Radiator question!

[natehale88]

Hey I took my radiator out yesterday to repair a leak and the nipple that is on the upper passenger side going from rad to overflow tank broke off . Would it be bad to just cap it off? Or do I need to buy a 140$ radiator for just that one nipple? I thought it was just a return line for if it overheated? I am going to try and water-weld it on but we will see if that holds.. Any ideas? Thanks!

[pocket-rocket]

I've seen new plastic radiator end tanks on Rockauto.com. Although it would be interesting to try to uncrimp the old one and crimp the new one in place without it leaking. Maybe a radiator shop has a good idea, or could replace the end tank for you.

[natehale88]

Ya.. I dont even want to mess with the whole recapping the plastic because I hear it leaks. I just need to know if my radiator will blow up or overheat if I just cap it off or try and epoxy it on. I included a pic.. its the little line from the overflow tank that just goes into the radiator

[2.8-350TBI]

You may wanna try to epoxy it first...
If that doesn't work, take it to a rad shop...

They will know how to help you

[natehale88]

Is it essential tho? I mean the car has 300k so if I can just delete it I will. What is it and what exactly does it do?

[pocket-rocket]

It's the port where excess coolant goes into your tank and where coolant is suctioned back into the cooling system when your engine cools down. I wouldn't delete it, but that's me.

[natehale88]

I just capped it off.. too much of a pain trying to epoxy it.. Will my car overheat or blow a line or anything?

[pocket-rocket]

Technically your cap is supposed to keep it from blowing. I'm not sure what it will do with the overflow capped off if it can't puke all over the ground since the tank isn't there to catch it. It might still puke it through the cap, but then it won't have anything to draw back in when it cools down. I would keep an eye on your coolant level the next few days as you drive it to make sure you don't go too low and overheat. It's a bad time of year to break down if you're in the North.

[geoffinbc]

I have tapped pipe threads into the plastic before and then installed a brass fitting with epoxy to make sure it never comes loose or leaks. I was afraid to use just teflon tape and tighten the fitting until it did not leak since it is tapered and would easily crack the old plastic. The repair is still in service and I think I did it about 5 or 6 years ago.