From: John De Armond
Subject: Re: Spare tire in Alaska?
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 01:07:06 EST
Newsgroups: rec.outdoors.rv-travel

"D. Howe" wrote:

> For parts, I carried, water pump, fuel pump, full tune-up kit including plug
> wires, electronic ignition rotor, distributor cap rotor, starter, front
> wheel bearings (over kill), radiator stop leak (over kill?), fan belts, and
> universal joints (mine were old and didn't have time to replace them before
> I left, so I just took them along.).

Excellent list, Dave.  I only have one comment.  Leave off the
radiator stop-leak.  Based on my experience (I love old cars! so I
have lots of experience), stop-leak stops the water from flowing
through your heater core, abrades the seal in the water pump and
blissfully ignores the leak.

Here's how I stop radiator leaks in the field.  You have half the
equation - JB Weld.  the other half is a low psi (3-9 psi) radiator
cap.  If a solder seam opens, usually from running hot, the seam can
be carefully cleaned and then JB-welded.  Here's a tip on applying
it.  Warm the radiator (engine heat, hair dryer, whatever) when
applying it so the stuff is fairly thin.  With the radiator empty,
jumper the overflow line over to a vacuum port on the manifold. 
Place the radiator cap on and crank the engine for a few seconds. 
The engine will draw a partial vacuum in the coolant system, pulling
the JB weld down into the cracked seam.  What you want is for the JB
weld to balloon out a little on the inside and form a mechanical
seal.  It only takes a couple of seconds of vacuum to do the trick.

If a tube is broken (rock, etc), dig the fins away from the tubing. 
Then using diagonal pliers, cut the tubing. Then take needle nose
pliers and wrap the tubing up on itself several times like winding
up a toothpaste tube, crimping tightly on each wrap. Repeat for the
other end.  Embed each end in JB weld to hold the crimped ends.  

The purpose of the low pressure cap is to limit the stress on the
repair until a new radiator can be obtained.  The engine WILL
overheat if loaded heavily so easy going is a must.

One last tip - don't be tempted to use 5 minute epoxy - it is
nowhere near as strong as the overnight stuff.  JB Weld can be cured
in a couple of hours by keeping it hot with a hair dryer.  Crank the
genny, tape the hair dryer in place with duct tape, then kick back
with something cool and relax - that's what the RV's for, after all!
:-)

John