Replacing main coolant pipes on the cheap

[mark1967]

The two main metal pipes that run under the van on inspection were past their best.Having just sorted an overheating issue and having changed the stat,pump and given it a good flush thru didnt fancy leaving the pipes as they would be the weak link that more than likely would let me down in the middle of nowhere.As I see it you have a couple of options a set off the Bay of Fleas that probably arent much better than the ones you have,or a nice shiny new set for about 200 quid.Being a frugal yorkshireman I looked for other options and came up with this:
32mm OD steel tube 2.5 mm wall thickness.The good point is its seamless hydraulic tube that at 2.5mm wall thickness will take longer to rust thru than I have years left to live !and most importantly to us yorkshiremen it cost me 32 quid for two 7ft lengths and a bag full of jubilee clips
Ok so there is a slight drawback in that seamless hydraulic tube comes in one form- straight,very straight and it likes being straight so much so it resists any attempt to be bent quite strongly.Unless you have one of these



So heres the crusty old pipe :


And this is the shiny new hard as nails pipe :



Here you see the the trouble.Right shape but knackered vs nice and new
but straight as a die



So carefully matching old with new in the bender and jiggling marking and making each bend as I went after a while I ended up with this :



Spurred on by my initial success I started the 2nd pipe which although it looks very similar it took a bit more jiggling and bending than the other,after tea and sandwiches from the missus and a bit more jiggling and swearing I ended up with these:



Ive just got to turn four rings on the lathe to weld about 1/2 inch from each end to stop the hose from coming off and jobs a good un.Fitting them back on will be interesting but shouldn`t be that bad.It probably won`t impress the "Oooh all that extra weight" brigade but for a 170 quid discount I can live with it.
Actually the main reason for using it was it was all I could get on a Saturday morning.Incidentally a quick mention for the lads at Carlton Hydraulics in Rotherham who buggered about looking for stuff for me
The eagle eyed will spot that the bender is home made,it was for another project that never happened and its been sat in the garage for yonks unused and this was its maiden use.In fact its the first time I`ve ever used one.There was some "ovalling" on the tighter bends but nothing to worry about,thinner wall stuff would probably have kinked to much anyways.I`ll report how I go with it at a later date.

[tinman]

Nice work Mark
I'm all for manufacturing our own parts with the silly prices people are paying at the moment.I made my own swivel base recently with all beg stolen and borrowed parts only cost is time.
Next I'm thinking of a rock n roll bed as I can't find what I want reasonably priced.

[mark1967]

I'm all for manufacturing our own parts with the silly prices people are paying at the moment.I made my own swivel base recently with all beg stolen and borrowed parts only cost is time.
Next I'm thinking of a rock n roll bed as I can't find what I want reasonably priced.

See if you can get a look at the set up on a Autohomes Karisma its looks real simple just a few plastic blocks and some bent 8mm rod.Wouldnt be too hard to copy and would only cost about 10 bob and a conker to buy the bits that are needed.Our van came with a set of RnR hinges but if it hadnt I would have gone for the Karisma set up.

[getunder]

Did my water pipes 2 years ago and got them from e-Bay. Was offered 3 sets and bought a pair for about £50.Perfect, even had some front rubber pipes still attached.
Tip !!! to get them on easier carve off the underside of the middle bracket the old pipes go through and then bolt on a bit of metal after.