glue were complete failures. Distressingly, the constant application of glues was eroding the very small part. But, I prevailed. A Vegas summer with air on, and no leaks and no failures with the Temp Guage @80C+ tells me so.

How? Take a small rubber/plastic irrigation tube, put it inside the broken neck and align the broken neck with the hole in the radiator. Make sure it is a tube, not a solid piece. Now, with the parts aligned, slather the joint with ABS cement. Tend the joint until the the ABS get sticky (no more than 5 mins). At that point make sure you have ABS-ed a full 360 around the broken neck. After it fully sets (overnight at a minimum), remove the inserted tube--- gently. If the tube is glued to the inside of the neck leave it in, the stenosis of the return flow corridor will not adversely affect the cooling process as far as I can see.

The ABS glued neck will have a bit of "give" to it. Of course, treat it with care. This repair worked for another diesel enthusiast, I can't see why it won't work for you.

For the serious diesel-er, a radiator replacement is the only solution--and the best one. The price of doing so seemed way too high here in Vegas. A boneyard replacement is, at best, a hostage to fortune. So I tried this.
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  #20  
Old 03-30-2008, 07:57 PM
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I broke the @%#! neck off my 84 300D as well. I broke it by trying to remove the the radiator hose so I could try to install a fan shroud that I found out was the wrong one.
I've had original brass radiators in the old (30+ years) American cars I've owned including one in a 50+ year old Cadillac. A brass radiator can last forever.
The radiator in my 77 GMC is still original and does not leak.
Aluminum radiators with plastic radiator tanks with plastic necks? What a stupid @%#! idea.
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  #21  
Old 03-31-2008, 08:48 AM
Coming back from burnout
 
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i took a piece of pvc pipe

that was slightly larger than the inside diameter of the broken neck and slowly sanded it down until it fit--i actually got a pressure fit--it held and would still be except when i did my restoration, my donor car had a pristine unit
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  #22  
Old 03-31-2008, 09:23 AM
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heavy hands

Heavy hands while working on the air filter housing mounts "leaned" on the top and broke the overflow / resevoir nipple on top of the radiator. It looked like it could be the original radiator. It was a Behr, wasn't that the original equip in the 85 300.....

I bought a Nissan to save $$$ for a replacement
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  #23  
Old 03-31-2008, 09:46 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by spugeddy View Post
I bought a Nissan to save $$$ for a replacement
If you are referring to the radiator, I suspect it was a Nissens.
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  #24  
Old 04-01-2008, 02:56 PM
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roger

yep, too funny,,, it is Nissens.

I did own a Nissan once, but it was a whole car...
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  #25  
Old 04-01-2008, 03:13 PM
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The neck on my radiator is fine, but it's the original radiator. I've read about doing the trick mentioned earlier here as a fix, but as a preventive measure. I've considered doing this but was worried that it would cause some other issue, like a place for buildup to occur, or the glue failing and allowing the pipe to block things off.

Does it make sense to do this in hopes of keeping an unbroken neck?
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  #26  
Old 04-01-2008, 03:20 PM
Craig
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I wouldn't bother, if it really concerns you it can be replaced for about $250, it's probably due anyway. When I replaced my 300D radiator due to a broken neck, the maximum summer operating temperature went down by about 5C. I'm going to replace my 240D radiator soon, just because I'd like to see it run a little cooler in hot weather.
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  #27  
Old 04-01-2008, 03:47 PM
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When I replaced mine I whacked the upper tank of the old one with a hammer, it broke like an egg shell. Nothing is left after 20 years. That upper tank can split at any time.
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  #28  
Old 05-01-2008, 10:30 AM
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what about tapping the hole?

I also have a radiator with the nipple for the hose broken off. The previous owner filled the hole with a tap and I assume JBwelded it since I can't get it to unscrew.

This gave me an idea. What if I were to leave the plug in and drill a new hole that I would tap with a 1/4 NPT tap and put a 1/4 NPT nipple in there that I could reduce down to 1/8 NPt and slip a 3/8 inch hose over it?(1/8 NPT outer diameter is ~ 0.40 inches, and 3/8 inch is 0.375.)

The question here is whether or not that plastic will actually hold those fine threads. Is it thick enough?

The other idea is to drill a hole in the plastic and JB weld pipe to it kind of like what was mentioned earlier.
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  #29  
Old 05-01-2008, 12:36 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Craig View Post
I think I paid about $250 for my Behr, retail from my indy (worldpac).
Thats cheap, I wouldn't mess around with them for that. I think they are up to $500 for the SDL's. It sucks because the radiator is just different enough from say a 420SEL's not to work, yet the 420's is 1/2 the cost. Since the SDL was a low production car you can chose any brand you want, as long as its Behr!

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