The Sword In The Stone - A Water Distribution Tube Adventure

[jsturner]

I see I'm a bit late to the party, but congratulations Tony! I guess this means that in addition to the various custom-made hooked and threaded torture devices, extreme patience and persistence are indispensable for WDT extraction. Enjoy the restored full effectiveness of your cooling system!

[Tones52]

Patience, persistence and being bilingual so I could swear in two languages! LOL

 

Seriously, jsturner your efforts and tools inspired the ones on this end to get my WDT issue resolved along with the suggestions from other members on this and the Old Plymouths forums.

 

But I have to admit, as bad as I thought mine was it blew me away when I saw Jeff Balazs' "Catch of the Day" I saved that photo and have it in the garage with the Plymouth. If I'm feeling frustrated, I just need to look at that, have a good laugh and feel better knowing that whatever it is I'm dealing with, it could be worse . . . but fixable.

 

The Plymouth is running cooler. I had to pull the 6 blade fan off because I did bend 1 blade back that would have hit the radiator. But the worries of it being unbalanced as a result made me replace it with the original 4 blade fan. Their is a noticeable difference but so far so good with the cooling. Plus it helps that the LA temps have cooled a bit.

 

And again, if anyone is close enough to me and wants to borrow the tools or needs a hand with their WDT, just give me a holler.

[RobertKB]

Good work on getting the tube out. I would strongly recommend searching for and acquiring a brass distribution tube. I think all Canadian cars came with the brass tubes and I have pulled probably around a dozen of them over the years. Never a real problem getting them out and they look as good as new with no corrosion. I have never seen one like the ones pictured in this thread. The steel ones were probably cheaper and Chrysler never figured anyone would be pulling them out 50-60 years down the road. If you can find a brass one, it will be worth your effort.

[deathbound]

Good work on getting the tube out. I would strongly recommend searching for and acquiring a brass distribution tube. I think all Canadian cars came with the brass tubes and I have pulled probably around a dozen of them over the years. Never a real problem getting them out and they look as good as new with no corrosion. I have never seen one like the ones pictured in this thread. The steel ones were probably cheaper and Chrysler never figured anyone would be pulling them out 50-60 years down the road. If you can find a brass one, it will be worth your effort.

 

Exactly what I did when I replaced mine recently, I went with brass. Sure, the cost was quite a bit more, but at least I or any future owners won't have a problem removing it.

[seabee1950]

Every so often I used to drain my cars antifreeze, fill it with water and add a flush tube get it warmed up and add a teaspoon of dishwasher soap (Powder) then run it till the thermostat is open I run them about 20 min then start flushing, after several flushes I reinstall the Antifreeze that works for me seems to clean the inside of the engine.

[Ulu]

I've been avoiding this job, because I wasn't going to re-use that flathead, but now it appears that I may.

 

Since my engine is on a stand and I can rotate it, I thought I might be able to put it upside down and partly fill the block & head with acid wash & let it sit there a couple days first, then rinse with neutalizer, dry, and re-soak with breakdown oil.

 

I'd hate to have to take mine out in bits, but I did try semi-seriously to jerk it out with a slide hammer and it didn't budge. This engine's a little rusty inside, but the tube seems quite solid still.

 

Just solidly planted as well. 

[Phil363]

Thanks Jeff. And here I thought I was having bad luck with mine. That'll teach me. BTW, the caption for your photo is classic

I have to agree .. this is a great title .. the visuals it generates perfectly fit the state of many WDT's. 

[casper50]

Decided to bite the bullet and discover the state my WDT is in.  I was dreading every turn of the ratchet but it was my lucky day.  Looks almost new.

[deathbound]

Stick a small magnet in it....by color of it, it may be brass?

[casper50]

the flash makes it look green but it's a gray color.  I'll double check with a magnet though.

[Geekay]

Great post.

Nearly 2 years later and i am experiencing the same issue.  Great to be able to go back in the Forum and see what guys had done and the tools they used.

The engines are the same and so are the issues no matter what year it is and there are always newbies like me coming along that need some guidance.

[belvedere]

Does anyone have a source for the brass tubes?  Otherwise, are all the steel tubes the same, or are some better?  Prices seem to vary widely.

[just me]

First post on the forum, but have been researching my current project. My 230 spun a bearing and I am doing a full build on it. Managed to find a replacement crank that was std/std and some replacement rods. Getting the block stripped to go to the machine shop. I am thinking i am very lucky. My tube came out in 1 piece in about 3 minutes.

 

[Dodgeb4ya]

Good tools make a mans job easier!

[JBrum]

I know I am late to the punch on this forum, but have a 40  dodge I am rebuilding and my  tube is bunched toward the back of the engine. I could only retrieve about 3 inchesof the tube. Planning on welding a screw to the end of a allthread and making a slide hammer puller. Really do not want to drill a hole in the back side of the engine if I do not have to. I have read all the posts and thank you for each of the ideas you all have shared. Will let you know the outcome. 

[Tin]

Very informative and thank you so much.