Restoring Rusty

[Ratman74]

I will have to give some specs when I get back home. I know it is a 4 core has plastic end tanks.

[Gregski]

man I gotta admit it was difficult getting motivated to work on the truck today, first of all it was the windiest day of the year, second, you all know how much we all love having to redo things we have already done, but hey it's Hot Roddin

so lets get acquainted with our new cheap radiator aka Mr. Cool, ... Rad Cool.

[Gregski]

and a bit closer and personal

well in all fairness the fitment was spot on, everything lined up, and installation was a breeze, only single knuckle damage!

[Gregski]

I did pressure test the bad aluminum one first before yanking it out, and I could not pump it up beyond 10 PSI (I was shootin' for 15 PSI as that's what the caps be rated at) anyway as soon as I would stop pumpin' the needle would head south, so in other words it would not hold pressure worth beans

[Gregski]

and the mandatory Stare & Compare

1. Original (lasted over 40 years, we think) I liked this one because it came without automatic transmission nipples ~ Smooth!

2. Aluminum $275 (lasted a year) I had to make sure they shipped me one without the automatic transmission nipples - Sa Mooth!

3. Cheap $114 (what do you expect, came with the ugly automatic transmission nipples, lol)

[Gregski]

just wanted to share some valuable follow up on the radiator leak issue with you all, so the next day after installing the new plastic radiator and driving it around for a bit I go to do a pressure test, and as soon as I reach 10 PSI I hear a hissing sound and see a tiny drizzle from the upper radiator hose at the filler on the radiator (driver side), ok, time to tighten my fancy shmancy T-bolt style clamp, I didn't Gorilla it originally as the rad has a plastic filler tube, didn't wanna crack it, so now I tighten it a bit more and repeat the pressure test, and it still leaks - gosh darn it I think, here we go again where I fall for the Form Over Function look, and it bites me as always

So I replace the fancy T-bolt style clamp with the cheap Hand Slicer type, and tighten it just a tiny bit snug, and start the pressure test again, 5 PSI... good, 10 PSI... good, and then all of a sudden I hear another hiss and hear coolant hitting the ground, what in the world is going on?

Well now the bottom fancy T-bolt on the passenger side Outlet is leaking, so I try and tighten that one a bit more snug, and repeat the test, and as soon as I get past 10 PSI it hisses back at me still and drizzles out some more fluid on the ground

Man, I go into my cheap Hand Slicer Hose Clamp (HSHC) stash and pull out another ugly / sharp dime a dozen hose clamp and replace that shinny T-bolt one with it, snag it up just a bit and repeat the pressure test again, 5 PSI... good, 10 PSI... good, 15 PSI still good

So there you have it gents, one defective T-bolt I can live with, but both doing the same thing and in the same spot of the T-bolt, right under where there actual bolt goes, tells me it's just a poor design or a defective batch of clamps

thought it was worth sharing, I also strongly stress you all investing in a Radiator Pressure Test kit, cause you know finding those leaks without one would have been tough and perhaps dangerous, if you was to go looking around a steaming hot radiator with naturally built up pressure

[Sik66]

Soooo......was the reason for the leak in the full alloy one from those clamps?....or cracked tube/tank?

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by Sik66

Soooo......was the reason for the leak in the full alloy one from those clamps?....or cracked tube/tank?

Great minds think alike, I had that same thought, and must test the aluminum radiator now outside the truck, hope I didn't make a $275 mistake, ha ha,

for the record I did pressure test the aluminum radiator before yanking it out and I did not hear any hissing from the rubber hoses nor see any leakage

... but first, guests, and Christmas, and stuff

[rusty76]

That’s crazy how they both were defective.

[hatzie]

Breeze-Liner Breeze 9420 Aero-Seal Liner Clamps fit 13/16" to 1-3/4". They cost around $15 for 10. Never bought onesies.
I use Breeze clamps sized for 2" OD rad hoses down to around 5/8" OD heater hoses on farm and construction machinery.
Unlike Ideal clamps the worm drive screw and slots can take proper torque without stripping the worm screw or tearing the worm housing off the clamp. The Breeze-liner clamps also have that thin liner tang that extends around the inside of the band past the worm slots to keep the hose from extruding through the clamp and loosening up. They aren't much more than the cheap Ideal stainless worm clamps.

