406oc.co.uk

Just done an oil change on mine (2.1 406) and had a regular running drip while i was down there, started the engine and the low water light flashed up.

Topped up the water tank and it was piddling out of the crappy push junction at the bottom of the rad

Pulled it apart and from what i can see the hose is ok and the plastic of the rad is in fairly good nick, but the metal fitting that goes onto the end of the hose is utterly fubar.



Is there a "repair" fitting that i can use to remake the end of the hose or am i stuffed and i need to get a complete hose unit (of course mine has the ******* half metal unit, would a complete rubber pipe fit?)

Bugger

I seem to recall this is square metal in the section that goes round the side of the engine and looks kind of like you wouldn't get a round section pipe in there. I suppose if you get it off the car you could see if you can find anything to replace it with but Teamster cut the end of the pipe off & used that bit from a top hose from one in the breakers, joining it on with a bit of tube and jubilee clips. As far as I remember the real thing is hideously expensive.

Hearing that the top hose is the same size is good news.

The metal pipe has a round "lump" where the hose attaches to the metalwork, hopefully i could push the pipe form a top rad hose over that and clip it up.

Time to hit the scrappy.

The part from the dealer is about £80. The challenge in changing them is actually getting the hose out of the radiator, so you're half way there! How is the condition of the metal part? They are prone to corrosion, particularly where the plastic bracket supports it behind the arch liner, as mud collects there, and also at the fitting where the smaller hose goes up to the header tank thingy. If there was any doubt about it I'd be tempted just to pay the £80.

80 quid? i bought a brand new dealer bottom hose for 35, with the connection on!

Got hold of a top hose, metal piece is awesome condition

Use a few screw clips to stop it from kinking on itself when i put a bend in it.

And ...... there's a poxy 0.5mm crack in the plastic housing the hose goes into, replacement rad needed.

gah.

Edit: You beat me there Steve! Still you get the idea of what I did, I would squirt a load of silicon around the joint as well.

I chopped all the hose off the metal piece, it's got a nice ribbed piece that a screw clip holds onto quite nicely, other clips stop it from collapsing/kinking over when i bend it. Wish i'd seen your pic before i hacked it all to bits though, looks a lot easier!

What did you use as an insert?

I used a piece of 32mm (or 40mm, can't remember inner diameter of pipe) waste pipe. It wasn't ideal because it's crushable; a piece of copper tube would be better.

I'm surprised yours lasted so long TBH, you'd have thought the plastic pipe would have collapsed the moment it got hot

Copper pipe seems to be available in 28, 35 & 42mm. Here's some fittings, they should be a few mm bigger so might increase the options.

Oooh, perhaps it might be possible to... Nah, it'd need to be flexible between the rad and the engine.

Lad over on pug306.net gave me this link, might save for buggering around next time, bit expensive though!

http://www.spoox.co.uk/catalog/product_ ... 0394c3b501