water pump pipe

Anybody used a work arourd or improvement for that crummy pipe that comes off the water pump to the heater supply. Noticed that on both TJ's and my XJ that it seems to be rotting and corroding.
Oh, and I'd really like to meet the jerk who designed that power steering bolt design. Stupid SOB, the 3 behind the pulley were bad enough but to put that one back on the engine block he or they deserve a kick in the ass...

Sure - go to the plumbing section at your local and get one 3/8"NPTx5" nipple, one 3/8" right angle, and about a 3/8"NPTx3" or so nipple (you're going to cut that last one in half.)

Screw the long nipple into the water pump, the elbow onto the nipple, and one-half of the short nipple into that. "Clock" it into the correct direction.

I would advise sanding the surface of the short nipple with some really aggressive sandpaper (which will help to simulate "beading" of the pipe and help the hose seal) before you put it all together.

I've had this configuration running for several years now with no trouble. I originally did it because the rubber hose right behind the upper idler pully made me nervous...

I have also gone so far as to make a set of "closed system" heater hoses out of copper tubing, sweated together - compleat with a "forced backflush valve" and an integral flush tee. It needs some small refinement yet (the two 3/4" hose connexions are vexing me) and I'd like to put the mod through the full summer before I release details - but it looks promising so far!

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Will pick up that stuff, x3, on monday or tues for for future use. Daughters TJ one looks kinda scary blistered an all. Want to be ready for it. I guess if it works on the pump I took out I could use a pipe cutter to cut off the 90 on the one thats on the new pump I just finished putting in then take it off w/o having to remove the pump. If I take that list to a plumbing supply store and show it to them will they know what I'm talking about because I have no clue about piping.
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i thought i was the only one that hated that pipe i was like what the hey is this some stuff left over from a plumbers bin.... kinda cheesy

They're all standard goodies, so you should be able to walk in and get them. Get brass, even if you have to order it or drive a bit, since it will last longer and the cut edges won't corrode.

If you're going to do this without removing the water pump, you should be able to find "nipple wrenches" that cam against the inside of the pipe. They've got hexagonal bodies, so you can turn them with a socket or a wrench, and the wrenches don't cost much (~$5-10)

It's common for those things to be stuck pretty good, so don't neglect the PB Blaster when you're taking them off existing pumps...

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Yet another approach: I put in a straight nipple and had the auto parts guy find me a 90 degree pre bent rubber hose. You then need a straight connector to connect to the existing hose.

My bet is this is how it was originally intended.

Whoever thought up that bent pipe was surely not a mechanic or plumber, must have been an engineer.

gjxj said:

Yet another approach: I put in a straight nipple and had the auto parts guy find me a 90 degree pre bent rubber hose. You then need a straight connector to connect to the existing hose.

My bet is this is how it was originally intended.

Whoever thought up that bent pipe was surely not a mechanic or plumber, must have been an engineer.

Click to expand...

Yeah - but those prebent heater hoses can get expensive pretty quick. That's why I recently deleted most of the heater hoses (left about 8" in there for vibration,) and I'll post details after I've run it through a summer. But - it looks promising so far. I used copper pipe sweated together, and I installed a backflush fitting and a "backflush forcing valve" to direct flow into the block for his biennial flush.

Anyhow, I recreated the system in copper pipe, and installed it using vibration stubs. I've still got to find a way to bead the pipes, and work out another solution to match up to the 3/4" ID fittings at the thermostat housing and the upper heater core - they're both on my list of things to do...

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