On the manifold there is a metal/steel pipe that the heater hose hooks to. That pipe is leaking anitifreeze. It has a small hole in it. Is this pipe replaceable or is it part of the manifold. I am a car illiterate woman, so any help would be appreciated.
here is a picture of the pipe
The pipe is replaceable. Pull the old pipe out of the manifold, apply a little petroleum jelly to the O-ring on the new pipe and tap it into the manifold.
Tester
I tried to get it out, but it wouldn’t budge. I wonder if there is some kind of tape or sealant that I can put on the hole to stop the leak. I couldn’t find the pipe anywhere on the internet so I could order it. The Ford dealer gave me a part number but when I looked it up, the part wasn’t the same. Can’t drive the van and it is my only vehicle. Can’t afford a tow and a mechanic to look at it. Extremely frustrated because I have twisted and pulled…bothing
They couldn’t even give me the name of that pipe to investigate how to remove it or order it
How big is the hole? Try this. With the engine cold remove the upper radiator hose. Pour a tablespoon of ground black pepper into the hose and reinstall the hose. Add coolant if necessary and start the engine. Let the engine idle. As the engine idles watch the leak to see if the black pepper stops it.
You probably can’t get this tube alone from the dealer as it’s part of the lower intake manifold assembly. You need to get one from a junk yard.
To remove the tube, clamp onto it with a Vice-Grips. Then take a hammer and hit the Vice-Grips to yank the tube out of the manifold.
Tester
It probably just pulls out when the car was new, but it’s a little corroded now and stuck. I expect putting applying a few drops of the stuff used to unstick rusty bolts and letting it sit overnight would help. And applying ice to the tube to shrink it a bit would help too. If it’s really stuck in there, a slide hammer would probably do the trick to get it out. That’s how I remove the axel shafts from my Corolla’s splined xmission, which is sort of a similar problem. No matter how hard I pull, they won’t come out. But a slide hammer with the appropropriate technique to grap the drive shaft near the spline point, then a quick pull on the slide hammer, whiffft, it’s out, does the job slick as a whistle.
Does this look like the part you need? Click on the picture to magnify the image
http://www.fordparts.com/Commerce/PartDetail.aspx?n=yWFEXAgyjoRNTglU%2BR6y7g%3D%3D&id=219301933&m=2&search=true&year=2002&make=Ford&model=Windstar
I think it may be 18B402. But can’t be sure…lol, I am kinda car stupid. I know that the heater hose hooks to it, that is all I know. My van was smoking near the top on drivers side. I checked and antifreeze was leaking just a little…then by the end of the day, it was really dripping. I got a new thermastat and gasket. While putting that on, I noticed that the antifreeze was coming from that pipe. I tried to adjust the heater hose further up on the “pipe” and clamped it, hoping it covered the hole or crack. But no go, it still was coming out and now even worse. Yikes.
Nope, not 18B402. I just looked it up. Dang it…I was so hopeful. This is a short pipe (like in the picture that I posted above) maybe sticks out about 3-4 inches
That’s the heater core return hose nipple. You’re not going to find this part by itself on line, at the dealer, or at a parts store. This is a junk yard part.
Tester
Try spraying the pipe where it goes into the manifold with PB Blaster or Sea Foam spray and let it sit over night. Then wrap the pipe with a piece of rubber or many layers of vinyl tape and then try to rotate the pipe with a pair of Channel lock or vice grip pliers. Once it rotates, it should then pull out easily. You may just need a new O ring to stop it from leaking.
Another option is to buy some 2-part epoxy at Lowe’s or similar. Marine epoxy might be best. Follow the instructions and apply generously to the leak when the car is cold. Let it set up for the recommended time. Epoxy is great stuff, it just might work.
Epoxy won’t work. There’s a thermal dynamics.
The tube passes hot coolant. This causes the nipple to expand. The epoxy or the what-ever glue won’t expand at the same rate. This causes the what-ever glue to crack and the leak returns.
Tester
I would be stunned if that pipe comes out without being mangled beyond recognition; or so says Murphy’s Law.
The boneyard might be a problem though. Around here, no salvage will remove, or allow to be removed, a tube like that from an intake. It would be a case of buy the complete intake or visit a local Pull A Part type facility where parts are routinely butchered.
If the pipe is mangled once removed some consideration might be given to using a pipe thread tap to cut some pipe threads into the opening and add a short length of appropriately sized iron or brass plumbing pipe.
Thank you all for your help. I ordered a part today from the ford dealer. Still don’t know what it is called. I sprayed it with PB Blaster and will try to remove again in the morning. Will let you know what happens.
Like Ok4450, our local yards will no longer remove or allow removal of parts from engines. They remove the engine as an entire assmebly now, store it in a building, and sell it whole. They’ve found that having parts missing makes it difficult to sell.
To attempt to remove the pipe, use pliers with this kind of jaw
http://www.sears.com/knipex-12-in-alligator-pliers/p-00929115000P?prdNo=7&blockNo=7&blockType=G7
Try to twist and pull at the same time.
By the way, don’t attempt to remove the pipe until you’re sure that the replacement part is an exact match. If the pliers are able to remove it, the old pipe will look wasted by the time it’s out. Those pliers literally bite into whatever pipe you’re grabbing.
You may want to consider putting some thread sealer on the new pipe where it enters the manifold
there is the possibility that you will not be able to remove this pipe no matter what you do, if it was installed cryogenically. That is a permanent install and would explain why it is not sold as a separate part. Exactly where is it leaking? There might be other options.
The part did come in and is the right part. Still trying to get the other one out. It moves, but there just isn’t a lot of room to work with it. May try to cut it shorter so there is hand/arm room.