Coolant "Y" Pipe & Bypass Pipe woes continue

[Ed_Strong]

I'm at a point were I'm seriously considering eliminating those pipes from the cooling system altogether. Now, where I'm located I have no need for heating which will save me the mony, time and work of having to keep replacing this pipes, and as an added bonus, could also help on saving money on blend door actuator replacements... LOL

Has anybody attempted this with success or give me any reasons why I should not to do it? Thanks for the help in advance!

[12Ounce]

Remind us again, what is the nature of your problem? Can you not find replacement parts?

I need heat in my unit to control misting windows and snarling wives (I only have one!). But I have added a manual close-off valve in one of the heater hoses for hot weather use. Shutting off the flow through the heater coil causes no surprises.

[Ed_Strong]

Well, I'm just tired of this pipes rusting from the inside and having pin holes every 30 to 50K miles. So I just figure why keep replacing them when I don't even need/use the heat. Unless of course the engine needs them in place as a design for proper coolant flow.

[12Ounce]

I run my coolant very rich in anti-freeze, year round, to minimize corrosion. An occasional dose of baking soda also seems to help.
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But even so, I also have replaced that tube once ... if I remember correctly. How would you seal up the hole in the lower manifold?
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... anyway the engine will never miss the flow if you shut it off.

[Ed_Strong]

I never knew you could add backing soda to the coolant, wish I would've known that little detail earlier. I've always heard about NOT running a rich antifreeze mixture so I've always kept it closer to 50/50 but always around at using more coolant that water to be on the safe side.
I'm seriously considering deleting the whole heater system. The crossover pipe part that goes into the lower manifold it of a much heavier steel than the rest of the Bypass pipe, so I figure I can just cut the thin pipe leaving just the heavier stub with the "O" ring in place and fill it with JB Weld blocking the flow. The metal "Y" pipe that goes into the water pump is a different story because it's made of all thin metal, so I have not decided on how to best plug the flow permanently.

[12Ounce]

That whole intake manifold design is just a mess on the 3.8. When I look at Ford's later Vee design engines ... such as the 5.0 V8... I almost get mad over the improvement.
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Anyhow, we have what we have, ... if I were to explore the scheme of shutting of the flow; I think I would just remove the lower intake manifold and explore the chance of cutting female pipe threads into that tubing hole. If that works, one could explore just using a flush pipe plug .... OR, using regular pipe fittings ... go immediately to hose and get ride of tubing. All depends if there is vertical room for such.
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.... you could always go by a shop that does head repair and get the hole plugged up with weld as a fall-back plan.

[12Ounce]

....or a off-the-shelf expandable block plug might fit the hole. That would be lucky.

[12Ounce]

I always add a couple of tablespoons of baking soda to my car's radiator fills ... helps keep acid at bay. I'm hesitant to recommend to others, however.

[Ed_Strong]

Oh plugging the heater hoses is not a problem at all... My main concern was actually disturbing the coolant flow to the engine itself by changing the design... ie like creating higher pressures than the 16 PSi the system is designed to take, or the modification creating a new way for air pockets in the system that would not be able to allow burping them out by eliminating those pipes.
That's why I wanted to know if anybody had successfully done this before.

[Ed_Strong]

I know what you mean about the intake manifold.... it is a mess (IMRC, EGR Passages, Isolator Bolts, horrible PCV system) I'm really not fond of Fords anymore.

[12Ounce]

Originally Posted by Ed_Strong

......I'm really not fond of Fords anymore.

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Go take a spin in a new Mustang with the flat crank V8 ... or the new RWD Explorer with the wheel spinner. You'll find a renewed fondness!

[Ed_Strong]

Originally Posted by 12Ounce

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Go take a spin in a new Mustang with the flat crank V8 ... or the new RWD Explorer with the wheel spinner. You'll find a renewed fondness!

Nah...!!!
I'm done with them.
Thanks for the offer tho!

[wiswind]

WOW!....I did change that pipe that passes through the intake manifold mess because of the posts I saw here.......but ONLY because I was in there anyhow to deal with the lower intake manifold gaskets. It is NOT normal for them to be going out multiple times over a vehicles lifetime. Something is just not right there. Not that I doubt that it is happening.
As coolant ages, it can become acidic....which is what brings the baking soda into the picture. I don't have my '96 anymore....but I DID do a very thorough flush of the system and change over to the yellow G05 type coolant. Not that there is anything wrong with the Green that was in there from the factory. I just wonder what is causing the pipe to fail so fast in this particular vehicle?

[12Ounce]

To my novice eye, the tubing material looks extremely thin and vulnerable ...

[wiswind]

Yes.....it was thin on my '96 and I had seen posts of it failing, so while I was in there.........
The other end had a "quick" connect with the nylon clips that get brittle....
I replaced that mess with a simple hose clamp......which lasted for years after the repair.
I am thinking that one could put some sort of "Y" substitute in there and route a length of heater hose on a route that avoids rubs & hots to the heater connection. Then plug the holes in the lower intake manifold and call it a day.