Water Y-Pipe

[1batt4u]

So I was looking over the water y-pipe and noticed where the o-ring goes a small piece is chipped or something overtime. What do you guys recommend I do??
http://i51.tinypic.com/2rcvno1.jpg
http://i52.tinypic.com/2isz8g7.jpg

[TTait]

J B Weld?

[1batt4u]

Never used it before, I know of it. How well does it work??

[TTait]

I think it would hold for a long time, but if it ever came loose it would circulate through the cooling system and lodge somewhere. The system might leak out too. I think the risk is pretty low though.

You can get a used one somewhere by asking around, more expensive than a repair, but safer if you are unsure.

[DMCMW Dave]

I have a pile of used ones that don't look much better. (Not missing a chunk but pretty corroded). There's a reason they are not on cars anymore. You really don't want to risk a leak here.

You might be able to get it welded up and re-machined flat, but by the time you do all that you won't save anything.

[DeLorean]

a liberal amount of blue RTV would probably do the trick.

[David T]

Your choices are to replace or weld. I have never seen epoxy repairs hold up. There is a lot of heat and pressure there and you can never get it clean enough for it to stick. Even welding is questionable, a lot depends on the skill of the welder.
David Teitelbaum

[Henrik]

I had the EXACT same problem on my car and posted it on dmctalk earlier this year but I guess the thread disappeared when dmctalk had the outage back in April. Anyway, I explored all of what had been discussed (machine the surfaces, RTV, JB weld, regular weld) but I didn't believe in any of those. What added to my issue was that I had chunks of metals missing on the block side as well. So what fixed my issue was two-fold:
1) I bought a new Y-pipe from DeLorean and asked them to inspect the surfaces carefully. The one I got was nice and smooth like glass. Almost like someone had machined the surfaces; it looked great.
2) Go to your auto part store and bring the O-ring. My local O'Reilly store has a set of O-rings with various thicknesses for the same diameter. So I bought some O-rings with the same size but thicker.

I installed 1) and 2) and said a little prayer - and - it worked!

[Henrik]

... of course, you should pressurize the cooling system before you reinstall everything and put the coolant in. Most auto part stores have loaner pressure testers.

[1batt4u]

I just bought and received few things from DMCH. One of the stuff is a set of bolts for the Y-pipe. The 2 long ones are correct.
These 2 below, short ones, are not unthreaded like the original ones. Does this matter at all??
http://i42.tinypic.com/s28my0.jpg

[Ozzie]

I just bought and received few things from DMCH. One of the stuff is a set of bolts for the Y-pipe. The 2 long ones are correct.
These 2 below, short ones, are not unthreaded like the original ones. Does this matter at all??


As long as the lengths are correct, that will not matter in that application.

[1batt4u]

Ok cool!! Thank you!!!

[Bitsyncmaster]

As long as the lengths are correct, that will not matter in that application.

Correct. In shear load applications you want non threaded shafts where the shear load occurs.

[David T]

Just use Never-Seize liberally on the threads. If you have any doubt about coolant leakage up the threads squirt a little RTV into the threaded holes before installing the bolts. As suggested, pressure test the cooling system BEFORE reinstalling the intake manifold. Run all the way up to 15 psi and hold it for at least 1/2 hour. You do NOT want to go back in again after reassembly.
David Teitelbaum

[Delorean Industries]

What we sell as a replacement along with the DMCH offering is a fully threaded bolt. This is better because you can anti seize this and it will not freeze in the upper section of the Y pipe.

Let us know if you need a used or refurbished y pipe unit. We have NOS, used, machined, powder coated etc units ready to go.