1958 Country Sedan project

A leaking bottle will still leak, with the engine turned off. In fact, even more so, since there is a sudden stopage of coolant flow which will send the temperature slightly higher. In my old Chevy, I had a lever which could blow recirculated cabin air. If yours has this feature and you use it for testing, you could further prove that the core's at fault, before crawling under there to get it out

 

Figured it out yesterday. The aluminum radiator I put in in November 2016 has begun to leak. Not bad, just a bit of weeping between the top tank and the core.
Pretty sure it's electrolysis causing corrosion inside the system.

Stopped the leak with a new sealer called "K-Seal". And so far, it works great!
Even fired the car up in the driveway for an hour while I washed off the dirt and road grime. Never smelled a hint of antifreeze the entire time while the engine idled at full temp.

Next step is to find an anti-electrolysis compound to put into the system. Someone told me that they make radiator caps with a Zinc component that works.

J

 

Electrolysis could only take place, when aluminum and another metal meet. Are they somehow connecting aluminum cores with copper tanks?

 

All I know is I was warned that with an aluminum radiator on an iron block engine, electrolysis could take place.
A year and half is too short for a brand new radiator to start failing wouldn't you say?

And I have seen some failure so... it's either I buy another radiator. Or try some sort of zinc additive to cancel it out.

 

Any iron molecules flowing towards the radiator will only cause surface electrolysis. A leak is due to a microscopic manufacturing failure. If you buy another radiator, surely not a replacement of the same brand

 

You don't need additives. The electrolysis is happening because of poor/dirty grounding. You need to first verify you have a proper ground path for all the major structures--frame, body and drivetrain. The frame usually has a separate path directly in to the ground cable, but if not, add one, 12 ga. or larger. Next, the body circuitry goes from the firewall to the rear of one or both cylinder heads. You should have two, one a 12 ga wire, the other a braided strap. If the wagon has neither, you can snag ones from newer cars. Install ths firewall ends using those 'star' washers that bite into the metal. Finally, you need a good-condition, fairly recent ground cable, 6 ga or bigger diameter, that goes from the engine block (not the cylinder head) directly to the battery post. Once you've done all this, take a voltmeter, place the negative lead on the battery negative, and dip the positive lead's tip in the coolant. Anything higher than .1V is bad; the best reading is .05V or less.

 

Wow, good advice. I'll check all that out, thanks!

Only one I can confirm is the battery neg is new and does go to the block. Checking the voltmeter now....

 

On old cars with iron engines and brass goodies, a slightly higher voltage takes longer to cause trouble, but it still causes trouble. On Babe, I went to pull one of the heater hoses off of a core pipe a couple weeks ago, and darn it if the pipe didn't just pop out of the top tank! I'll have to test the heater core for plugging, but if it's not, I'll just have the tube resoldered.

 

Okay, have not pulled out the voltmeter, but I did put 8oz of "K-Seal" into the cooling system.
Fired up the engine to let it circulate while I did my twice yearly wash.
No sign of any leaks and... no smell of antifreeze at all!

Oh... and replaced the tail light lenses with Fairlane lenses.
This means NOTHING to anyone else unless you own a '58 wagon.
But while the shape of the lenses are the same. The depth of the lens on the Fairlane stick out 3/4" longer!
Wagons received lenses that were 2.25" deep. Fairlanes, 3" total at the mounting hole.

Hey, it's not stock people....

 

So. We need photos of the Fairlane lenses.
Don't keep us waiting...

 

You got it!
Sun is just coming up and it smells like rain is coming. Perfect time to take pictures.



As you can clearly see they are deeper than the originals. No problem with bumper clearance on the tailgate, but they do stick out like erect nipples more than the originals.
My thumb is covering a faded spot on one of the originals. Guess the heat of the lamp faded out the red tint after 60 years of use.
These new lenses are NOS sold for $8.00 each on eBay. Seller said they were for a wagon, but they are not.
Also noticed same seller is listing them as pickup truck lenses and they are not.
Guess he just got a gross of them and wants to get rid of'em.



Up front I removed the parking light lenses and cleaned them out.
Then sprayed silver over the rusty backs being careful to stuff a rag into the socket.
They are much brighter now and can more easily be seen in traffic. Which is increasing in this fair city by the week as Californian's flee north.



Fluid levels checked, no radiator leaks so all is good!

Respectfully submitted,
Jairus

 

Looking good Jairus.
I always enjoy subtle mods like that.

 

Yeah, those lenses are sticking out a bit. If they're $8 a pop, you should snag another set for spares, JIC.

 

June 24, early in the morning.
I drive the Church Van most sundays and was heading out and the day is BEAUTIFUL!
So, grabbed the camera before leaving the house.


Yes, that's the Oregon State Capitol.
Changed the oil, oil-filter and air filter last Thursday. Car running GREAT, no problems other than....
... we'll get to that.

Slight aside, I spent a couple weeks repairing and fiberglassing the surf boards. Hey, summer is here, and they needed it.
They still look old, but all damage is fixed and with a bit of "Sex Wax" anyone could take them out.




At Church, the band was rehearsing.


On the drive to pick up worshippers, caught this Chrysler Town & Country wagon.
Looks just purchased and in great shape.





Hope they are a part of this forum.

Respectfully submitted,

 

As for the repairs...
Can't shut off the hot water to the heater core.
Think the problem is the valve on the right, which I purchased NOS off eBay.
The vacuum temp control I also purchased NOS just in case.
Going to have to pull the core to replace them since the weather is getting warmer.


Bar-B-Que coming up for lunch so... see you soon!