Radiator Help!!!

[tonyk72]

Ahhh, the joys of owning a 30+ year old car...

I went to drain the coolant and the freakin' drain plug broke off! Please tell me I don't need a new radiator to get this fixed...

 

[SLICKMAN]

Looks like it's time to pull the rad out :cry I did the flush thing this past weekend and used the flush kit. I did not have to fool around with the drain plug.. It work very well...... Sorry to hear you had this happen, pulling the rad out is n no fun....

 

[Nut]

Tony,
I would hope you could remove the rad and take it to a good radiator shop and have them braze on a new drain plug. Good luck.

.............. Nut

 

[tonyk72]

Oh Joy! Do I have to remove the hood?

I've flipped through a few posts that offer different solutions...either remove the hood or remove the fan and a few other internals...
I got AC too, so which would be better for me?

 

[Stallion]

Looks like it's time to pull the rad out :cry I did the flush thing this past weekend and used the flush kit. I did not have to fool around with the drain plug.. It work very well...... Sorry to hear you had this happen, pulling the rad out is n no fun....

What kind of flush kit is this that you don't have to work with the drain plug? How exactly does it work? Did you have to "install" it? Sounds like a good idea for us Vetters.

 

[tonyk72]

Also, my fan shroud had previous damage...see pic, so it looks like I might have an easier time? It seems like I could just slide the rad up and out since I can easily move the shroud out of the way...

 

[tonyk72]

It's out!

The biggest PITA was removing the lower hose and getting that section past the control arm.
The broken shroud really made things easy though. I recommed that anybody who's gotta remove the rad break their shroud. :eyerole
I did have to unbolt the fan (not remove it) to get that extra space to get the shroud to bend a little more.
It's at the shop now & gonna cost me a whopping $20 for the fix. I should have it back by the end of the day.

 

[Culprit]

Maybe the previous owner broke the shroud on purpose for just that reason. Ya never know. If only Vettes could talk...


Culprit

 

[tonyk72]

Well, I'm all set...The rad is back inside!
The rad dude gave me a choice of drain plugs...I used the newer style drain plug...but now that I got it in there...it looks as if might be a PITA to get to...the elbow style plug might better...I'll test eveything out with plain old water in a day or two...

this is a pic of the damage

 

[tonyk72]

The fix

Here is the fix...

 

[Nut]

Tony..... glad it wasn't as bad as you thought. I've lost more skin off my knuckles wrestling with the lower hose. $20 was not bad for a new plug.

.......... Nut

 

[wichitacorvette]

good thing you didnt have to replace that rad. i did within 2 months of getting my 82 and boy was it fun. the replacement was a perfect fit except for that lower hose, took 12 times in and out trying to bend it to the right place....... glad to hear you didnt have to replace it!