Driving home from Maaco saw smoke, looks like top radiator hose popped off….can this be fixed?!

[Francis K]

Just got her back from maaco she looks great was looking forward to putting her back together and getting you guys some pics but she was smoking on the way home. Pulled her into the warehouse and saw coolant all over the engine and some leaking from the bottom. Looks like this hose from the top of radiator just completely disintegrated and popped.

You guys know my half banana ass can’t do anything without playing 20 questions first. How would I go about fixing this? Pop one of the connectors from my washer hose kit in there and clamp it back up??

 

[jfz80]

Someone likely leaned on it and broke. May have been cracked a while back and finally broke free
Pretty common occurrence. Hence the market for nipple guards lol

Some have just epoxied it back but I think pretty high failure rate.

Some have drilled tapped and epoxied in a threaded barbed metal fitting.

Many have bought new rads for leaning on that guy.

I’d try the epoxy and threaded barb if not replacing the radiator.

Radiator Nipple Fix Walk-Through...

After swapping coolant, fan clutch oil, installing new thermostat and hoses...I was replacing the fan shroud that broke a week prior and all was complete. While installing it, I broke the plastic radiator nipple. I will probably end up buying a new radiator before I go on a long distance trip...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[Francis K]

Someone likely leaned on it and broke. May have been cracked a while back and finally broke free
Pretty common occurrence. Hence the market for nipple guards lol

Some have just epoxied it back but I think pretty high failure rate.

Some have drilled tapped and epoxied in a threaded barbed metal fitting.

Many have bought new rads for leaning on that guy.

I’d try the epoxy and threaded barb if not replacing the radiator.

Radiator Nipple Fix Walk-Through...

After swapping coolant, fan clutch oil, installing new thermostat and hoses...I was replacing the fan shroud that broke a week prior and all was complete. While installing it, I broke the plastic radiator nipple. I will probably end up buying a new radiator before I go on a long distance trip...

forum.ih8mud.com

100% that's what happened, probably when they changed the valance. Damn it....thank you.

 

[Francis K]

So the plastic hose connector thingys left over from my windshield washer hose job probably wouldn't be the best option here right.....?

 

[bhsdriller]

ok now that's it's taken care of lets see pics of the paintjob

 

[Francis K]

ok now that's taken care of enough of that lets see pics of the paintjob

Let me put her back together and looking pretty first!!

 

[-Spike-]

How would I go about fixing this?

Take it back to Maaco and ask them nicely to fix it. With a new rad.

 

[Francis K]

Take it back to Maaco and ask them nicely to fix it. With a new rad.

Yea I'm sure that's going to go over real well....."it was like that when we got it buddy"

 

[-Spike-]

Yea I'm sure that's going to go over real well....."it was like that when we got it buddy"

You might be surprised.

 

[Railwelder93]

Get a appropriately sized threaded barb fitting from off the shelf at the auto parts store or home depot plumbing section. Drill the hole out bigger to screw it in, if you want you can use some JB weld around the top of the threads to make it a bit more permanent/ sealed up.

 

[Francis K]

Get a appropriately sized threaded barb fitting from off the shelf at the auto parts store or home depot plumbing section. Drill the hole out bigger to screw it in, if you want you can use some JB weld around the top of the threads to make it a bit more permanent/ sealed up.

Doing exactly that as we speak but got some pics first of the paint job....

 

[Francis K]

$2300 Quote from Maaco....what do you guys think?

Yeah, and he calls those people at any time of day, any day of the week......... :rofl::rofl::rofl: Ya gotta read my sig line........ You bet I do....I keep all of our conversations at the ready. I don't want to ask the same thing twice :) thanks, mentor.

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[mingles]

BTDT... Leaned in while doing a fan clutch and broke the nipple. Plugged the radiator side with a sheet metal screw and JB weld, and the hose side with a bolt inserted in the hose with a hose clamp around it. This held up fine for a few days of driving until I could source a new radiator.

However you fix it, once finished you need one of these. Well worth the investment.

Nipple Guard for FJ80/FZJ80 Landcruiser or LX450 | Etsy - https://www.etsy.com/listing/701325550/nipple-guard-for-fj80fzj80-landcruiser?click_key=c079cacacdaeae5a58568e07ba2880535aebf7b9%3A701325550&click_sum=39471128&ref=shop_home_active_24&frs=1

 

[Dirt Ferguson]

Welcome to the club, buck-o.

I suggest a new radiator and a nipple protector from @Outsane. That’s what I did.

 

[Outsane]

I like this plan

 

[effjay80]

^I highly endorse the Outsane nipple. Not that my endorsement means squat but it is a great cheap investment.

 

[Kernal]

Agree with above. Take it back to the shop immediately, call them immediately even if they're closed today, leave a voice mail mesage, slide a note under their door today. Tell them you noticed it as soon as you got home.

 

[Francis K]

Agree with above. Take it back to the shop immediately, call them immediately even if they're closed today, leave a voice mail mesage, slide a note under their door today. Tell them you noticed it as soon as you got home.

I stuck a nice shiny barb in there, clamped the other end and JB welded it......all set not in the mood for all that just want to make progress on this pig!

 

[Kabanstva]

What else did they break?

 

[Kabanstva]

Doing exactly that as we speak but got some pics first of the paint job....

I want CLOSE UP pics of the paintjob. Not from 5ft away like everyone does and claims it’s good work.