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Mark Meyer (Deadelus)
| | Posted on Thursday, June 20, 2002 - 08:24 pm: | 
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All right. A bunch of crap happened today to my 96 Disco. First the radiator expansion tank busted a seam and emptied my truck of coolant. I limp towards home and get to a parking lot near the dealer. Walk to get replacement part after I remove tank and see the cracked seam. $126 later I install the new tank. Then walk to friends house, borrow truck to get coolant. Get back to Disco, begin to remove the plug on the top of the radiator to aid in refilling with coolant, and the damned thing shears off in my hand. Make another run to dealer a few blocks away, and $3.66 later I'm back trying to get the threaded portion out of the way. It didn't go to well and now there is a BIG chunk of plastic down in the radiator. NOT GOOD.
Now the questions.
I assume the plastic needs to come out before I even think of starting up the engine again. It is a pretty big chunk. Do I need to do this? Will I be able to flush the chunk of plastic out the top hole if I can get a hose on the lower radiator outlet. I do not want to have to remove the radiator, but if I have to I have to.
Also I'm gonna need to tow the truck to my house a 1/2 mile away. If I put the center diff and the Transmission in N is it safe to tow at slow speed the 1/2 mile necessary to get me to my tools and a water hose? Or do I need to go ahead and drop the prop-shaft?
All timely replies are appreciated in advance. |
jec
| | Posted on Thursday, June 20, 2002 - 08:38 pm: |
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Yes, I would get the plastic out for sure. But wouldn't it be easier to drop the bottom radiator hose and try to flush the piece out the bottom (either putting the water in the fill hole, or as a last resort, removing the upper radiator hose and putting the water in there) instead of trying to flush it up?
The tow should be okay, but I think the manual actual wants the transmission in park.
Good luck!
John |
Dee
| | Posted on Thursday, June 20, 2002 - 08:39 pm: |
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Disconnect the top and Botton hose from the raditor and flush it out from the fill port.
This is not uncommon the chuncks should flow out the top.. |
jec
| | Posted on Thursday, June 20, 2002 - 08:45 pm: |
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Yes, the LRNA guidance says put the transmission in park, mainly to confirm that you actually have the transfer case in neutral. And the key in the #1 position to free the steering wheel.
John |
Dee
| | Posted on Thursday, June 20, 2002 - 08:52 pm: |
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Trans in park is to stop any free spin while in tow, there is nothing pumping fluid through the transmission, also if its a long tow i would disconnect the batt. |
Mark Meyer (Deadelus)
| | Posted on Thursday, June 20, 2002 - 10:07 pm: |
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All right, first thanks for the speedy responses.
I decided that the big chunk that fell in to the radiator was more than likely too big to get sucked into the water jacket. I hope I was right. I limped the 3/4 mile home, and about two blocks away hot air came blowing out of the heater vents, so the engine barely got hot by the time I turned it off. The water in the expansion tank was still tepid. So the question is... tomorrow when I pull the lower hose and fish around in the radiator side tank for the chunk of plastic that I hope was too big to fit thru the adjacent lower hose elbow, if I dont find said piece of plastic, where do I go looking from there? My next thought was to pull the lower hose and see if it made it that far.
Hopefully I'll find it still sitting there and figure out a way to coax it out of the radiatior. Then I'm going to flush the radiator from the inlet hose on the Driver's side top and drain all of the crap out the lower hose.
If I did anything really dumb by starting her up, let me know, and also what new symptoms I'll need to keep a look out for in the next few days and weeks.
You guys rock! |
Dee
| | Posted on Thursday, June 20, 2002 - 10:17 pm: |
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Most likely you will find that plastic piece wedged around the tstat. Good luck... |
Kyle
| | Posted on Thursday, June 20, 2002 - 10:26 pm: |
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It aint gonna get that far Dee because it would have to cross through the fins to get there. If its too big to get in the fins then it aint going anywhere past the tank its in. Its on the side with the top hos in it or the side with the bottom hose in it?
Kyle |
Mark Meyer (Deadelus)
| | Posted on Thursday, June 20, 2002 - 10:35 pm: |
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It fell in the side with the bottom hose, which is why I am a bit worried. This plastic chunk is the chewed-up remains of the "threads" from the plastic radiator plug on the top passenger side of the radiator. It's a good inch or so across and probably 3/4 of an inch in height. There were lots of little bitty chunks that fell in as I was trying to get the thing out of the threads, so those might turn up around the thermostat. |
Dee
| | Posted on Thursday, June 20, 2002 - 11:03 pm: |
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Kyle,
Your right, the pieces that are too big will bounce around on top |
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