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Redneck Engineering saves the day (again)...


RowdyRebel

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Good news: Found my coolant leak.

The metal pipe from the lower radiator was rubbing on a tab on the side of the engine block. It was dented & a hole knocked in it...thus the leak.

Bad news: I had a run to make.

...and it was going to be a mediocrely decent day. Nothing to write home about, but profitable nonetheless.

Good news: I had stuff laying around that could be put to good use...namely 1/2 tube of ultra-black RTV, an old blown-out piece of hose, some zip ties, a bungee cord, and a shop rag.

Smeared the RTV on the scrap piece of hose & wrapped it around the pipe. Zip ties (120 lb break strength...the good ones) held it in place & clamped it tight. The bungee wraps around the hose and frame rail to keep the hose off the tab on the side of the engine that caused the leak in the first place. The shop rag? Put that on just to be a visual indicator as to whether or not it was still leaking when I'd check it during the day...dry rag = happy me.

Haven't lost a drop since. Debating if I should pull it off and try to weld a patch on or just leave it since "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" seems to be a good general rule. I suppose I'll put a magnet on it tomorrow...if it sticks, I'll fire up the welder...if not, I'll leave it as is 'til I can get a new pipe.

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When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way!
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...and no duct tape was involved in this fix-it project. But-

"Besides the new pipe will just rub a hole in it any way." If you put a new pipe on it you could wrap some duct tape around it where it was rubbing.

Producer of poorly photo-chopped pictures since 1999.

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The problem with duct tape on this particular "fix" is the nature of the tape itself. With little room to work, wrapping the tape neatly around the pipe would have presented a problem since the tape would be sticking to itself and everything else, thereby reducing it's effectiveness. On top of that, the pipe was leaking at the time and duct tape really doesn't stick too well to wet surfaces without extra care in it's application which just wasn't possible given the space constraints I was working with.

When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way!
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