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Sanbar Corroded Water Pipes

Discussion in 'Subaru Sambar' started by RicePaddy, Jan 1, 2010.

  1. RicePaddy

    RicePaddy New Member

    Corroded water pipes.
    ’91 Sanbar EN07

    See attached JPEG

    I have not come across corroded water pipes in a car or truck as seen in the picture. Notice the pin holes. All my rubber pipes are coated with a heavy metallic scale on the inside. To my inexperienced eye, it looks like electrolysis in a boat engine.

    I have heard that using tap water in a car is not good. Personally, I use distilled water, even though I have not been completely sold on this theory. Distilled water does have a higher dielectric than tap water. I suppose some tap water can conduct electricity rather well, high mineral or acid content. Heat, with two unlike metals immersed in a conductor fluid does make a battery. Regardless I would guess the previous owner did not use a good antirust additive. Obviously, the Sanbar need a good antirust additive considering all the piping it had.

    Any thoughts out there as to what caused this corrosion?
     

    Attached Files:

  2. RicePaddy

    RicePaddy New Member

    To clarify about the water in the post above :
    I generally use 50/50 antifreeze/water in my vehicles. One gallon of water is considerably cheaper than antifreeze. I am not far enough North to worry about the colder temperatures (if I were in Canada like many of you, I probably wouldn’t cut the antifreeze). According to the directions on the container, a 50/50 cut gives -34F -37C and +265F +129C protection.
     
  3. misterturbo

    misterturbo Member

    I had that problem in a Sambar long time ago.. Pipes were all corroded and leaking, with pin holes here and there. Since there was no corrosion on the vehicle itself and only the pipes it is fair to assume that the cause was because the anti-rust additives in the coolant wore out. Once it runs out, those lines will rust out inside out.
     
    Jigs-n-fixtures likes this.
  4. RicePaddy

    RicePaddy New Member

    I agree 110% with the anti-rust additive being gone. Do you think there is anything to electrolysis erosion here?
     
  5. Ryan.Flood

    Ryan.Flood New Member

    Replacing (or repairing) leaking coolant pipes

    I am having the same, or similar problem. The coolant pipes in my '92 Sambar are corroded and leaking coolant. How did you solve the problem? Did you replace the pipes? Where did you find replacement pipes? The pipe that I need to replace is part #45171 TA180, it is the PIPE RAD-ENG NA, although I should likely replace all three of the pipes that run from the rear to the front at the same time. Any suggestions?
     
  6. RicePaddy

    RicePaddy New Member

    Since I am in Japan the thin-wall steel pipes are metric, makes it easy to replace. You probably could find some tubing at HomeDepot or one of the other DIY stored. That option is much cheaper than original parts.

    In another place found some armored radiator hose that fit the pipe, that was the big one. I just cut out the bad spot and clamped on the hose.

    The little pipe on the thermostat will have to be original though there is not fixing that.

    Hope that helps
    Steve
     
  7. Ryan.Flood

    Ryan.Flood New Member

    Sanbar corroded coolant pipes

    I also have corroded and leaking coolant pipes. How did you fix your problem? Did you replace the pipes? Where did you find replacements?
     
  8. RicePaddy

    RicePaddy New Member

    The large diameter pipe I just cut out the bad spot, replaced the spot with some armored radiator hose. There are custom speed shops in the states that have the hose on reels and cut the hose to length. It doesn’t necessarily have to be armored though. The smaller pipes I used tubing from the DIY store. Some copper tubing will fit also.

    It fit, it worked and doesn’t leak and the big plus it’s not where it can be readily seen. Unless you were a mechanic you probably wouldn’t notice the difference. BTW, NAPA has both steel tubing and rubber hoses.
     
  9. SeaStreet

    SeaStreet New Member

    I too have corroded coolant pipes on my 1990 Sambar Dias II Van. I suppose I can't complain since they are 26 years old. I am trying to replace them with 1" copper pipe which seems to have the correct outside diameter. Problem 1: These appear to have been installed before they dropped the body down on the frame. I need to beat the bar that holds up the spare tire and runs over the coolant pipes. I have it released on the drivers side but on the left side it disappears under the gas tank. Anyone ever pulled these before?
     
  10. JoeBean

    JoeBean New Member

    You probably already finished this job but anyway...

    I did it on a truck, not a van, and I used copper like you. I removed the pan and cab to get at it all and to do some other work, but if I were you I'd drop the gas tank, cut the pipes out in sections, and put it back together as sections that are soldered in place.

    Also, as a tip: Get a pipe flaring tool and put a very slight flare (too much will cut into the hoses) on the small diameter pipes to help seal them off, and on the large diameter pipe wrap some copper wire (eg. bare 14 gauge wire) around a slightly smaller diameter pipe, cut it so there's maybe 1/4" overlap in the loop ends, and and solder in place. It makes for a very good seal once the clamps go on.

    In my case I also had to remove the thermostat housing and the throttle body and replace the clamps on the hoses on top of the engine as they were leaking too.

    And as one final tip: If you don't have one already, get a Uview Airlift or similar to replace the coolant. Otherwise it's a huge pain. Also, if you take the rubber part off the airlift and use low pressure (10psi or less) shop air blow through it you can pressurize the system and spray soapy water to check for leaks.
     
  11. SeaStreet

    SeaStreet New Member

    I did get it done eventually. As it turns out, if you want to get them out and replace with one piece as I did, you must drop the tank. I replaced them with copper t joints and an assortment of step down joints. Works fine. A big pain.
     
