coolant pipe that runs under plenum

[Chris2007]

I need a new one. I also need to replace the uim gasket.

But at this present moment have neither the time nor place to do it.

This pipe intrigues me (for reasons other then it's spraying water - yes water. This is a 2nd hand vehicle). A hose off the thermal bypass pipe attaches to it, all for the pleasure of having it routed under the plenum, just to seemingly come out under it on the driver's side (and goes into the block?).

Therefore I wondered, although it's pretty tight in there, if it was possible to cut the pipe (underneath the throttle body - can you believe
what I'm contemplating! - and bypass it w/a rubber.hose? The possibility of pulling it off - OH DO I WANT TO PULL IT OFF - is a long shot even in my esstimation. What I'm wondering is if there's any unknown ancillary cooling purposes for this pipe, or, as best as I can determine looking at pictures in the Haynes manual, is it's sole purpose to join the bypass pipe to the block entry point?

Thanks in advance.

[sverker]

Do you mean this hose & pipe?


That is the bypass pipe, it goes to the thermostat body to let coolant flow when thermostat is closed. You will need to remove the upper manifold to get to it, what could be possible is to cut it at a good point past the leaking part and replace that with a hose.

[Chris2007]

So if you replace any part of that pipe w/rubber you can replace all of it w/rubber hose? And do I have to route it under the plenum?

I'd rather not have to pay for a premium gasket set just to have to redo it in a few months tops, just need to pop plenum up for now. So will any do it yourself gasket stuff be suitable for a while? I have some gray cardboardish stuff left over from a water pump I replace. If that or any other kind will last for a while, do I need to also use some type of rtv?

[Chris2007]

And if you didn't do an absolute 100 percent bang up job torquing down the bolts, what's the worst that could happen? I do have a cheap old asian torque wrench that I bought at Walmart years ago for about 30$.

[sverker]

Worst case is that you get a vacuum leak into the intake, at least there are no coolant channels through the upper manifold. Regarding the bolts, the risk is rather that you torque them too much without a proper wrench. The manifold is aluminum so it isn't that strong..

[Chris2007]

can that cause overheating? I completed this job last week. Was worried most about fuel leaking, but since there are millions of cars on the road w/o them, it only makes sense that those o rings do their job. I did/do have a bit of overheating the past few days though. It'll go all the way up, just below the red, then I pull over or just park the car. Was fine this morning though as far as I could tell.

[sverker]

Vacuum leaks don't cause overheating, at least not directly, but affects the engine control so that it can't give the right air/fuel mix which you usually notice by uneven operation, extensive fuel consumption and/or error codes

[Chris2007]

I can't believe I never told anyone how I got that stupid pipe in.

Well, I was desperate, so I figured I'd just "go crazy". What seemed desperate measures at the time were just what the doctor ordered.

I took my variable speed Black & Decker hand held drill (like a Dremel), turned the speed all the way down, and I skidded along - NOT THE ACTUAL DIAMETER OF THE PIPE, but rather just the beveled end that first contacts the hole. Didn't go nuts, just ran the low speed fiber disk along the edge at say 30 or so degrees (IOW the angle between the downward pointing pipe and the face of the fiber wheel). Ran it along there to ease insertion into the hole near the thermostat. Then put the pipe in place, and with an adjustable wrench closed around the diameter of the pipe, above the lip (obviously), and w/the tangs of a pittman arm separator set against the adjustable wrench, I wacked on the end of the pittman arm separator, between 4 and 6 times, and it was in!!!

You could also use a file in place of the drill. Just remove any resistance there might be to the pipe going into the hole. It is a pressure fit, that is after you remove any malformed areas on the end of the pipe due to previous failed attempts at getting it in (which seemed to be the case w/me anyway). The pipe isn't real thick, so don't go awol.

If you have any questions, or need help w/this repair DON'T PM ME, rather email me: dreyfusshudson( a t )yahoo( dot )com. I'll get back to you as soon as I can.