HELP! I'm looking for suggestions to fix my problem.
I still have the leak - only now it's worse. The heater would drip less than an ounce at irregular intervals before I removed it and straightened the crushed in/out pipes. Today I reinstalled the heater, Ranco valve, and hoses. I refilled the cooling system with water so that I could go for a drive an test my work. When I got into the cab, water was dribbling out of the heater at a pretty good pace - more than it ever had. Never even started the engine. So it's out of the truck again and back on my bench.
Don't know if the old heater hoses are causing the problem. They are about three years old. I cut an inch off of the end where the gear clamp was attached and installed new flat spring clamps. I'll install new heater hoses when I reinstall the heater.
I used the Stovebolt Google search for "heater leak test." I saw similar problems posted. Most of the responses advised to use low pressure when testing an AD heater core. So I tested with lung pressure. Couldn't find any leak. Water or air should be gushing out of the core based on the amount of water that was dribbling from the heater case.
> I clamped a couple of feet of heater hose to the pipes, filled the core and hoses with water, then held one hose and blew into the other. No leak.
> I emptied the core, sprayed it with soapy water and blew into it. No leak.
> Then I used my patented Party Balloon Leak Test to fill the core with constant low pressure. I emptied the core, blew up two party balloons and attached to each tube, then sat it into an ice chest full of water. No bubbles.
Pics:
Party Balloon Leak TestParty Balloon Leak Test 2Pipes after removing crease New flat spring hose clamp in pic.
Core before pipe repairHeater in truck Old pic.
Ranco valve and hosesThanks for any advice that you can give to me.
