Water Distribution Tube.....I hate it

[Andydodge]

O/k.for the past 3 weeks I have been trying to remove the mongrel water tube outa the 230 engine I have, its on an engine stand, everything has been removed from the engine block except for the #$%!@#$%^ water tube, I have squirted WD40, engine oil(more oil than what would be in the sump!) and tonite sprayed a whole can of some U beaut, all singing ,all dancing Loctite freeze the arse off anything it touches crap into the tube from the front and all 4 manifold stud holes that open into where the @#$%^^$@ tube lives.....I have been using a slide hammer with a hooked 1/4" thick nail on the end inserted into a hole i've managed to make in the side of the tube.......all it does is pull the nail straight and eventually break it off and I start over again.......I have some questions....has anyone ever actually got one of these mongrels out of an engine?........yes?.....o/k so it is possible....are the tubes only held in by nothing?.......apart from rust or is it possible that the cutouts that I've seen in pics of these things along the top edge could be wedging it into the base of the exhaust ports?......I've tried to use long nose vice grips without success, I've tried to hammer a 23" long by 1/8th x 1/2" steel strap with a sharpened chissel like blade up on both sides of the tube up to half way in but am afriad to go further lest I can't get this out then......I was thinking about brazing a piece of steel onto the end of the tube and lifting this with the engine hoist....maybe the engine block would finally fall away from this damn thing........has anyone got any ideas?..............lol...........or maybe some valium.......regards, andyd

[rockerbillykat]

More Alachahole,innincahole, aarrrr Burbon! Helps me relachssh!

Seriously,ive no idea!

[Joe Flanagan]

There is a section on this in Technical Tips. I assume you looked at that. When I removed mine, I was afraid it wouldn't come out. I wound up driving a narrow piece of steel down either side of the tube and that is what finally freed it up. If you haven't driven something the full length of the block, maybe there are spots toward the back where it is fused in. Maybe you could weld something to the steel strap, drive it all the way in on either side, and then use a slide hammer or something similar to pull the strap back out. Another idea I had was to turn the block on its end (with the tube opening facing up), dump a bunch of oil or something down there, and let it sit for a few days. Seems to me that if you can drive something in between the outer surface of the tube and the inner surface of the tube housing, there's no way it could stay in there.

When I did get mine out it was all mangled and I was afraid I might have left some of it in there. I shined a light down the hole in the block and as far as I could see there wasn't any of it left in there. You can also look at what you took out and see if you can tell if it's all there. When I put my new one in I didn't encounter any resistance, so I guess that's the ultimate test.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[vanbuskirk]

I have always had success with a crowbar. Bend a hook on a 16 penny nail. Place a board between the crowbar and the block and pry the nail which has the hook placed in the hole in the end of the tube. It is more gentle and persuasive than the whammy bar. Bob

[wills 51]

Lots of patience and p.b blaster got mine out and it looks like I'll be doing it again on my plymouth

[40phil41]

I have always had success with a crowbar. Bend a hook on a 16 penny nail. Place a board between the crowbar and the block and pry the nail which has the hook placed in the hole in the end of the tube. It is more gentle and persuasive than the whammy bar. Bob

What I ended up doing after my home made slide hammer didn't work was to attach a pair of pointed long nose vice grips to the first hole in the end of the tube and then hit side of the vice grips with a ball peen hammer. Eventually it started to move and then I was able to pry it out the rest of the way. It definitely needed a lot of force to start it moving.

Good luck.

Phil

[Norm's Coupe]

A nail on the end of a slide hammer is not heavy enough. If you have the tube partially out, drill a hole from the sides across from each other. Then use something like a universal battery hold down J or L hook and insert it into the holes you drilled. Then clamp a pair of long handle vise grips to the J or L hook and keep tapping the hook. That's how I got mine out in one piece.

[Jim Yergin]

I used the puller described in the Tech section followed by a come-along attached to the garage rafters. Check out this thread:

http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=3129&highlight=distribution+tube+puller

Jim Yergin

[billwillard]

If you have a mig just weld a flat iron (say 1" by 1/4") to it. bend the end over so you can hook it like Vanbuskirk says and pull it out. A little oil never hurts. It will come once you get it started moving.

[Normspeed]

Mine was really stubborn too. I used the method Joe Flanagan used, driving a very long piece of flat stock down along the sides of the tube and twisting it to separate the tube from the block. I ended up taking the block off the engine stand and putting it up on one end to do that. I also found that a steel rod bent into a hook wasn't strong enough, it kept pulling straight. I finally used a piece of flat steel stock, and ground away enough to leave a really sturdy hook at the end. Then I gripped that with a big vice grips and hammered the daylightas out of it. When mine finally came out it came in two sections.

[Jim Shepard]

Here's the tube puller I fabricated from some flat stock. I just attached a slide hammer to the end and, after some weeks of soaking the thing, it came out.

