metal water pipes from radiater

P

peter

invercargill newzealand
Hello all, how do you remove the 2 metal water pipes running under the car taking water from the radiater to the motor on a 1979 X, these go through a metal box attached to the underside of the floor.
The reason i have too remove them is a build up of white powder inside and they leak in 2 or 3 places at the bends. thanks.
 
hi peter, and welcome....

There are already several threads regarding these pipes and their restoration / replacement.

Most often, you will end up cutting the box open and removing the pipes, and either haveing custom pipes installed, or there is a recent thread regarding the availability of a stainless steel replacement pipes (you will still have to have the box cut open and rewelded).

Please hit the search button up top and then search for the info you require.

Hope this helps,
Kevin
 
015-5.jpg

014-4.jpg

heres what the pipes and pan look like when completely removed.
the info on the wiki page is an easy way to go if your pipes are good in the pan, orif you can somehow wiggle them out.
 
Welcome Peter... as Dom points out...

Rudy Mortero and I discussed this method of repair by using the original pipes as simply a CONDUIT for installing new COPPER PIPE. His repair has been good for years now without incident. Cheap and fast and effective.

Tony K in Canada and others have had CUSTOM Stainless Steel pipes fabricated and bent to fit... and cut the tunnel apart to replace them. Best if the car is on a rotesserie or tilted WAY up to do this, but others have been successful working on their backs.

Your choice... I know what I would do... HA!
 
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Another option is to use EMT tubing. It is designed to be bent with a simple hand bender sold at any Home Depot, Lowes etc. I got this tip from PBS, they used to use it to plumb front radiators on 850s. For the ends just take a pair of pliers and flare it out. True it will not last as long as stainless so plan on replacing them in another 30 years or so :)
 
EMT??? What's that and where do ya go get it...

LOWES?

What is it usually used for? Does it come in an OD that will allow it to be slipped inside the old pipes ala 1 1/4" copper?

Thanks...
 
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Hmmm, actually fix something?

My first X was an '80 which I flogged mostly on a 70 mile daily commute and when it had 175K on it, I sat down too hard once on our lousy easement and the next morning I had a coolant streamlet running from underneath.
We were about to depart from California in 2002 and I figured I had my use of the X, sold it along with two Stradas (both running) and a bunch of parts from years of Fiats, many new.
The land we had bought in West Virginia was very rural and with poor access so I bought my first US car in ~30 years with some lag and lots of research; a '95 Saturn SL2; other than an evil/possessed 124 I had in Europe, I wanted to put the Saturn into a real orbit but kept fixing it for 57k miles before it dropped a rod cap and committed Hari-Kari.

The buyer of my leavings resold one Strada, junked the other (structural problems) and then drove my abandoned X from So. Cal. to Oklahoma after filling the beast up with coolant again. (?????)

After our move was complete, the Saturn dead, and a fairly new Subaru (yeah, never, EVER another GM anything) owner, the dizzying curves in WV made me miss my X sorely so after a lot of searching found an '87 with low miles and in 98% condition and am as happy as any X/fool when I rip though the high- & byways of WV.

I still do not understand where the coolant leak occurred only to disappear after I had sold it; any clue?
 
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