Need hook to remove water dist tube

[trcassidy]

can any of you help me re this? Thx in advance........

[JACK M]

I have never pulled one of those distribution tubes myself.

But there are several threads about the task.

Some coat hanger type tool I would think.

Of course, you have to have access to the front of the engine as I am pretty sure you have to pull it from the front, probably thru the water pump area.

Someone in the know will certainly be along shortly.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 22 by JACK M (see edit history)

[jpage]

Yeah, you'll have to remove the water pump to gain access to the tube. They can be tough to pull out so I would use a metal rod a little more substantial than a coat hanger. Just make a "J" type hook and slide it into the tube trying to latch onto one of the openings in the tube, then tug on it till it comes loose. Hopefully, it's not so rotted that it breaks off in the bloc. Good luck!

[Joe Cocuzza]

Radiator needs to be removed, too.

Watch these:

 

[Joe Cocuzza]

Thermostat:

https://www.oldmoparts.com/parts/j_cooling/thermostat-4/

[R.Dan Herrera]

If your tube is rusted in like mine was I first used a pressure washer to clean out as much scale and rust as possible then like the video shows the fellow using vice grips and hammer, try using a slide hammer instead attached to the flat metal bar hook, mine took a while but finally came out in one ugly corroded piece, good luck with yours

[Hughes]

I just pulled mine on Sunday and am so, so relieved that it came out in one piece. I'll give you (or anyone else) my puller if you're in the metro-Detroit area. If not, they're fairly simple to make. 

 

To make the hook, I bought a piece of flat steel (36" x 1-1/2" x 1/8") from Home Depot and cut a hook with tapered end as suggested in the "Part 1" YT video posted by Keith's Garage (see Joe Cocuzza's post above). I also cut a step on the other end to hit with a hammer as shown in the below YT video posted by Watson's Wagons. To cut the steel, I used a jig saw with a carbide bit for cutting thick metal (also from HD). I'm sure a jig saw is not the best tool for this application, but I was using what I already had on hand.

 

At one point, I tried to pry it out using a crowbar in conjunction with my homemade hook by drilling a 5/16" hole through my homemade tool and threading a 5/16" bolt through the hole, secured by a nut, to pry against - a much less sophisticated version, but the same concept as that posted by Dodgeb4ya in the P15-D24 forum (https://p15-d24.com/topic/53481-these-are-the-days-of-our-livesaftermarket-parts-woes-water-distr-tube/#comments). Although that method seems to work for Dodgeb4ya, it just ripped through my WDT. The brute method with a hammer is what worked for me -- with each hit, it ripped a little but also moved a little.

 

To the extent it offers any encouragement, I have no experience (seriously, zero experience) making tools, cutting metal, or pulling WDTs and my C39 is the first car I've ever really worked on. If you have any questions, send me a private message and I'd be happy to jump on a quick phone call to talk about what worked for me. I've taken a lot of advice from this forum and wouldn't mind paying some of that forward. Good luck!

 

 

[Hughes]

As it turns out, Vintage Power Wagons sells a WDT puller for a flathead 6: https://www.vintagepowerwagons.com/collections/1945-1971-flat-fender-power-wagon-civilian-export/products/new-water-distribution-tube-puller-ntp211

[trcassidy]

Thanks to all who took the time to reply! Hughes, nice write up, appreciate it! I have the correct thermostat arriving in the next few days. the mechanic I bought the car from worked on it a year ago and can't remember if there was a thermostat installed. I hope so - and that will solve the intermittent over heating. Otherwise it is no doubt WDT time.....would love to avoid that. 

 

MY BIGGEST Q IS; how am I to clean out the block without tearing the engine apart after the WDT is removed? 

[JACK M]

10 hours ago, trcassidy said:

 

MY BIGGEST Q IS; how am I to clean out the block without tearing the engine apart after the WDT is removed? 

Do it right once and be done with it.

Take out all of the core plugs. take the head off, water pressure and rods, etc. for tools, and have at it, Scrape until clean.

Easiest with the engine out and stripped.

A nasty job to try to cobble (short cut), if not done right it will be done again.

[R.Dan Herrera]

As I mentioned before try shooting a pressure washer into the WDT opening before and after pulling until water runs clear of all the rust and scale that can be reasonably removed unless you feel it necessary to dismantle heads and freeze plugs etc to do the most thorough job.I feel it depends on how contaminated the water passages are and what you’re comfortable with, good luck with the project