Upper cylinder coolant tube seals

1047 Views 7 Replies 3 Participants Last post by swifty2014, May 13, 2015

Brolo

Discussion Starter · May 11, 2015

Hello again!

So after the electrical fiasco -which everybody was a great help about-, I came to find out after inspecting wiring behind the frame covers, I decided to check radiator fluid...to my surprise it was bone dry! I flushed it out and all sorts of crap came out from it sitting.

Well, of course since it sat empty for a year the seals which were already old, dry rotted, aged and/or were ruined by overheating! When flushed & refilled It leaked from the rear upper water pump hose, crossover tube, AND upper cylinder head tubes in no time! :x

1) So far I RTV'd the slow upper water pump hose leak(where it connects to the rear cylinder on the bottom?) Thumbs up! No problems here.

2) I ran to Home Depot and acquired some O-Rings and SOMEHOW with a bit of frustration, all alone, dental flossed between it's crevices until that darn sucker slid onto its tubes! Bit of advice, use a coat hanger. Thumbs up here! (PITA :lol

3) Then the upper tubes leaked, I managed to tear down the carb intakes and all that stuff, loosened the bolts that fastened them down, and learned you can push the tube forward and drop it down slightly which allowed me to pull of those crusty dry seals.

My question is...how the heck am I supposed to slide these seals back on? The tube is wider at the bottom so I have to slightly stretch it over the tube while managing to hold it in place and squeezing my hands in a tight space! If I lube the seal with oil or anything it slips around LOL...there HAS to be a simpler way to do this WITHOUT dropping the friggin motor!!! :lol:

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swifty2014

· #2 · May 12, 2015

I don't have the manual but trying to envision what it looks like from what i saw in my older manual. If the parts are not too slippery yet or you can clean them very well, this may work=
Glue the seals to the pipes on the inner surface with super glue to keep them in their pace. Then when it is tight put some RTV on the outer surface of the rings to help them slide into the head bore. The RTV will also give it a bit of added sealing when it sets up.

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swifty2014

· #5 · May 12, 2015

Hope that works out on the sealing rings. It is a good idea also to polish the bore with some fine emory paper to get rid of old coolant build up and crust. I would even smear a very light coat of RTV inside there to help the ring slide in without scuffing the rubber.

I also thought that maybe a very thin piece of plastic tube wrapped around the metal tube to help push the rings as you push the metal tube. Just a possibility.

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swifty2014

· #8 · May 13, 2015

Glad you got it together. Shoe string trick !!!
Like the old timer said -
" Just a little baling wire and bubble gum will keep her going, sonny."

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