Coolant Tank Fix (JB Weld)

De-marko

De-marko

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VC KS./sticks
I know I know I'll get harassed for this, but desperate times call for desperate measures. :p

Well, a posted a while ago about my car over heating on the highway and then mysteriously would go back to normal in less than 5 minutes. I checked and checked for leaks but never found anything.

For the last week or so I started seeing dripping under the car where the tank is, nothing fast, but would have to put a bit of water in every other day. However, today I get home from work and there is a small stream of water dripping at a high rate from the coolant tank area. So I pull the tank off and find a couple hairline cracks along the edge. I scuffed the whole area really well with a rotary wire brush and then used the JB Weld.

So far so good, but it probably won't hold long with the heat and pressure, but it is worth a shot. Guess I'll be online with RockAuto soon.

TANK.jpg
 
Looks like you wiped a turd with the degas bottle.
 
We (just screwing around) tried to fix a leaky hose with electrical tape.. Lets just say after 3 rolls of tape later, it was still leaking.. So that probably isn't the best way.. I wonder if Epoxy would hold well under those conditions.. The plastic Epoxy has a 2500 PSI burst strength..
 
My buddy blew a rad hose on his beater jeep, i just took it off and wrapped the Whole thing like 6 times and it held. It's been like 3 months and he has Been dding it
 
So the problem will be the tank expands and contracts - albeit just a tiny bit. But any movement will break the JB Weld off, because it's not flexible.
But, hey, if it holds for a week until you get the part, then that's better than not having a car!

Also, FWIW, the Dorman bottle is MUCH thinner plastic than the OEM. The OEM also comes with the large hose and the bleed hose but no cap, while the dorman only comes with the cap.
 
Yeah, Oddball that's what I'm afraid of.

Well that is good to know on the parts. I saw the Dorman price was around $62-$67 from RockAuto or a vendor on Ebay. I called the local Ford dealer and they have one in stock but it runs $150. :rolleyes:

I like the quality of OEM parts, but the tempation of the cheaper always ends up in the deciding factor...especially when it's a part like this. On the other hand the tank was leaking so fast that it has worried me that it might just blow when I'm on the highway. So instead of waiting for the part in the mail, to be safe, I should just buy the Ford part.

*I used to indecisive, but now I'm not sure.* :lol:
 
You can also call Max at Five Star Ford for the LVC discount and good shipping rates. Might end up a bit better than the local dealer.
 
Early Corvettes used a filler tank that's made of aluminum. I've thought for some time that it might make sense to dig out the unused one I have stashed and see what it would take to make it fit. (When I bought it I paid about $20 for it.)

An alternative might well be to get a 'hot-rod' piece---often called a 'puke-tank'---available in classic-type HR magazines.

KS
 
The tank on rockauto works fine for me.

I think either tank will eventually fail. Which means unless you are driving your LS for a longggggg time. Then the savings on the non-oem tank are worth it.
 
We should contact someone to see if they could fab up some aluminum tanks for us.

Would probably need a lot of orders though.
 
Let me do one thing at a time.. Most of my plastic cooling parts will be replaced with the SC anyways.. So it would just make sense to replace that too.. :rolleyes:
 
Well......the patch lasted approximately 104.9 miles and that is about 6 heating and cooling cycles. Oh well, as we figured it didn't hold. :rolleyes:
 
You show take a blowtorch to it and try to melt the cracks together.
 
as far as the OEM being better quality...

the OEM one sure needs to be replaced a lot, is not necessarily about the thickness of the plastic, but it resistance to cracking when heated up and expanding a lot over time that is more important, and the thinner plastic MAY actually be more flexible.
 
All you would have to do is rough it up a bit. then the silicone would expand and contract with the crack.
 
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