If it was gonna happen, then today was a good day for it!...Cosm

Fred Campbell

I'll be installing brake pads on the E250 at 5AM tomorrow before heading to the jobsite. You know you can't let those things go or it'll tear up the rotor. To beat to do it tonite after the 95* heat. Good save, Cosmo

Cosmo_3

Truck troubles

On my way to a construction site early this morning, I mentioned to my helper that some poor guy has a leaking radiator..... I could smell it.

Then we came to a stop, and the tell tale white cloud coming from the front of my truck explained that the poor **** was me!!!

So, I pull in to our quiet secluded residential construction site. The diagnosis was I had a bad radiator. My truck's radiator has plastic end-caps on each end of the radiator, and the one side had a crack 5 inches long. So while my helper started taking out the tools and getting ready to work I started making calls, and found that a Ford dealer just down the road had the radiator in stock. So as my old man was on his way to the site after taking care of a service call, he picked up the radiator. The truck is high enough off the graound that I was able to put a clean 5 gallon bucket under the radiator drain valve, and let it drain while we worked. When the old man showed up a couple hours later, I had emptied 1 and a half buckets worth of antifreeze, and I made my own hose picnh-off tools by using pieces of 3/4 copper around the jaws of 2 visegrips to pinch off the trans cooler lines, disconnected the radiator, pulled the old one out and slipped the new one in. Hooked up the hoses, cut up a bottle of gatorade for a clean funnel (the funnels in my truck were used for fuel oil, etc.), refilled, and with a little water from my 2 gallon thermos for what leaked out I had a full radiator, and was ready for action again. except for checking on the emptying radiator 3 times, I spent about an hour doing the change out over an extended lunch break!

So somehow everything fell into place, the work got done, and I even avoided a trip to the Dealer!!!! Nothing like having a truck full of tools, for taking care of almost anything!!!

Not too shabby.......


Cosmo

J.C.A._3

Good save brother!

I love hearing stories like these. In my last incarnation as a boat mechanic, I learned lots of tricks...but the best 1 is to be like a Boyscout.....and always Be Prepared!

Great job Cosmo! Chris

Pinball

I'm jealous!

I just spent $578.72 to have the same thing done! Radiator cracked on the plastic tank from a bad driveway at a construction site. A big rock kicked up and took it out.
It would'nt be so bad, but, just the week befor I had to replace the oil cooler lines on the same Radiator! (they started to leak)
Uh Oh.. they say it comes in threes! what's next?
Al

Pinball

I'm jealous!

I just spent $578.72 to have the same thing done! Radiator cracked on the plastic tank from a bad driveway at a construction site. A big rock kicked up and took it out.
It would'nt be so bad, but, just the week befor I had to replace the oil cooler lines on the same Radiator! (they started to leak)
Uh Oh.. they say it comes in threes! what's next?
Al