RustyNumbat Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 I've got a new(ish) radiator core to put into my Fordson e27N, only problem is now I look at the header tank it seems old man time and corrosion has made the existing bolt holes rather fraught with peril. Though of re-tapping them, but honestly they're a little too fragile for comfort. The "structural" holes for the sides of the radiator seem to be okay, it's just the front and rear ones for holding the core in place. That being said, could anyone advise me on if it'd be a good idea to drill out a whole row of new holes for much smaller bolts on the front and rear in order to mount the radiator core. There's also strips of metal the full width that will help hold the core on, as well as a good helping of silicone or gasket glue or something. Just wondering if anyone has ever done similar before in this situation, swapping out a bunch of large spaced out bolts for twice as many small ones. I've only got about .4 of an inch of solid cast to drill and thread the new bolt holes into, so these hypothetical bolts would indeed be quite small. Here's an image how it currently stands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitty Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 Can the original holes be cleaned out and redrilled and tapped for Helicoil in the correct size? I am not familiar with that tractor and how it mounts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyNumbat Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 As I said sadly too much has corroded so the original holes are too fragile/close to the edge to be used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Kirsch Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 Far as I can see, you've got nothing to lose by trying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyNumbat Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 Yeah that's what I figured I wish 3d printing would hurry up and make custom metal casting really cheap, imagine all these sorts of parts you could get made up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
560Dennis Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 On 1/3/2019 at 6:42 AM, RustyNumbat said: I've got a new(ish) radiator core to put into my Fordson e27N, only problem is now I look at the header tank it seems old man time and corrosion has made the existing bolt holes rather fraught with peril. Though of re-tapping them, but honestly they're a little too fragile for comfort. The "structural" holes for the sides of the radiator seem to be okay, it's just the front and rear ones for holding the core in place. That being said, could anyone advise me on if it'd be a good idea to drill out a whole row of new holes for much smaller bolts on the front and rear in order to mount the radiator core. There's also strips of metal the full width that will help hold the core on, as well as a good helping of silicone or gasket glue or something. Just wondering if anyone has ever done similar before in this situation, swapping out a bunch of large spaced out bolts for twice as many small ones. I've only got about .4 of an inch of solid cast to drill and thread the new bolt holes into, so these hypothetical bolts would indeed be quite small. Here's an image how it currently stands. Looks like mine , I just hit it with Milwaukee wire brush. Clean out inside with hand wire brushes. Painted inside with glyptol. Tim@ Fordson house a said to seal gaskets together with permatex . Look close has the tapped 1/4-28 threads erode away on front o casting ? Are you able to sand blast eroded holes and braze build it back up shape file it back and retap ? this is where a vertical milling machine is handy ???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAM86 Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 My .02, if it were my dilema and the threads were gone and too fragile to re-thread or thread larger I would consider theses options in order of lesser prefderence. 1) drill out the remaing thread and make some plates with new tapped holes in them to line up with the existing hole pattern. I would install the plates inside the water jacket with some epoxy or other fastening method to hold them in place untill the radiator core is bolted up. The idea is to "sandwitch" the cast iron instead of relying on the cast threads. Any type of "sandwich" method will give you far superior support than just the threaded holes. Obviously longer bolts would be required. Once assembled its out of sight and no one would be wiser to it. 2) instead of plates epoxy or braze nuts under each hole, same principle as method 1, with less clamping area but may be more easily achieved. 3) get out the torches and wallet and build up each hole with braze. 4) build up each hole with the poor mans method (JB Weld) then re tap to the next larger size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wi Ih Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 Could you clean holes out and put stud in with loctete and let it set up ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyNumbat Posted January 6, 2019 Author Share Posted January 6, 2019 I should have checked this thread before, lots of good ideas! I really liked that one of yours Sam, having the original bolt holes as mere pass-throughs for gripping bolts! I've kicked off with my original, which is to sink twice as many, much smaller nuts into new holes, and fill up/ignore the old holes. Here's an image of the first holes, the bloody tap I managed to break off in an original hole (yeah, check if you're using a starter tap on a bottom-out hole before you start using it....) And finally a lovely, professionally made diagram of the order of things being sandwiched to assure no boiling water will escape the finished product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kracked1 Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 What everybody forgets is these are not pressurized systems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rawleigh99 Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 I think you are on the right track with the plate underneath the apron. 30 lb builders felt makes good gaskets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyNumbat Posted January 9, 2019 Author Share Posted January 9, 2019 All going well, gaskets made up. Going to give the things a lick of red primer (with my beloved flood penetrol additive), still have to get my steel strips made up. Used some steel putty to block up the old bolt holes, had a small amount left over so I sloppily stuck it onto a broken bolt hole edge. Thing set rock hard and with a bit of filing looks almost the same as the rest of the cast, really impressed with the stuff. Then there's the matter of dragging the tractor up to the shed with shot tires, and it's seized to boot... guess I'll pour some diesel in the bores overnight then give it a love tug tomorrow morning... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyNumbat Posted January 9, 2019 Author Share Posted January 9, 2019 Also now it's the right colour to be "forum legal" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyNumbat Posted January 13, 2019 Author Share Posted January 13, 2019 A few more photos from today on this imgur album https://imgur.com/a/09kHuKW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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