my radiator has the outlet for the heater hose, its a 3/4" od piece of aluminum tubing. Its not used, and since new has been capped with rubbed caps, clamped on. I have had to change the cap 3 time over the years because they start to crack and leak.

Happened again today, good thing i ounly took a short drive and it didnt completely blow off, would have made a real mess.

anyway, aside from pulling the radiator and having the hole welded up, are there any better ways to plug/cap this opening?

 

You can get a brass plug of the corresponding pipe thread, usually 1/2" I think, dab a little pipe dope on there and call it a day.

 

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/PRS-1022/?rtype=10

 

um, no its not that simple

its just a piece of tube stickout of the radiator, with a rubber cap on it, its not a threaded connection, nor is the tubing thick enough to try to thread. Its made so you can slide a piece of hearer hose over it and clamp it on. essentially a barbed connection

 

then get the right radiator for your application, or put another plug on there for the next couple years. Seems simple enough

 

kind of a smart *** remark huh?

it IS the right radiator, they all have that connection, but i think the newer ones can be had with a threaded connection and a real threaded cap. Not plunking down $200+ on another radiator because of this.

maybe read my post, i have been changing the plug over the years and its getting to be a PITA. Looking for a different solution if there is one, hence the post

this one, note the rubber cap by the radiator cap
http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/51904/10002/-1

 

It's not rocket science dude, smart *** post gets a smart *** remark. Tried to help ya, I'm not the one leakin' coolant.

 

are you for real? the hell is wrong with you? i make a simple post, looking for a ALTERNATIVE to the rubber cap, if there is one, and you come in with an attitude? Its not rocket science, its a simple question, which needs a simple answer, like "no", or "your beat, gotta weld it", or "yeah this "x" will work..."

 

You can do the brass plug and epoxy it in the radiator tube. As long as you dont leave a pinhole it should hold fine.

 

i was wondering about using epoxy of some kind, i guess it could work as long as it can hold the pressure and with the expansion/contracting of the aluminum and not come shooting out.

 

2 part epoxy is some pretty strong stuff. It should hold up fine.

 

Have you considered trying a bolt plug ?
I believe you can get them all the way down to 1/4".

 

Would you/have you considered taking your rad to a shop to have a cap(Alum) welded on? It would make your rad bullet proof!

 

I wonder, does epoxy allow any flex, or does it harden up like a rock? If not, I would think it WOULD crack over time with expansion/contracting.

 

Thats a good question. All the epoxies Ive used are rock hard when cured. Maybe they make some that flex?

 

could cut a piece of heater hose off then get a brass plug to fit into the hose and 2 clamps and done not sure if your wanting a clean look or not but that'll work done it a couple times before on cars

 

yes, thats the ultimate solution, but i dont want to tear the radiator and everything out right now, i will sooner or later for other reasons, for now i just need a better temporary fix

 

thats the other fix, and would last longer than these crappy plugs that i just bought more of, but i need it to look decent, and unfortunatly thats just not it.

 

im sure it would eventually fail. OE radiators are epoxies together and they are fine, but the epoxy is not used in a 3/4" think blob either.

 

86 figured you were looking for neatness we do that to customers cars that arent looking for neatness lol some people don't care good luck on fixing that

 

Have you tried browsing the plumbing and irrigation aisles at hardware stores? There are caps for a variety of piping systems.

Here's a "flexible" pvc cap with a clamp. It's similar to what you've been using, but these are for heavy-duty applications. They can be used as permanent caps on piping under pressure, so it shouldn't blow apart like that cheap rubber cap does. Unfortunately, the sizes online are too big, but maybe there are smaller sizes in the store.
http://www.homedepot.com/Building-Ma...atalogId=10053

Or here's a 3/4" cap for pvc pipe used for irrigation systems.
http://www.homedepot.com/Building-Ma...atalogId=10053

If you've never assembled a pvc sprinkler system, the pieces are "solvent welded" together. I don't know how snuggly that cap will fit over the nipple in the radiator, but if it's a tight fit(the tighter, the better), then slather the outside of the nipple with the weld product(glue, similar to one-part epoxy), then slide the cap over it. Then hit the cap with some flat black paint(or paint it first).

This holds-up to the extreme pressures of sprinkler and plumbing systems, so it would withstand the pressure of a coolant system. But there's no going back... once you slide that cap on, the only way to get it off would be to cut-off the nipple, itself, because that weld product melts the parts together, so the cap and the pipe would, literally, become 'one.'

Or cutting-off the nipple is another idea, cutting it as flush to the radiator as possible, maybe even sanding down the leftover edge after you cut it off. Then it seems like you should be able to find some kind of petcock/draincock, valve, etc., to "bolt" through the hole to close it off. This would probably be the cleanest-looking way to go, if such a fitting exists.

So checkout a hardware store, a large one, or even a "mom-and-pop" store; it might be worth the trip. Seeing all the different parts in person might help you configure something in your mind that would work.

 

try the heater hose with a chrome nipple and cap. Should be almost pretty and will last a long time.
Cut a short piece of heater hose, insert the pipe nipple inside. Cap the end of the nipple. Secure with two hose clamps.

3/8 " nipple will be 5/8" O.D, buy some rubber high voltage electrical tape, wrap the nipple to achieve the 3/4" of the heater hose I.D.

A 1/2" nipple would be 7/8" O.D. , maybe the heater hose will stretch ...

Either way you would have a few inches of heater hose with a chrome cap on the end.



PVC or fernco caps are not made for the temp of coolant.

 

I just looked at my radiator this morning. That nipple has threads on the inside and a plastic plug with an o-ring is used to seal the tube.
Check if your's is threaded inside, maybe that plug is a dealer item.

 

its not a factory radiator, i posted a link further up the page

for now i just popped another crappy rubber cap on it.

buuuut, i did pickup a slightly larger ID cap, so the ridge on the tube off the radiator does not stretch the cap as badly. maybe this will keep that spot from cracking