Jim-Bob Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 Morning All, Was having a nosey about under the bonnet of my series 3 the other day after a short drive (trying to pinpoint an oil leak but that’s another issue!), noticed spots of dark liquid around the radiator cap... Turns out the nipple under the radiator cap has come loose (the whole tube), so there is a gap around it and coolant must be escaping under pressure?! I checked the coolant last night having driven around some more, it has now dropped to the point where the tops of the cores are visible (will refill before any more trips out!), the expansion bottle has been about 90% full the whole time I’ve owned the truck, I guess this is because nothing can get drawn back to the tank as the nipple is broken and there the system is not sealed and air is going be drawn in over the coolant in the expansion bottle?! Does anyone know how far the nipple stick out into the neck of the radiator filler neck? Just wondering if I could get a new threaded nipple and fix in place to keep the system sealed and working for now, until I have time to refurbish the coolant system? I believe my rad is original, how would the nipple have been fixed originally? Looks to be made of copper or brass so I guess soldered or brazed in place? If a threaded nipple wouldn’t work could the original be reattached in some way as it would of been originally? Thanks in advance James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigj66 Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 I expect a radiator specialist should be able to resolder it for you. Can’t see it being a massive task but the rad will probably need to come out to do the job properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 It must be flush inside to allow the rad cap to be fitted - the pressure diaphragm won't fit past an intrusion. That pipe is not under positive pressure; any expanding coolant that gets past the cap diaphragm will be able to freely pass to the expansion bottle. As the engine cools, the coolant will be syphoned back into the rad under negative pressure. I had the same problem once and made a "temporary" repair with JB Weld that outlasted the rad core. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon White Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 Just soft soldered. Easy to do with a plumbers blowtorch and solder. Don’t bodge it with JB weld it’s easy to mend properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim-Bob Posted April 22, 2018 Author Share Posted April 22, 2018 Cheers guys! Will top the rad up and try soldering it up (can’t make it any worse as the tube can fall out at the moment!), done quite a bit of electrical soldering, none on pipework though... :s J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 You need a blow torch and plumber's solder and flux, not electrical soldering equipment. Hopefully stating the obvious... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim-Bob Posted April 22, 2018 Author Share Posted April 22, 2018 Haha, yes I’ve already got them in the basket ready to go! I guess the filler neck just needs a good wipe over and degrease and I’ll be good to go? Will attach a solder mat around the filler neck to keep the heat away from anything flammable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 Remember to check the pipe is clear afterwards. Should be easy to gently drill out if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim-Bob Posted April 29, 2018 Author Share Posted April 29, 2018 Update... Yesterday I set about tackling the problem, so this is how I found it the other day (truck hasn’t been used since my original post): I started scrubbing the years a grim away I’m away with a small wire brush to reveal that this is not the first time this has happened?! Shame a PO at some point has decided on the bodge route and used some sort of silicone based adhesive stuck to the outside of the filler neck?! With everything brushed/sanded back to bright brass I set about learning to solder...electrician playing plumber was never going to end well! First attempt ended with a lot of solder everywhere and the nipple fell out to top it all off! Cue second attempt (after clearing up the mess from the first attempt!) went more smoothly this time, has left me with a large lump of solder under the nipple but it’s also stopped it from potentially bend of snapping now though so I’ve left it be! Once everything was was tidied up with the help of wire wool and my Aldi dremel, then hoovered our to keep any more crud out of the rad, I set about topping the coolant up, about 1.2 litres it took?! :/ also empties the expansion tank down to around the 2” mark and it was over 6”! Ran the engine up to normal temperature, everything held fine and no sign of any coolant escaping as yet, will take it out for a drive today to test it under load and see how it fairs! Coolant dropped a little after running yesterday so will keep an eye on that today and just see if it was pushing air out from where the level had dropped?! James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim-Bob Posted April 29, 2018 Author Share Posted April 29, 2018 There’s loads more pictures to go with this, the Forum and my phone are clashing over upload sizes...let me know if any is doing the same thing and I’ll send them over! James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.