My 63 Dart wagon's 225 was overheating, so I had the rad boiled out, rodded out, and tank repaired. I also did a block flush, pulled all freeze plugs, cleaned all the schmutz from the water jackets. I also have on hand a brand new 180 Stant thermostat, plus bought new hoses and belts to give this thing some badly needed maintenance. Hopefully, I won't have to deal with overheating for awhile. Also bought a new 16lb double-seal cap.

But I'm still annoyed, frustrated and depressed, because in my zeal to remove the radiator and fix the overheating problem, I created another. The brass nuts that hold the transmission cooling lines to the lower rad tank were very, very tight. On the first one I tried to remove, I managed to twist the line beyond repair, so I realized I would have to re-bend and re-flair the end to mate it correctly. Wisely, I sprayed liquid wrench on the second line, and it came loose much easier.

Spent about 3 hours this past Saturday trying to re-bend the transmission cooling line with the line still in the car. At first, this seemed like a bad idea, because I had no room to work. Tried removing the line from the transmission, but even with liquid wrench, the nut's not budging and there's very limited room back there, even from beneath. So, I continued to work on the end I can access, but my results were mediocre. That's when I realized that to really do this job right, the line has to come out, and be completely re-bent.

So all, my question is: (using the tube cutter), should I cut the line as far forward as I can and mate a new section of line with the old section which is bent correctly, or is it necessary to remove the whole thing and re-bend it?

Please give me thoughts for best practices. Thanks!

This's a "back yard" thing for which I'll likely catch the usual flak, so onward ............

Long ago I came to the realization that the pressures slush pumps send through their cooling lines were well within the range of some rubber fuel line/hose clamp combinations. A decent braid reenforced hose and doubled screw clamps has served me well.

Four points (all obvious);
1- keep'em short,
2- it's wisdom to pop in a fresh hose each time you remove one (they do take a set from the clamps),
3- use good clamps in decent shape,
4- clean & dry the line ends prior to assembly.

I reroute these lines to facilitate engine and/or component removal, to relocate & add components, and to allow more flex, as desired, but repair patching would also be a perfectly valid reason.

........ and no, I've not had one come off, leak, break or get stolen by a UFO ...... forty years & counting.

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Sex, drags, and rock & roll.
Dick, 225% crazy.
Hobby (cars, that is) Photos link

From your third picture you can see someone has spliced the line, just do the same thing with your damaged line. The pump only puts out about 30lbs pressure.

Richard

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Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

They may just have hypnotized you into believing that, you know....

Olaf.

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Aspenized

compression unions (ferrule fittings) also work really well in this application, just don't try to use them on rusty lines

Kevin

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crossthreads are better than locktite

Thanks guys, the line splicing is what I'll do. Have a new line and the compression fittings, so that should go smoothly, and then I'll be all set to put her back together. Been about a month she's been out of commission and i'm itching to get her back together and see if the work I did pays off.

If you're splicing in a hose to hard line,

Start, but DON'T complete a double flare on the hardline so the hose won't slip off.

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Yeeees, maaaster.

_________________
Sex, drags, and rock & roll.
Dick, 225% crazy.
Hobby (cars, that is) Photos link