  12. Rick Melloh

    Rick Melloh Member

    I rebuilt my entire set of tubes with copper tubes and fittings. They all rotted out directly above the fuel tank. The diameter matches were good using assorted, common, plumbing copper. The manifold sections were beautiful when freshly polished, but alas, who would ever see them once the bed was put back on.

    I took advantage of the bed removal to have it and the drop gates sandblasted, epoxy primed and repainted white. I put a black, anti-slip coating on the top rail of the three drop gates. I highly recommend this. I found a universal, plug-in, zip-tie fitting that did a good job of rehanging all the electrical harness under the deck. I made new, black, ABS gang clamps for the tube system out of 1/2" ABS sheet stock. I replaced all screws, nuts, washers and bolts with SS and premium coated fasteners.

    Meanwhile, I now see daylight through the RH floor of of my 2001 TT2. I think I must be crazy to invest a cent in it, but there is no substitute.
     
  13. cop on my back

    cop on my back Active Member

    That first picture is nasty, not sure how that is possible with the hose being rubber. I replaced all 3 straight pipes with steel and flared the ends as well as welded in a spigot for the small pipe that attaches onto the one pipe.

    On a different note, I do have a spare water housing like the picture at the top in good shape. I could sell it if the price was right.
     
  14. deshet

    deshet Member

    is there a place to buy these pipes now
    I would like to replace all three lines
    how did you guys deal with the pipe that has two fittings extremely close together?
    I have owned my truck for 6 months and not been able to use it
     
  15. rkrenicki

    rkrenicki Active Member

    I bought new pipes for my truck from JapanParts about 2 years ago as they were still available. Is yours supercharged or carbed? They use different diameter pipes, but I can provide the part numbers. Also, what transmission do you have, Manual or CVT/3AT?
     
  16. hjvv/KS4

    hjvv/KS4 New Member

    My 93 KS4 suffered some coolant loss from pinhole corrosion on exterior of motor > radiator pipe under rearmost two of the three support clamps, and the smaller heater return line was quite thin at the same places. Removing the original pipes was done supporting under the frame on right side, liberating the spare tire from the carrier and carefully nipping off the 30 year old now screw-stuck wire hose clamps. After draining the radiator, patiently twisting and wiggling the hose connections free rewarded me with surprisingly intact and serviceable original looking molded hoses (to be replaced with new t-stat in fairer weather!) I found it is possible to thread the pipes forward and up under the cab floor enough to dip the rearmost end and slide it aft past the frame cross tube to then get the forward end under the tire carrier frame for another move or two to freedom. I was amazed and very pleased to look thru the shiny-clean tube bores, previous operators must have kept up on maintaining the fluids, no sediment showed in the radiator draining either. I cobbled up a replacement set of pipes using copper tubing and fittings from the local home and farm supply stores. Tubing in ID sizes of 3/4" ( 22mm OD) and 1/2" (15mm OD) are a very close match for the steel originals, I used "L" .06 wall vs the thinner .04 "M" tube for best strength. The pipes on my truck were about 58" overall, the main radiator supply needed addition of a Y reduced to a 1/2" branch for the heater feed. The radiator return pipe needed adding a T reduced down to 1/4" to fit the vent line. The heater return is just a straight 1/2" tube. I sweated all fitting joints using silver alloy solder as it is a good bit stronger than typical plumbing solder but can still be done in these sizes easily with a good propane torch. I figure I have spent about as much on copper parts as the OEM parts cost but skipped the shipping cost/delay. I refitted tubes to chassis and reconnected the hoses, now secured with Breeze clamps. I let the rear of the chassis down (left the front on jack stand to help air pockets moving toward radiator/expansion tank) and opened the high vent pugged line at the rearmost edge of the service cover opening to refill the cooling system using a Harbor Freight no-spill radiator funnel kit. A few hours of fabrication and same reassembling and filling/burping the cooling system test seems a success, test drive tomorrow.....
     
    Last edited: Jan 29, 2023
    Wire Fox likes this.
  17. Jigs-n-fixtures

    Jigs-n-fixtures Well-Known Member

    If you have any pictures please post them. Obviously, you aren’t the first guy to face the issue, and as the trucks age it will be more common.

    Please try to start new threads, instead of opening ones which have been dormant for a year or two. The makes it much easier to search for current information.
     
  18. hjvv/KS4

    hjvv/KS4 New Member



    Thanks for the note, tried to post pix but files too large for the server so will have to resize for another try as I take your suggestion on a new thread. The catchy title lead me here to scrape info from past efforts.
     
  19. deshet

    deshet Member

    Sorry for the late reply
    Mine is a manual transmission
    Mine is a 1997 Sambar Truck V-KS4

    I would really appreciate the part numbers if you still have them

    Thanks
     
  20. rkrenicki

    rkrenicki Active Member

    Assuming yours is Carbureted, the pipes are:
    45171TA600 (Hot side - Engine to Radiator)
    45171TA560 (Cold side - Radiator to Engine)
    45171TA580 (smaller heater pipe)

    I know all of the supercharged pipes are now discontinued. I do not know if the carbed pipes are still available, but it is worth a try.
     
  21. Marc Premil

    Marc Premil New Member

    My issue is that my tee and y connections are corroded. They are impossible to find at hardware/farm supply stores in my area.
     

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