[Andydodge]

O/k..........I've decided what to do.........I'm gunna get a couple of bottles of burbon, get some tongue depressors and wedge them inside my mouth, open the burbon bottles and insert the burbon bottles down my throat..............lol......sounds like I'll try again with the steel strip down the sides of the tube, also will braze/weld some thin steel plate onto the end of the tube to allow more leverage...........and valium, I must get more valium........lol.......thanks........btw I have read and printed out all the tech articles and forum discussions on the tube, have rechecked the various workshop manuals I have that mention the wtb and had a good laugh with the apparent ease at which the tube comes out."using a peice of stiff wire remove the".......yeh sure......regards, andyd

[Niel Hoback]

Don't laugh, Andydodge, heres a picture of my son removing a tube from a Plymouth in a junkyard in

Caldwell, Idaho. He did it by gripping the end with his leatherman pliers and sliding it out. No, I didn't believe it either, at first so I had him hold it there while I got the camera on it. All this while wearing white pants in a junk yard.

[p10plymouth]

I have a suggestion that worked for me... I have a high presure water presure washer ( or u can use a reg one and use hot tap water) any way.... just use your presure washer in there swish it a round as much as it takes to loosen up the tube .... should be able to pull it out with ease . If not repeat till it does ... Good luck...

[knuckleharley]

If rust is the problem,vinegar is the answer. Take your block off the engine stand and stand it on it's end,and then fill it full of vinegar and let it sit overnight. Mabye even two days. You can buy vinegar for just a couple of bucks a gallon at the grocery store,and it is 5% acid content. This is what eats the rust. Best of all it is safe and you can just pour it down the drain or use it to kil weeds when you are done.

[knuckleharley]

>> No, I didn't believe it either, at first so I had him hold it there while I got the camera on it. All this while wearing white pants in a junk yard.<<

I hate people like that. I once went to a junkyard with my older brother when I was about 13. He went there and jacked up a 50 Chevy to pull the ring gear to use in his car. Crawled under it while wearing a white t-shirt and had me hand him the tools he needed. When he got it out his hands were greasy up to his wrists,and I was filthy and my t-shirt was covered with grease stains.

[Norm's Coupe]

>> No, I didn't believe it either, at first so I had him hold it there while I got the camera on it. All this while wearing white pants in a junk yard.<<

I hate people like that. I once went to a junkyard with my older brother when I was about 13. He went there and jacked up a 50 Chevy to pull the ring gear to use in his car. Crawled under it while wearing a white t-shirt and had me hand him the tools he needed. When he got it out his hands were greasy up to his wrists,and I was filthy and my t-shirt was covered with grease stains.

Guess I'm one of those people you hate. People who know me real well jokingly call me Mr. Neat sometimes. It's really rare if I get any grease, etc. on my clothes or anything other than my hands. The trick is, don't wipe your hands on your clothes, keep a rag handy to keep your hands clean and the tools clean while you work. I don't even get paint splatter spots on my hands or clothes when I paint a room in the house with a roller. Everyone else I know is always full of paint or grease when they do things. Keep telling them the paint belongs on the wall, not on you. Same with the grease and oil, it belongs on the car or part, not you:D

[Andydodge]

Neil........has your son ever thought of visiting Australia?.....expenses paid?.........lol.......I'd rent him out to Mopar clubs, lol......P10 plymouth......hadn't thought about the high pressure water cleaner.......hhmm.......and Knuckleharley....the vinegar idea sounds good except that I've removed everything from the block, freeze plugs, head, etc so there nothing to keep the vinegar in tho' I will try some poured into the water gallery......got some eye bolts today, gunna make up something and try the leverage approach......with vinegar........lol...regards, andyd

[Young Ed]

Andy i bet some ducttape would seal those holes back up. Otherwise there's always a cheap storage tote or kiddie swimming pool

[Allan Faust]

I couldn't resist answering this one..... mine was real simple to remove.... when I brought my engine to the shop to have it redone, they took it out...

Allan

[Jim Saraceno]

I did all the things that you have been doing and it took a lot of time and a lot of effort but it finally came out. Just keep doing what your doing, pour or spray a can of some penetrant, let it soak in for a couple of days, work on it, then do it again. It will eventually come out.

Good luck!

[blueskies]

I suppose I was one of the lucky ones too. I bought another tube before I pulled my engine apart, convinced that it would be rotten and damn near impossible to get out.

I made a make shift puller out of a scrap of metal and some wire, and gave it a couple of tugs with a heavy hammer. Popped right out.

The tube looked as good as the new one I bought, I could have re-used it...

Lost count of the horror stories about these tubes and the rear brake drums on these cars...

My brake drums popped right off too...

Pete

[Andydodge]

Pete, don't talk to me about brake drums......lol........37yrs ago when i first got my 1940 Dodge I had hells own job trying to get the rear drums off, was finally told about the proper puller, as I recall it cost me 2 weeks wages back then,(I was 18)....bolted the puller own, tightened everything up, one wack with a large hammer on the centre bolt and bang....off she came..........thinking?????..........I wonder if I can get the puller onto the water tube??????......lol........I shall beat this thing!!!.......regards, andyd

[kevinanderson]

Getting the tube out kinda reminds me of my Uncle. There was a huge rock that had been in the field since guess when. People had tried to get it out for decades. This was about a 5 ton red granite boulder. Well, the damn thing ended up in his front yard. Everyone asked how in the hell he got it out and how many guys it took. He laughed and said, "Why it took only one guy." Everybody scratched their head and wondered what the hell?.....

He laughed and again said, "Ya, it only took one guy. I signed the check!!!"