I had my water pump replaced and somehow the mechanic broke off part of the nipple on the near the radiator cap that the overflow hose connects to. He jeri-rigged it with a small clamp but recently the hose came loose with the little bit of nipple that was left attached to the neck portion of the radiator. Is there anything that can be done to reattach this hose without having to replace the entire radiator? All that is left is a little opening in the radiator neck where the nipple had been. When I turn off the engine radiator fluid pours out of the little opening. I tried to glue the hose ending to the neck and it lasted for a little while but has since come off.
You might want to try threading in a 1/8" NPT barbed hose fitting with the proper sized barb for the hose.
Drill out what’s left of the nipple with a Q (.332) drill bit. Then using a 1/8" NPT pipe tap thread the hole. Apply some pipe joint sealant to the barb hose fitting threads and screw it in. Don’t tighten it too much or it could crack the radiator neck. Connect the hose.
Tester
Tester gave a good option. Another would be to find a composite nipple of the right size, carefully drill the appropriate recess in the neck and JB weld (or other like product) it in place. You may find getting the right size nipple (NAPA has a “box” with various composite coolant fittings), so you may need to go up a size on hose and adapt at the other end. “Surface” mounting should work here too. That is, you may only need to clean and rough up the neck a bit for the adhesive to work well. That’s a zero to low pressure point.
Thank you so much for your suggestion. My email inbox is so full that the reply got lost in the maze. I was skimming through my mail the other day and I knew I saw the reply but when I tried to find it again it was as if it disappeared. Time to clean out inbox I suppose. Anyway, the only problem is there is no nipple left to drill out. When the hose that the mechanic clamped to what was left of the nipple, there wasn’t much left at that as it was, came off there remains basically a hole in the radiator neck. No nipple whatsover. The neck of the radiator where the nipple was is not very thick so there really isnt anything there to thread.
Hi, this is the reply I sent to Tester as well:
Thank you so much for your suggestion. My email inbox is so full that the reply got lost in the maze. I was skimming through my mail the other day and I knew I saw the reply but when I tried to find it again it was as if it disappeared. Time to clean out inbox I suppose. Anyway, the only problem is there is no nipple left to drill out. When the hose that the mechanic clamped to what was left of the nipple, there wasn’t much left at that as it was, came off there remains basically a hole in the radiator neck. No nipple whatsover. The neck of the radiator where the nipple was is not very thick so there really isnt anything there to thread.
I did try to surface mount the hose to the hole left in the neck by just trying to glue the hose directly over the hole. It held for awhile but I probably didn’t use the best choice of adherent, crazy glue lol. Is there a product that I would keep a fitting in place as well as cover any gaps around the sides as the hole is now a bit larger and not exactly circular in dimension. The metal of the radiator neck surrounding the hole is a bit fragile I assume from a slight bit of corrosion caused by the small amount of antifreeze that leaked out over time while the hose was glued to the surface. Is there a product that will harden to a metal consistency around a nipple that fits the size of the hole as best as I can find?
Thank you both again for your help.
No offense, but I don’t think you’re fully comprehending the suggestions you have been given. Both are good suggestions and will work, provided they are done properly. You should probably take the truck back to the mechanic, along with the suggestions, and have him/her implement one of them. The fix should be a freebie to you, since the mechanic did break the nipple during a previous repair, and shouldn’t cost your mechanic much time or money either.
A Key Element Of The Radiator Has Been Broken. It’s Junk. Replace It Before You Blow Up Your Engine. It’s Going To Be Between You And This “Mechanic” To Sort Out Who Pays. If The Mechanic Admits Breaking It Then He /She Is Obligated For A New Radiator And Labor.
Nothing else is proper.
Why did you replace the water pump ? Was it leaking ? The coolant leak was supposed to be stopped when you got your Jeep repaired, not just swapped out for a different one.
CSA
No offense but I fully comprehend the suggestions that mark and tester have given. The problem is that I did not reveal that there is no nipple left to drill out. The machanic had clamped the hose over what was left of the nipple. When the hose came off what was left of the nipple came off with hose. I suspect that when the mechanic broke the nipple it exposed it to corrosion after he clamped the hose back on to what I guess to be a nipple no loner than maybe one fourth of an inch. My question of the suggestions given is how to thread a hole in the neck that seems fairly thin a bit corroded on one side of the whole. Is that a metal thick enough to be able to thread? I was on a road trip and was 7 hours from home. Otherwise my first step would have been to take it back to the mechanic. When he was finished replacing the water pump he pointed out the clamp holding the hose to the nipple and explained that the nipple had partially broken but the clamp should hold. It has for almost a year. However if had known at the time that the nipple had broken off so close the neck I would not have accepted his fix.
