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| | | | Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 253 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 253 | I picked up some great parts in the junk yard this weekend and the real find was a 40's Hudson aftermarket cab heater that will be just the ticket in the 45 one and a half ton.
The fan motor is bad but that is an easy fix but what I want to do next is check the heater core for leaks. I'm thinking I may plug one end and apply my household water pressure (30-35 psi) to the other end and see if there are wet spots or worse. Is that too much pressure? not enough?
I'm looking for any all suggestions on how to test the core. There are no radiator shops around for miles so I'm looking to do it myself.
-mike-
1945 Chevrolet G 506 1.5 Ton Military 4X4
1967 Jeep Cj5 with 283 SBC
| | | | | Joined: May 2001 Posts: 7,438 Extreme Gabster | | Extreme Gabster Joined: May 2001 Posts: 7,438 | Household water pressure is way too much. The Chevy engines of the era were low pressure cooling system so I imagine the Hudson was too.
You need to rig something up where you can apply a few pounds of pressure with a bicycle tire pump. | | | | | Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,746 Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) | | Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,746 | Ditto on the bicycle pump. You probably shouldn't exceed 10 PSI. Cut a section out of a bicycle innertube with the valve stem attached, clamp the ends to the heater core nipples, and pump it up. Then use bubble soap from a spray bottle to check the core for air leaks.
Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
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| | | | | Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 9,115 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 9,115 | I use two hunks of heater hose and two tubeless tire valve stems. I secure it all with gear clamps. I pump a little pressure in, check it with a tire gauge and then immerse the core in water. | | | | | Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 29,269 Bubba - Curmudgeon | | Bubba - Curmudgeon Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 29,269 | I use two hunks of heater hose and two tubeless tire valve stems. I secure it all with gear clamps. I pump a little pressure in, check it with a tire gauge and then immerse the core in water. Thanks for the description. Also, I had never seen the term "gear clamp" (I see "hose connections" in the USA Shop Manual) but it makes sense (and, is used in Google Images). | | | | | Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 3,596 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 3,596 | Low pressure is the ticket with 60 year old cores. You have to remember many of these trucks ran with 0-4 pound caps on them. Truckernix has the right set-up for checking them, if you go to a radiator shop they immerse completely to check for leaks. | | | | | Joined: Jun 2004 Posts: 8,597 Riding in the Passing Lane | | Riding in the Passing Lane Joined: Jun 2004 Posts: 8,597 | The pressure from the pressure system is not the only pressure on a heater core. The water pump blocked by the therm builds up pressure. A radiator shop I dealt with years ago put a pressure gauge on it. It ran as high as 50 lbs.
They say money can't buy happiness. It can buy old Chevy trucks though. Same thing. 1972 Chevy c10 Cheyenne SuperIn the Gallery Forum | | | | | Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 253 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 253 | Thank you all for all of this good information. Now I'll keep my fingers crossed that the core checks out OK.... otherwise my next post will be "How do I fix a heater core?"
1945 Chevrolet G 506 1.5 Ton Military 4X4
1967 Jeep Cj5 with 283 SBC
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