Hi guys, first of all sorry for the newbie question...im working on my AST delete right now and im not sure which is the best way to plug the lines that originally went to the AST. I have read of using a bolt and hose but could not exactly understand how; moreover i would like to have some feedback of people that have already done this with any method about what they think it's the best choice. im a bit worried that high pressure and temp will damage the plug in time...

thanks for your help!

 

Just take a small piece of hose, maybe 3 inches, and put one end on the hole you are trying to plug, and in the other end put a bolt that snugly fits in. Then using the proper clamps, make sure it is tight, and will not come off simply by pulling on it.

 

Use some high temp RTV on whatever you are using as the plug to help with the heat as well as help make it a more leak proof.

 

thanks for the suggestion i will try this weekend!

 

The hose and bolt solution is a great one and allows the ast delete to be reversible. BUT, personally I think it is fairly unattractive. For a permanent but cleaner look remove the pipe sticking out of the water pump neck, properly tap and thread the hole, and find a allen bolt (screw) that has no head to insert in its place. Similar to the one in the side of the water pump neck. Use some sort of sealant or JB Weld to prevent it from leaking and you have a MUCH cleaner delete. I did the same for the radiator pipe to ast, but since that is not really seen the "hose and plug" method could be used. I just did this the other day and I could snap a pic of my filler neck if you would like.

 

thanks man, a pics will be appreciated!

 

Hope these help. They are phone pics so the quality is not the best. If you have any questions feel free to pm me. It really is very straight forward, so don't over complicate it.




Bolt I used:



Shot #1:



Shot #2:

 

Leave the nipples in place and simply route a hose from the nipple on the radiator to the one one the thermostat housing.

 

thank you all for the suggestion; i went with the hose bolt and clamp for now and planning to do the arkman's plug as soon as i have some additional spare time.

 

There's nothing wrong with doing this is there? What's the pros/cons of doing this vs. plugging the lower Thermostate nipple and the radiator tank's nipple?

 

You can also pull out the insert and weld up the hole and smooth out the weld for an even cleaner look.




John

 

Nothing wrong at all, aside from an extra coolant hose.

Yup, as long as you know a good welder this is by far the best choice

 

or maybe you use one of theese (sorry, i don't know the english name of it):

 

^^Silicone caps are not appropriate for a pressurized cooling system that can see temps of 110+ Celcius.

 

^And leaving it in place allows hot coolant from the engine to by-pass the radiator.
For reference:




I tapped and used a plug (IIRC 1/4 AN).

 

Weld>tap and plug> hose with bolt and clamps

and somewhere in between those is jbweld...

 

OK, I just did the AST Delete on saturday and I just ran the hose from the lower Thermostat nipple to the nipple on the lower part of the radiator. I thought that was a better option than having a random plug.

 

Not IMO. You're allowing a volumn of coolant to by-pass the radiator which isn't good. You also have an unnecessary hose in the engine bay, along with it's potential for failure. Removing the hose and properly installing a plug (or welding up the hole) virtually eliminates at least half that failure risk and forces all the coolant to go through the radiator.
It's not hard to do.

 

... which is exactly what the stock setup does (see post #15).

 

^ Yes, but when the ast is in place there is a flow restrictor in the line that greatly reduces the flow of coolant bypassing the radiator.



John

 

And leaving the hose in AFTER removing the AST is absolutely without purpose. Just additional consequence and risk.

 

I personally would go with finding a good welder to Tig up the holes

 

im assuming you also use a FC neck in this application otherwise pressure cannot be vented. sounds alot cleaner than having a sketchy *** hose with a bolt in it. and also less work than drilling and tapping a plug.

 

hmmm... ok, I'll look into getting this thing welded.

 

I happen to know a good welder