Driving back form a short vacation Sunday, we pull up to a stop sign in
the van, and steam is coming form the hood. Not good. So we turn right
and right again into a baptist church lot. They were still in service.
So I pop the hood, and look around. no blown hoses, no signs of
radiator busted, but antifreeze is running out of the hood insulation.
No signs of the source of water. So i got a ride back to a dollar
general, buy some water. Meantime, the church lets out, and some guys
come over to try to he'p. one has a jug of water. so in goes the water
and start the engine. no leak. He tells 'em to rev the engine...
antifreeze spraying out of a prastic Y for the heater hoses. another guy
has a roll of duct tape.
There is a oreally open on New year's day, about 5-6 miles away.
meanwhile I get a call at the DG, explaining where the leak was. Well,
I was right that with more water we could find the leak. So i got a
roll of duct tape, some super seal glue, and the water. When I got back
the guy had taped up the Y and everyone had left. I smeared the
superseal glue all over the tape and hoses. We drove on cautiously into
town. Made it. added some water. that oreally didn't have the Y but
wanted to sell me a $90 Y with 2 1' long hoses and a 4" long hose, and 3
clamps. a "better" sale for the store than a $1 Y for $11. Another one
down the road did have the Y so we drove on there. by then the water
level in the overflow/supply bottle had stabilized. I bought the Y, and
decided to head "home" about 60-70 miles away. made it. I am
convinced the "superseal" made the difference.
Once home, in between torrential rains, i sliced the old clamps with the
dremel, pulled off the hoses. The prastic Y crumbled. 40-50 years ago
we had nylon Ys that were durable. this thing was somekind of styrene
filled with ground fiberglass or crud, with walls only 1 to 1.5 mm
thick. it crumbled in my hand.
I installed the new prastic Y and decided not to waste antifreeze yet.
Put in water. I found a brass Y from china on freebay for $5.80, so I
will order that. When it gets here on the boat, I will put that in and
only then put in the new G-05. the G-05 lost was only 21 months old.
Now the van is on the downside of being a decade old, and out of
warranty, but being stranded due to a cheep chinee prastic part is
un-excusable!
<rant> WHY CAN"T THESE CLOWNS USE A TOUGH NYLON Y IN PLCE OF THIS
BRITTLE CHEAP CHINEE PRASTIC CRAP? </rant>
Anyone know a lawyer who wants to start a class action against the auto
makers for cheaping out on cheap parts? People in this country die
because a car or pickup breaks down. all the airbags do know good if
your car or you is F.O.R.D. !!!
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