Heater Core Pipe Straighten

[1990new]

Can someone tell me how I can get the pipes round again.
The heater core is good but I bent these removing the heater hoses.
One is not too bad, the other is almost square at the end.

[SiliconSoul]

I'd try getting a bolt that will fit inside and then patiently tap with a hammer until it is close enough...

[r34king]

A large drift with I bevel to the tip would be my tool of choice

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[ryanprins13]

Or bend the end close and shove a wooden dowel up it.


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[bravekozak]

Use a tubing swage. Just ask any plumber. Let me know if you need a picture.

[sc72]

I have had the same problem, what I used was a set of deep well impact sockets, they are beveled on one end, start with a small one and tap it in with a hammer, then start going up in size till your happy with how things look. be patient.

Good luck friend.

[1990new]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions.
After I saw the first one about the bolt and hammer I went to work on it.
I could not find a bolt large enough to fill the hole but found a clutch alignment tool that was very close at the end.
I worked the end into the squared off one and used a plastic hammer to eliminate the squared off sides.
After that I took a piece of old bicycle tube and cut a strip to wrap around the outside of the pipe and added a small hose clamp over that. I screwed the hose clamp tight until it rounded out the pipe pretty good. On the other pipe the bent part was deeper so I took a long 10MM socket and put it in the pipe and did the same thing with the rubber and clamp.
This fixed them good enough that I'm sure the heater hoses will tighten around the pipe and not leak.
I've already put the cleaned up heater back together. (I uploaded more pictures to my Rosie project thread photo bucket link).

[Dragonhealer]

The 3/8 drive Snap-on socket works well for me too. avoid the common screw band clamp as the brass/copper tubes can't support the uneven load. the spring clamp works best.

[1990new]

The 3/8 drive Snap-on socket works well for me too. avoid the common screw band clamp as the brass/copper tubes can't support the uneven load. the spring clamp works best.

Thanks...I will uses those when I put it back in. They had the screw band clamps on them when I removed the heater. I did the bending with a pair of pliers myself when I was trying to twist the hoses to break them loose from the brass pipes.

[SiliconSoul]

Might want to do a quick pressure test at 10 psi before you put it back in to make sure you didn't create any cracks in the end solder... Would be very sad to find out after you put everything back together!

[1990new]

Might want to do a quick pressure test at 10 psi before you put it back in to make sure you didn't create any cracks in the end solder... Would be very sad to find out after you put everything back together!

That thought did cross my mind while I was cleaning it up. It passed the city water presser test so it should handle the Festiva pressure.

I spent a lot of time flushing it out. I though the water was never going to stay clear. I did a lot of flushing with plain water and
lots of junk kept coming out. When no more of that was coming out, I made a solution of dishwashing detergent and water, filled it up and let it sit several hours. After that I flushed it out with clear water for a while and it final remained clear.

[1990new]

Before I put the heater back in I decided to hook up some heater hoses and to both pipes closer to the end where they would be when the pipes go through the fire wall using the spring clips. I used the flush garden hose adapter to put water under pressure to the heater core.
Glad I did because I'm going to have to do some more rounding on the one pipe that was deformed almost into a square.
It doesn't spray out but it definitely leaks around the hose.
Tomorrow I'm going to Harbor Freight to buy a plumber's swage to get it rounded out so it will take the pressure.

[tooldude]

If a hose is really stuck, it would be better to cut the hose off and put a close fitting socket into the tubing before trying to work off the leftover end. What I do is to carefully slit into the hose with an exacto knife without going all the way through, to avoid gouging the tubing. That allows some give in the rubber which sometimes will release. If that doesn't work, I cut the hose about 3/8" or 1/2" beyond the tubing end and slit it up to the tubing. The split in the cut hose end can be twisted open with needle nose pliers and, with the cutting edge of the exacto blade angled away from the tubing, the slit can be continued into the previously made slit, which is now easier to cut through - and no damage.

[ryanprins13]

I see you already flushed yours but if anyone else is reading this thinking of flushing or cleaning their heater core or radiator what works really well is hydrochloric acid. Also known as muriatic acid i think. Anyway, after you flush it a bit with water fill it with that ( or dilute with water for a rad) and let it sit a couple minutes then flush it out a ton with water bolth ways. You wont believe how much comes out even if it flushed clean with water before. Then mix up some baking soda and water and let that sit in there a bit to neutralize the acid. Then flush that out a whole bunch with water.


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[1990new]

Thanks everyone for all the advice.
I now know how not to remove a heater hose, a good way to flush out a heater core or radiator, and how to use a plumbers swage.

So the swage tool that I picked up for $6 at Harbor Freight worked. Only trouble is, while I was holding the heater box partially by the
pipes while I tapped on the swage, I dropped it and it cracked where one of the dash nuts is in the housing..I was able to fix it back with JB weld though... the heater is now back in Rosie.