[Gregski]

well the sun came out allowing me to test the aluminum radiator

I gotta tell you these expandable rubber freeze plugs if you will are indespensible for this type of testing

[Gregski]

and here is our Free Range Radiator Pressure Testing Facility FRRPTF

well no need to tell you, bubbles aint good, it leaks where the core meets the tank, but at least we did not buy a new(er) radiator for nothing

FYI - non of my local radiator shops say they weld aluminum, so if you were going to make that recommendation I am a bit dissapointed to let you know that

[SkinnyG]

Originally Posted by Gregski

FYI - non of my local radiator shops say they weld aluminum, so if you were going to make that recommendation I am a bit dissapointed to let you know that

Try a welding shop?

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by SkinnyG

Try a welding shop?

Thanks for the idea, I did and they would only TIG weld it if they could see / get at the crack easily, in this case it looks like the tank would have to come off, so I am up a creek paddle no!

No sweat boys, on to the next episode.

[rusty76]

In HVAC industry aluminum coils are hard to fix. Surely you could get it fixed but I have no ideas where to start.

[HunterRotten]

I got a mishimoto for mine, quality stuff with a lifetime warranty. just a thought for those of you browsing or for you, gregski.

[SkinnyG]

How about TIG weld in a tube - JB Weld!

Maybe you can fix it - you have nothing to lose. I mean, it's broken - you can't make it brokener.

[Gregski]

So it's been a year and just over 13,000 miles since Rusty became my daily driver. And over that time I put up with some noises and leaks, but it got me to work when I needed it. And allthough the car runs super strong and is tuned nearly to perfection, (second pic, lol) it's not all roses, champaign, and caviar.

[Gregski]

For those of you who have cured your insomnia by reading or attempting to read this entire thread, you will recall that we did rebuild this engine about 18 months ago, but there was no professional machining done to it, it was all blood sweat and beers in my own garage.

Having said that, I have performed a couple oil changes on it over the last year, and whilst checking the oil level a couple weeks ago I noticed this.

As my old co worker used to say, FEW PROBLEMS NOTHING MINOR!!!

[Gregski]

now before I get flooded with the blown Head Gasket comments, ha ha let me give you a bit of a background and bring you up to speed

I don't know when this problem started. I don't know if there was a problem before I rebuilt the engine.

The short block is an original '74 engine, the top end now has '99 Suburban Vortec L31 cylinder heads.

I did not drive the truck often enough when it was all original top and bottom end ie long block to tell you if my truck was running out of coolant then, I wish I knew.

Well I've been adding water/coolant to it on a weekly basis seems like about a quart each Sunday night to last me through the week, but again I don't know if I would have had to do that before rebuilding the engine.

Also, important to note that we can not tell where the coolant is going,

• there is nothing dripping below the truck
• there is no white smoke coming out the tailpipe

The truck runs strong and does NOT overheat, well not until it runs completely out of coolant.

[Gregski]

since I could not tell where the coolant was going, I decided to give one of them Engine Block Testers a shot

You rent this kit from AutoZone or some other parts house, and you buy the fluid at NAPA, the fluid don't come with the kit

The point of this test is to see if there are fumes in the coolant, this would would tell us if the coolant is making its way into the combustion chamber or exhaust chamber I think

You remove the radiator cap and stick the tube in the radiator and run the engine while pumping the rubber thingie to bring some fumes inside the tube, the blue fluid will turn yellow if there are fumes in the coolant.

[Gregski]

Well the Plot Thickens as the results were negative. I watched some YouTube videos of guys using this tester and seen the fluid turn yellow, mine did not.

This is why I told you all to hold your horses before saying Blown Head Gasket as that would have turned the fluid yellow, most likely. And trust me I would love for this to be just a blown head gasket, but I doubt it is.

[Gregski]

I was off today so I decided to do a pressure test on my radiator / cooling system.

I pumped up the pressure to 15 PSI (standard radiator cap threshold I've been told) and went to the gym.

Two hours later we recorded a 5 PSI drop, so no duh there is a coolant / pressure leak... but where the heck is it?

For The Record: I did a pressure test like this once before with the valve covers off thinking I would see some bubbles in the valve train but no such luck. I may try it again but this time put the pump in where the water temp sending unit goes in one of the heads, maybe try both heads instead of pumping it up in the radiator, hey, I'm desperate to find this leak!

[rusty76]

Well poot. When all seems well. I had an engine that always seemed to sweat in the valve covers. I never really figured it out honestly. The oil itself wasn’t a milkshake and the water level was always the same. Ghost condensation I guess. Bad PVC or something. Good luck and hope you get rusty back together safely and running good.

[peabobble]

I'd check the intake gaskets.