In reply to Dirtydog:
Those look like they would work...not the method I had in mind, but that last one is definitely cheap enough to give it a try!
In reply to Dirtydog:
Those look like they would work...not the method I had in mind, but that last one is definitely cheap enough to give it a try!
My Locost has the rad lower than the fill. I pressurize the overflow bottle, and force coolant back through the radiator cap that way.
Alternatively, Some Dodge Dakotas have a rad cap IN the upper rad hose - you could section your hose and use that for a better fill.
SkinnyG wrote: Alternatively, Some Dodge Dakotas have a rad cap IN the upper rad hose - you could section your hose and use that for a better fill.
I would think this is the best solution, the aforementioned Dorman 902-305 is $11 on rock auto (and that includes a pair of nice spring hose clamps), plus an extra radiator cap, run one with a higher pressure on the radiator and move the overflow line to the higher up cap.
You can buy the composite filler neck for the Dakota without the hoses from dorman.
Day-110(1-hour so far):
I got the gauge cluster out. I discovered pulling the dash pad, which was easy, allowed me to rotate the cluster forward and access the retaining clips on the connectors. Also, I find it odd that all the tutorials I've found refer to the fasteners in imperial units when they're very clearly metric...maybe they assume most people don't own a 5.5mm nut driver?
I discovered one of the mounts for the dash is berkeleyed though. I'm thinking copious amounts of epoxy and hope to hell it never needs removed may be the best solution?
I briefly investigated the trans fluid & coolant leaks too. There's coolant spray everywhere, although the level is still almost to the cap opening. I'm thinking it popped open the overflow then somehow sprayed all over?
The trans leak seems to line up with my splice on the cooler line, but there's no visible fluid around the area that I can see from above. I'll have to get the car in the air again & see if I can determine anything from underneath.
A small sheet metal plate expoxied over that cracked plastic should fix it.
Fibreglass cloth and resin is how i have fixed that kind of damage before.
You could also make a metal spreader plate to cover the whole rectangular area and pick up the non damage plastic.
pete we used the fill in the hose like what i must guess the dakota is,spliced in at the high point on the race cars.
I picked up the Dorman Dakota filler neck from Autozone and tried to fit it this evening. As I'd suspected from looking at it in person it's a larger diameter than my hose(1-7/16" vs. 1-5/8"), so I headed to Advance(since it's closer & I know the staff better) to browse their hose stock and see if I could find any that reduced down enough to work. It turned out they had the same Dakota neck with hoses attached, and I think I can make it work.
I picked up some contact cleaner while I was there, then finished cleaning the cluster connections and reinstalled it.
There was no visible damage or burnt out bulbs, and it had the remnants of a sticker showing it had been replaced in 1998, so I was somewhat pleased to receive this.
That's with the key in "run" position. Obviously I still have some issues to sort out with it, but at least I've confirmed it's not DOA.
Cool. Nothing like a spaceship dashboard lighting up.
In reply to Stampie:
Honestly, I've considered not doing an LS swap just to keep the stock dash. I'm sure it's possible to make it work with OBD2, but it would be a fully custom setup. That's all way in the future though, so at this point I'm happy to deal with getting it working.
Am I missing the picture here on the radiator issue ? Jack the front of the car up as high as your floor jack will take it and run the car till the cooling system gets hot and burps the air out.
In reply to Cousin_Eddie:
The problem is there's no way to get the radiator cap higher than the top of the radiator. After doing a bit of research it's apparently a pain to bleed them stock, and worse for me since my upper hose is 4" above the cap.
Can you unbolt the radiator and raise it up high enough with the hoses attached, just to fill it?
Sounds like a pain but can you jack it up so that corner of the car is highest? Just brainstorming as I'm finally getting ready to tackle the cooling system leak on my 91.
Pete Gossett wrote: In reply to QuasiMofo: I don't completely understand how that works? Is it a special radiator cap that accepts the (leak proof?) funnel, allowing you to fill the system higher than the cap?
Yes.
The entire funnel sits above radiator level making it higher than the core. Then you run and cycle coolant. If I remember correctly as a tech in 1987 we had one similar but the funnel had a hose with a petcock on it and made a mess every time it was used.
This IS what I have and use on All my rad.work and they work Right AS Advertised, I just didn't think It would get high enough, But Jack up the front about two feet and use the angel tube It should be fine,Do you have ramps to drive up onto? that may be enough. Back when I bought mine from the ToolMan it was more than 27 bucks, so get one, the are good for life, trust me you will use it MANY more times.
Would vacuum filling system work? That's what I bought to help get air pockets out of the MINI and TDI when refilling the cooling system. It also serves as a way to test the integrity of the system - if it won't hold vacuum there's a leak somewhere. I have this one.
I think you're going to need to seal that radiator and install a surge tank/degas bottle with a radiator cap higher than the rest of the engine, like is done in a lot of modern cars.
You can then install that tank and cap back by the firewall and higher than the engine.
You'll need 3 lines coming off that thing: one will go to the "input" of the coolant pump (low-pressure side), another line to the top of the radiator (for purging air/steam from the radiator) and another to the highest part of the head(s) (for purging air/steam from the engine).
Day-111(1.5-hours):
I got the upper radiator hose sorted out. It's not my finest engineering, but hopefully it'll work.
I also drilled a 1/8" bleed hole in the t-stat while it was apart, and topped off the coolant in the engine before I reassembled it.
I moved the a/c...actually I have no idea what it's called - it's the big aluminum tank next to the radiator...out of the way and checked my splice on the trans cooler line now that it gave me better access. There's no visible signs of leaking, but it's the area where the dribbles came from, so I loosened them to ensure both ends were fully seated, the tightened them up a bit more.
I had some time left, so I pushed it outside and attempted to start it. It fired up fairly quickly, but didn't want to stay running. After 3 tries it failed to restart, and it smells like it's flooded again. FML 
Anyone interested in a weekend beach getaway in exchange for helping me get this POS running correctly?
this thread scares the E36M3 out of me...
In reply to stroker:
Me too. It's really living up to its name.
This is the kind of thing that swore me off used and ClemBuilt (tm) carburetors.
Pete Gossett wrote: I moved the a/c...actually I have no idea what it's called - it's the big aluminum tank next to the radiator...
Thats called a "reciever drier" keeps moisture out of the A/C lines and holds some of the oil and refridgerant in it.
So I may have missed it at the beginning, what's the end goal of this car? Daily Driver? Challenge fodder? Both?
You'll need to log in to post.
