HELP: RADIATOR INLET LEAKING!!

[Ventura SRT-10]

Hey guys..... I replaced my radiator hose's with JMB hard radiator pipes awhile back and recently my truck is leaking and squirting coolant very rapidly from the upper pipe where it connects to the radiator inlet. It appears as if the inlet has a small dent in the rim of it where the pipe connects. Im not sure but my uneducated guess by looking at it is that the radiator pipe got very hot and slightly warped a dent in the plastic inlet to the radiator. My question is can i buy a new inlet to put on the radiator or can I fix it some how without having to buy a new radiator???? That would be very costly and doesnt make much sense to me as the radiator works but just has a defective inlet. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated, thanks!

 

[breederofkoi]

Hey guys..... I replaced my radiator hose's with JMB hard radiator pipes awhile back and recently my truck is leaking and squirting coolant very rapidly from the upper pipe where it connects to the radiator inlet. It appears as if the inlet has a small dent in the rim of it where the pipe connects. Im not sure but my uneducated guess by looking at it is that the radiator pipe got very hot and slightly warped a dent in the plastic inlet to the radiator. My question is can i buy a new inlet to put on the radiator or can I fix it some how without having to buy a new radiator???? That would be very costly and doesnt make much sense to me as the radiator works but just has a defective inlet. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated, thanks!

The cheapest thing to try would be to get ahold of LG-6 or LG-7 gasket material and smear it around the rim of the inlet (I use for cold leaks on cooling and hydraulic systems in construction machinery)... I cannot say for certain that it will hold without seeing what your talking about, but everything that I've used it on has worked so far. Your local radiator shop may be able to put a new tank on your radiator for ya which will cost ya more, but probably still cheaper than purchasing a whole new radiator. Or you could try to find a radiator at a salvage yard. Few suggestions for ya.

 

[ZCx]

or ya could try some JB Weld in the low spot. use it like bondo & sand down to a smooth surface

 

[RAMDUDE]

Hey guys..... I replaced my radiator hose's with JMB hard radiator pipes awhile back and recently my truck is leaking and squirting coolant very rapidly from the upper pipe where it connects to the radiator inlet. It appears as if the inlet has a small dent in the rim of it where the pipe connects. Im not sure but my uneducated guess by looking at it is that the radiator pipe got very hot and slightly warped a dent in the plastic inlet to the radiator. My question is can i buy a new inlet to put on the radiator or can I fix it some how without having to buy a new radiator???? That would be very costly and doesnt make much sense to me as the radiator works but just has a defective inlet. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated, thanks!

mine did the same thing.

more than once, pulled the powder coated one off, and it's fine now. I don't know if there was a small piece of powdercoating in the pipe causing it to leak a tad.

but on the way to the car show, it came all the way off. lost 2 gallons of antifreeze.

 

[JTS VENOM PERFORMANCE]

go buy a can of plastic dip, the liquid not the spray,

remove the radiator pipe

clean and sand the end of the rad pipe with 320 grit

then take the plasti dip , and put a good handfull or so of sand into the plasti dip

take and dip the end of the rad pipe into the plasti dip until you have a good thick coat

let it dry for a couple days especially if left in a cold enviroment

do the same on the end of the radiator outlet.

this will give you some material on the rad to take up space but also the grit will let it get a good bit on the rad and the pipe itself, the key is letting it dry and giving it a rough surface to grab to

not sure if it will work on your damaged outlet, but it should, jsut be careful sliding it alltogether.

you may even use a slight amount of wd 40, we have done this a number of times with the hard pipes with great success, good luck and happy holidays

 

[Ventura SRT-10]

Ok guys I appreciate all the tips and advice from every one! but Im not sure if the advice will work as today I took off the pipe to see how bad the inlet actually was and rather then being a slight indent like I thought one side of the inlet is folded inward pretty bad like a taco. So I added some pic's with this reply so hopefully you guys can tell me what you think cause Im going threw about 2 gallons of coolant every 2 days!


This pic shows the damage the best!



With the pipe attached in this pic you can barely see a indent but when off it is alot worse!

 

[ZCx]

man

other than a heat gun to maybe get it back round, a new tank???

torque on the clamp on the tank necks should be bout 50 to 90 in. lbs

 

[Ventura SRT-10]

Yeah, one day the pipe poped right off the inlet and coolant dumped all over the place so I tightend up the clamp really tight so it wouldnt pop off again but I probably effed up the inlet! Do you have a rough idea of what a tank would run??

 

[ZCx]

not right off.

there is a possibilty that there might be one. then be back to a radiator

 

[Slitherbeast]

Try the heat gun idea. warm it up abit and re-round the end. try to find an insert to help maintain round while it cools. Looks like the hardpipe manufacturer should have supplied an insert for the inlet tube

 

[yellowfever#154]

Hot damn, you got a little aggressive with the torque on the clamp. If I was you I would get one if Tonys aluminum rads.