Thank you for the suggestion. Since the nipple broke off flush to the neck of the radiator and metal that makes up the neck is very thin do you think if I found a nipple as close to size of the hole as possible will the JB weld secure any gaps there may be where the nipple doesn’t completely match the hole in the neck. When the nipple finally came off it did not leave an exact circular hole in the neck. It’s nearly exact in proportion but there will be about 2 places where there will be a slight gap between the nipple and hole. Will the JB weld seal those gaps?
Thank you for your suggestion and the information about Napa being particular helpful because I’ve been racking my brain on what to use or where to find something the right size and can tolerate high temperature. Thank you again.
You Could Try O-rings With The Same Specs As The Ones Used On The Space Shuttle Challenger’s Solid Boosters . . .
. . . or . . . you could try chewing gum . . . or . . . you could consider my previous suggestion and do it right.
I’m thrifty, not wasteful, inventive, and so on, but seriously this radiator is history. I submit that practically any attempted repair will create a radiator time bomb.
You could begin to piddle out small amounts of coolant (it may not even be evident in the overflow tank - lost vacuum) and the next thing you know you’re stranded with an overheating Jeep and possible engine damage.
Save any “MacGyver repairs” for ash trays or hood emblems. Jury rigging is not appropriate for radiators unless it’s in a car rigged by Hollywood to go over a cliff, momentarily.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfdxzvZe9Q8
CSA
Well it seems your sense is uncommon. I took the jeep to a radiator shop that has been in business for over 30 year. I showed the owner my problem and he said he would order a part that will fix it. He said it should be in sometime this week. I specifically asked him if it would be best to just replace the radiator and he said there is no need. The part will solve the problem as well as replacing the entire radiator at a fraction of the cost. This man sells and installs radiators for a living so he could easily have taken the more profitable route and just replace the radiator. He’s solved my problem and helped me save money at less profit for himself. I guess there is a reason he’s been in business so long and is known as the place to take your vehicle for repair. He has earned his reputation for sure. But I suppose you and your uncommon ego probably still think you know better than him. Dump that arrogant ego you have and make way more room for sense. Better yet you and your narcissist personality should steer clear of offering advice. God forbid, sometimes you might just be (brace yourself) WRONG. Though I’m sure that’s unfathomable to you. Have a nice day.
Sincerely,
Thelma and Louise
The radiator shop most likely did what was suggested by tester or geeaea. All that was needed was an appropriately sized barbed or composite fitting and some JB Weld or similar epoxy. As long as the hose fit over the fitting securely and the epoxy was applied generously and given sufficient time to cure, the problem will be solved. There is no pressure at that fitting, so it only needed to be watertight. I’m glad you found someone to repair this properly and inexpensively. Something like this is very easy to repair, but can throw you for a loop if you’ve never seen it.
Thelma And Louise, The Radiator Man Probably Used One Of These . . .
. . . Click link:
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_Radiator-Overflow-Tube-Repair-Kit-Universal-Dorman_9110061-P_N3052_A|GRP2014____
First, he drilled the hole to size and made it round and then installed the “Universal Kit”. Because this part has a backing piece and o-ring it has a much better chance at making a “repair”. It has a better chance at sealing than a pipe threaded nipple and glue.
Although these parts are available for use along with muffler bandages, stop-leak, engine- overhaul-in-a-can, gas tank sealer, etcetera, I wouldn’t use any of them on my vehicles and therefore wouldn’t recommend them to people I care about. I maintain my vehicles with OE replacement parts. This probably stems from my aviation training and experience.
Some folks use universal repair remedies on experienced cars (beater cars) in hopes the repair will outlast the vehicle, considering the age and condition of the vehicle. That is probably what the radiator shop man was thinking.
Your original question regarding radiator repair asked, “Is there anything that can be done to reattach this hose without having to replace the entire radiator?”
My original answer stated that outside of a new radiator, “Nothing else is proper.”
The key word here is “proper”. Proper requires a new radiator and that’s what I would have done on any of my cars. You asked for advice and I gave mine. We could debate this issue forever and I’d still have my same opinion and advice. I still say the “mechanic” owes you a radiator.
I did not personally attack you and I will not although you were, let’s just say, less than thankful for the opinion you asked me to give. I guess you didn’t appreciate my humor, either. Oh well.
I may not always be right, but I’m never wrong. Oh wait. There was one time. One time I thought I was wrong and I found out later that I wasn’t.
Thelma & Louise, I’m happy for you both that you got the problem resolved to your satisfaction.
CSA
That’s the nice thing about this place-you don’t like the answer, you don’t have to pay for it. Likewise, if you don’t like the customer, you can just ignore them.