carmen142 Posted February 18, 2013 Report Posted February 18, 2013 Need to replace my water distribution tube. I have read that brass is better and will last longer than the metal one. My question is where can I get the brass one? Thanks Carmen Quote
Don Coatney Posted February 18, 2013 Report Posted February 18, 2013 Check with Vintage Power Wagons. They might or might not have one Quote
BobT-47P15 Posted February 18, 2013 Report Posted February 18, 2013 I haven't seen any distribution tubes of either material on ebay lately. They used to turn up occasionally. You might check with these folks in Arlington, Texas............ Antique Auto Supply, your Source for NEW Antique and Classic Vehicle Parts. Antique Auto Supply 1225 Colorado Ln. Arlington, Texas 76015 Phone: 817-275-2381 Fax 775-234-9858 Email: antiqueautosupply@yahoo.com Quote
mayflower48 Posted February 18, 2013 Report Posted February 18, 2013 I just bought one on ebay. There is one listed now, not cheap, but there is one. Mine fits well and is NOS so the ad said, and appers to be so. BRASS Water Distribution TUBE in the search box should find it. Quote
carmen142 Posted February 22, 2013 Author Report Posted February 22, 2013 Looked on Ebay. there are 4 listed. Can you tell me what the difference is between the $30.00 one the $75.00 one and the $140.00 one is???? Quote
Don Coatney Posted February 22, 2013 Report Posted February 22, 2013 $30-$75, difference is $45. $75-$140, difference is $65. I would opt for the thirty doller one. Quote
Andydodge Posted February 22, 2013 Report Posted February 22, 2013 The $30.00 one is the one I'd go for, its to suit a Plymouth 23" engine and its the cheapest.......should outlast most of us here playing with mopars......the $70.00 one has a dent......and of the 2 listed for $140.00, whilst both are brass and should outlast the engine by a factor of 100yrs only one is for a 23" engine, the other is for a chrysler 25" engine.........I'd grab the $30.00 one.........andyd Quote
Desotodav Posted February 22, 2013 Report Posted February 22, 2013 Andy, Did you try Les Sonter? I think it was either him or Jim Robinson that were making them now. Might save you some freight if you buy them here in Oz? Desotodav Quote
Andydodge Posted February 22, 2013 Report Posted February 22, 2013 Dav, this wasn't for me............ I had one, got it from Les a few yrs ago, but it went to west Oz when I sold the spare engine to a guy in Perth........I was refering to what was listed on ebay for Carmen above..........lol.......andyd Quote
BobT-47P15 Posted February 22, 2013 Report Posted February 22, 2013 Guess I haven't looked for a tube very hard on ebay lately according to the info that there are four currently offered. Prior to the tornado, I had two plain metal ones, but afterward I haven't seen either one.....they probably ended up in someone's yard east of here. Don't really need one at the moment, but I had bought them at reasonable prices in the past just to have if necessary. Quote
Losthope Posted June 15, 2014 Report Posted June 15, 2014 I know this is a older post, I just removed my rusted out tube and looking for info and the best priced tube and ran across this thread on a brass tube, I also ran across this in my search and thought it was interesting info : Chrysler Corp's L-head engines incorporated formed sheetmetal tubes to direct coolant from the output of the waterpump to each cylinder. These "water distrubution tubes" were originally made of galvanized steel and of course rust-out over time which leads to engine overheating. We offer a distribution tube kit on which also includes new core (freeze) plugs. Frequently we are asked if we can supply the replacement tube and core plugs in brass. The answer is NO. Because the engine block is made of a ferrous metal (iron), everything in contact with the iron block and the coolant water should also be made of an iron-based metal. If you remenber your high school chemistry class, you leanred that if you immerse two dis-similar metals (iron and brass) in an electrolyte (the coolant water), you will have created a galvanic battery cell that will rapidly erode the least "noble" metal part (your engine bock). You don't want that! Making sure that any metal parts used in the cooling passages are made of a ferrous (iron-based) metal will keep the erosion to a minimum. Because of this, you probably won't find a brass water distrubution tube but there are mechanics that will try to install brass core plugs into your engine's water jacket. Don't let them! Atlas Obsolete Chrysler Parts I was just interested in a iorn tube anyways but see if any of you had any input in the galvanic battery cell theory? Quote
Losthope Posted June 15, 2014 Report Posted June 15, 2014 That guy is such a BS'er. HAHA It was found on ebay from a seller first thing that popped up on google search for water distribution tube figured he was really trying to sell his iorn tubes!, When I read it the first thing I thought of was all my other non-flathead engines with brass freeze plugs in them .... yet again I never took chemistry class either so wanted to hear your guys input! Quote
Dodgeb4ya Posted June 15, 2014 Report Posted June 15, 2014 A lot of his parts he sells are low quality import parts included in his bundled refresh your car kits . Quote
RobertKB Posted June 15, 2014 Report Posted June 15, 2014 (edited) I have pulled many brass tubes out of these old flatheads and they all basically look like they are new. Brass is best. Seller is full of crap. Edited June 15, 2014 by RobertKB Quote
Andydodge Posted June 15, 2014 Report Posted June 15, 2014 I'll have to inform my 318 Poly that the brass welch plugs that I installed 40yrs ago when I rebuilt the engine are no good.......it will be so upset.........lol........I will never install steel welch plugs in any engine that I can get brass plugs for, and although the water tube I had was steel I was thinking of getting one made locally from either brass or stainless steel........mild steel and water of any sort is not good........andyd Quote
desoto1939 Posted June 15, 2014 Report Posted June 15, 2014 If brass was sooooooo bad then why did they make the thermostats out of BRASS. I have also asked this same vender that lives on the West Coast the same answer and he can not provide an answer. Brass Thermostats have been used in our cars and they stay there for many years. Even if there isa chemical reaction and with the amount of iron block material I also do not think there isa a problem to e concerned about. desoto1939@aol.com Rich HArtung 1 Quote
greg g Posted June 15, 2014 Report Posted June 15, 2014 Is brass the new plastic??? The OP said he was looking for a non metal Dist tube, might make it very difficult to locate. Most likely he meant non steel. While we are on the subject, the distribution tube is there and designed through its taper, to direct coolant toward the valve seat areas which are adjacent to the coolant passage. Handy bit of design work putting the main coolant passage in close proximity to the valves. I would bet that if 2 engines were rebuilt to the same standards one with and one without the dist tube, installed with radiators, thermostats, and water pumps being equal, in the same weight car, you wouldn't be able to tell from the temp gauge which one had the tube and which one didn't while operating under normal conditions. Premature valve wear might eventually be a problem for the engine w/o the tube, but in situations like our cars face, it might be a good number of years before any problem arose from lack of the tube. And for our cars the argument over what material it tube is made of is pretty much moot. Let the next guy worry about it 60 years from today. Quote
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