 

[MdSrt-10]

Just a couple of observations:
1) The original setup has a rubber hose connecting to the radiator; the JMB setup has a rubber hose connecting to the radiator. Now, speaking from the point of reference being the connection to the radiator, unless the hose from the JBM setup is _larger_ than the "factory" one, it would appear that the same basic components, connected in the same manner (hose clamped to radiator inlet) there should be no issues.
2) From your 4th picture the hose was connected at the tip of the the radiator inlet pipe end (obviously there is not enough strength in the inlet pipe to support the force applied by the clamp). I took a picture of my factory original setup and the hose is approximately 1 1/2 in longer with the clamping force being applied well rearward on the inlet pipe (you can see in the pic I attached, the clamp is "inside the line" drawn by the fan shroud). This means that the JMB setup _shorted_ you on the rubber hosing for that connection.

http://s1091.photobucket.com/albums/i392/hwforsberg/?action=view&current=factoryconnection.jpg

I was going to get one of these setups, but if there is a flaw in the product over and above my observations, please let me know.

 

[ralphie]

My issues with this

I too, also bought the JMB hard top radiator hose, and it popped off at the thermostat housing or at the rad. inlet, about 3 times. Each time I tried tightening the clamps a little harder, and even tried using sealer around each end. The hard hose itself, was about 1 inch to short, and the clamp was being tightened, on the radius of the hard pipe. After getting that additional inch welded on, and re-powdercoated, I havent had any issues at all and love this set-up. :dontknow::dontknow:

 

[RAMDUDE]

I too, also bought the JMB hard top radiator hose, and it popped off at the thermostat housing or at the rad. inlet, about 3 times. Each time I tried tightening the clamps a little harder, and even tried using sealer around each end. The hard hose itself, was about 1 inch to short, and the clamp was being tightened, on the radius of the hard pipe. After getting that additional inch welded on, and re-powdercoated, I havent had any issues at all and love this set-up. :dontknow::dontknow:

Yes, you have to have placement just right. mine held on for months, and than 1 day it started to spray a bit, re tight, and it came off.

I gave up

 

[Brat]

I have JMBs hard rad.pipes on my truck for almost four years now with no problems.

 

[FastRam]

Try using a longer hose to move the rad clamp further up towards the rad?

 

[Ventura SRT-10]

Just a couple of observations:
1) The original setup has a rubber hose connecting to the radiator; the JMB setup has a rubber hose connecting to the radiator. Now, speaking from the point of reference being the connection to the radiator, unless the hose from the JBM setup is _larger_ than the "factory" one, it would appear that the same basic components, connected in the same manner (hose clamped to radiator inlet) there should be no issues.
2) From your 4th picture the hose was connected at the tip of the the radiator inlet pipe end (obviously there is not enough strength in the inlet pipe to support the force applied by the clamp). I took a picture of my factory original setup and the hose is approximately 1 1/2 in longer with the clamping force being applied well rearward on the inlet pipe (you can see in the pic I attached, the clamp is "inside the line" drawn by the fan shroud). This means that the JMB setup _shorted_ you on the rubber hosing for that connection.

factoryconnection.jpg picture by hwforsberg - Photobucket





I was going to get one of these setups, but if there is a flaw in the product over and above my observations, please let me know.

The factory hose goes over the radiator inlet where as the JMB hard pipe does not go over the inlet so it comes with a rubber hose like sleeve that fits over the pipe and over the rad. inlet but doesnt go as far back/over the inlet as the stock hose does so this creates a small space between the rad. inlet and the pipe. So yes in my opinion the sleeve is to short. ( Hope this helped and I didnt confuse you.)

 

[Ventura SRT-10]

Try using a longer hose to move the rad clamp further up towards the rad?

Thats a good idea man, I was actually thinking this exact thing earlier today. I have my old hose,I was going to try and cut it to make a longer sleeve then the JMB one came with so that it would cover more of the inlet closer to the radiator to cover the damaged part of the inlet. (just like you are saying.... great minds think alike!)

 

[JMB Justin]

Im sorry to hear a couple of guys have had problems with this. Due to differences in installation and differences between trucks, some trucks may need a longer sleeve it looks like. If anyone is having or has had this problem, please contact me at [email protected] and I can send out a longer sleeve section. The pipes are made off of a tempate, not just guessed at or off sight. With the radiator being plastic, care must be taken to locate the clamps on the sleeve properly and not tighten too tight.
Justin

 

[rare03srt10]

Im sorry to hear a couple of guys have had problems with this. Due to differences in installation and differences between trucks, some trucks may need a longer sleeve it looks like. If anyone is having or has had this problem, please contact me at [email protected] and I can send out a longer sleeve section. The pipes are made off of a tempate, not just guessed at or off sight. With the radiator being plastic, care must be taken to locate the clamps on the sleeve properly and not tighten too tight.
Justin

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