Desperately seeking heater pipe.
     | Monday, October 28, 2002 - 09:20 am  Greetings, I'm in the process of rescuing an '87 GN that's been sitting idle most of it's life. All was going well, but then the metal heater pipe from the TB to the switch sprung a leak (those lines are both pretty rusted). Anyway, long story short, I need one before I can move on. Of course, it's the only part I can't find anywhere! So, the first thing I thought is that some kind soul here must have one or two lying around in decent structural condition that he or she might part with in exchange for a nominal finders fee. So, can anyone help me get this GN back on the road where she belongs? If so, shoot me an email at jasond@theroot.org or give a call at 425-985-5331. Thanks much!
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| | Monday, October 28, 2002 - 05:03 pm If you're talking about the heater pipes I had mine leak also. Holms radiator was able to braze it for me. Some guys, if not all, block off the little lines running to the throttle body because they don't do any good and just heat up the throttle body after the car is warmed-up. If your piece is not repairable, I believe the SOP is to use heater hose all the way alongside the engine. I'll bet if you used some fancy braided hose cover, it would look pretty good. Patrick '87 GN
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| | Wednesday, October 30, 2002 - 01:39 pm This is what I did. I took my pipe to a hose and fitting shop and had two new large hoses fabricated. Make sure they flare the ends slightly and install your pipe nut on your new pipe. I then put some clamps around the two hoses and marked the position of the throttle body heater ports on the new hose assembly (assuming you're going to run the TB heater, after you mark the position, remove the clamps. I took the assembly to a air conditioning repair shop and had a new set of TB heater ports soldered in (don't forget the slight flair for hose sealing). After that was complete, I took the unit to a plating shop and had it plated with white cadmium plating (or if available, miltary black cadmium plate) and then I painted the assembly matte black (unless you had the black cad plating done). Cost around $55. Originally I ordered from a vendor who shall remain nameless and it was a POS for $175. The bends were wrong, it didn't fit,there was no flaring at the ends and the paint was scratched off in spots (probably from the last person that ordered the unit and when it wouldn't fit, chucked as far as it could be thrown, only to realized it needed to be sent back for a refund).
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