Boog
03-11-2006, 07:28 PM
I have been having an intermittant coolant leak on my 97 Burb and while doing some underhood work on it today I decided to replace the hose connector. I reached over and touched the hose when the coupling broke right off. I already had a new steel one to go back with. I had also bought a broke fitting removal tool. I hammered the tool in there and turned and it just spun inside the fitting. I got out the hacksaw blade and made four cuts to the inside of the fitting and started chipping it out with hammer and punch, chisel, screwdriver and even made a couple of sharp pointed tools to get that mess out. Needless to say I ended up with some boogered up threads and some material in there I just couldn't get out. The new steel fitting would not go in far enough to seal off. I tried the closest hardware store for a thread tap and the clerk didn't know jack about pipe threads. Tried to tell me I needed a 7/8" tap of which they had none. I said it's not 7/8 it's 1/2" and had to get a 1/2" elbow to screw on the fitting to show him and he didn't believe it still. No tap so I bought a 10" length of threaded 1/2" black pipe with a cap for one end. I put the pipe in a vise and used my 4 1/2" angle grinder to cut four lengthwise grooves in the threads much like how the tap is made. Screwed that pipe into the manifold and straightened out all those threads and got the rest of the old fitting material out of there. Teflon taped the new fitting and it went in nice and smooth. Leak stopped! That hardened steel removal tool is worthless as it's splines are turned the wrong way.
PS. I'd like to give a swift kick in the ash to the guy who came up with this quick disconnect hose crap on factory cars and trucks. Potmetal fittings for crying out loud!
PS. I'd like to give a swift kick in the ash to the guy who came up with this quick disconnect hose crap on factory cars and trucks. Potmetal fittings for crying out loud!