[Jono 757]

hey guys, ive only recently got my patrol. its an 03 model 4.2tdi leafy ute. ive been slowly doing some mods to it, ive got a 3 inch straight through exhaust, autometer boost and pyro installed and the fuel and boost wound up a bit. just the other day i was blocking off the egr, made up the plate all sweet and i was just bolting the intercooler back on (so i was sitting ontop of the radiator) and i accidentaly sat on the little plastic tube coming out of the radiator for the coolant overflow pipe -.- so now im up for about $350 for a top tank. so something that should have cost me nothing ended up going to cost me over $300. that will slow me down for other mods i need to do. just thought i would vent haha

 

[shorty92]

hey guys, ive only recently got my patrol. its an 03 model 4.2tdi leafy ute. ive been slowly doing some mods to it, ive got a 3 inch straight through exhaust, autometer boost and pyro installed and the fuel and boost wound up a bit. just the other day i was blocking off the egr, made up the plate all sweet and i was just bolting the intercooler back on (so i was sitting ontop of the radiator) and i accidentaly sat on the little plastic tube coming out of the radiator for the coolant overflow pipe -.- so now im up for about $350 for a top tank. so something that should have cost me nothing ended up going to cost me over $300. that will slow me down for other mods i need to do. just thought i would vent haha

You should be able to solder that back on i would of thought, If not at least you know the radiator wont need changing later.

 

[Jono 757]

its plastics, i have sickaflexxed it back on there for now. yeh thats the only good thing about the situation

 

[FIRSTGU]

Got a mate who did the same thing, just glued it back on and made sure hose is pushed on as far as possible.

 

[Fat Guts]

Milk crates are your friend.

Actually a fully inflated tyre is good to stand on, plenty of grip & won't topple over if on it's side.

 

[ITS A FORD NOT A NISSAN]

could always tap a thread into the plastic and screw in a brass fitting with some sealant

 

[Jono 757]

yeh i been thinking of that, only thing is it snapped off flush with the radiator, so some is still in the radiator housing and some in the hose

 

[BeNos]

mmm id try to bodge it up before i paid that. especially for a top tank. we normally get em done thru work if you pull out the rad for like 150 or so.
there is even a product called q bond. and they recommend it for radiater repairs. and being low pressure overflow id dare say it would be more than adequate. id try that first

 

[Jono 757]

yeh thanks guys, i think im going to try fix it first before replacing. thats what i thought too, being only low pressure aslong as its not leaking it should be right.

 

[Troys 5.7 GU]

Mate I feel for ya. I did the same thing when fitting my dual battery. But I had the radiator rodded and new top tank fitted for $170.
Good luck

 

[dronus4x4]

I did exactly the same thing when putting my intercooler cover back on.

As i didn't know the condition of the radiator (it was original) i opted to pay a little bit more and replace the whole kit and kaboodle. Piece of mind for the trips im planning. Figured that the radiator would need cleaning and rodding anyway, and being an 01 it was likely to need some lovin.

Silly plastic thingy..

 

[Knight]

Rad weld

If you have an electric soldering iron you can weld the spigot back in. Get the spigot out of the hose you may have to use a craft knife to cut back the hose a bit. Get the iron real hot and clean off the solder on it. Very carefully melt the plastic of the rad and the spigot and push them together.(practice on a food container 1st. Punch a hole in it and repair it) Dont go more than halfway into the thickness of the plastic. After you get it fixed into place rub down just around the repair with sand paper to roughen it then use a 2 part adhesive like Araldite and build up around the spigot. (there a types for specific uses so get the right one) You can build it up a bit thicker if you wrap some masking tape around it to stop the adhesive running down the Rad.If its a bit lumpy when you've done just file carefully it where necessary. Push the hose back on as far as it will go when set. I have used this method to fix many plastic objects even ones that are hot and under pressure in use.
I hope this helps.

 

[truckster]

Personally I'd just get it fixed properly.. Its $300 not $30,000.

300 for peace of mind that it aint going to **** itself and cook ya donk while your wheeling some gnarly hill that your 0 interested in lookin at gauges dont see it gettin H and BOOM.. Pass thanks.

 

[chuckles]

Yeah I ran the gauntlet for a couple of weeks until I got some cash together. Bought the new tank. Nizzbits on here hooked me up. Can't remember it being that much though, was more like $250

 

[dawsey]

on a side note what benifits will you receive by blocking this egr on a 4.2 intercooled .

 

[R0cket]

Mine broke the same as you describe but it happened while I was driving. Toyed wth the idea of bodging something up, but think about the consequences of it letting go!
I took the opportunity to replace the whole rad with an aluminium one. No more broken plastic tanks for me!

 

[Jono 757]

yeh, i think i might just leave it bodged up for now till i can save my money. im thinking bout going full alloy radiator now, might just price up a few and go from there.

 

[THE FERRET]

hey guys, ive only recently got my patrol. its an 03 model 4.2tdi leafy ute. ive been slowly doing some mods to it, ive got a 3 inch straight through exhaust, autometer boost and pyro installed and the fuel and boost wound up a bit. just the other day i was blocking off the egr, made up the plate all sweet and i was just bolting the intercooler back on (so i was sitting ontop of the radiator) and i accidentaly sat on the little plastic tube coming out of the radiator for the coolant overflow pipe -.- so now im up for about $350 for a top tank. so something that should have cost me nothing ended up going to cost me over $300. that will slow me down for other mods i need to do. just thought i would vent haha

That'd be right, I did exactly the same thing, snapped it off.
I sourced a new top tank and seal, swapped the tanks over and no dramas since.Gave me a chance to rod the radiator out also.
$180 all up.

 

[peterowensbabs]

Ok I have done the same thing. Regardless as to what people say the ABS glass reinforced plastic used in the top tanks does not tap well ($60 worth of 1/8th BSp taps later I know) It also does not like being plastic welded esp with a soldering iron as the styrene burns out of the plastic leaving it even more brittle. Oodles of spooge / sikaflex / silacone / epoxy / whatever will hold pressure for a while but will let go eventually. I ended buying a new radiator even though I was trading the car the next week. Dident fancy loosing the deal by being stuck on Parramatta road with a boiled out block.Cost me $450. Another design flaw on the ZD30.