Customs What to do to treat a NOS water neck from rust?

Hello all, I've got a guy in Germany who bought an old NOS Packard water neck for his Packard engine from me. The original had rusted out. The part I sent him is perfect, but it is an original 30s to 40s part. What would you guys do to treat the piece and protect it from rusting like the original did? No doubt the NOS part will do the same over time. Thanks for your help.

 

Powder coat?

 

Maybe? Not knowing what is available in Germany, it might be an idea. I told the fellow, Wolfgang, that I would ask you guys over here and send some ideas to him. Heck, German design have built some pretty amazing cars. There must be something he can use.

 

Seems to me that the proper amount of anti freeze in the coolant would prevent corrosion.

 

Did it rust from the inside, the outside, or both?
Posts 2 and 4 cover either situation I'd say.

 

I would guess that is correct. I just wonder if the modern solutions will do harm to the older metals? I just messaged him through a facebook page and he did mention he used something in a paint to chemically treat the sheet metal.

 

The picture he sent showed the section of the neck that was inside the hose is where it corroded. The rest of the original looked good where it bolted to the head. Curious how it rusted mostly in the hose area.

 

This may sound silly, but coat the inside of
the water neck with Permatex non-hardening gasket sealant
or something similar that is impervious to engine fluids like anti-freeze.
https://www.google.com/webhp?source...v=2&ie=UTF-8#q=non+hardening+permatex+sealant.

 

Hey, I've learned nothing is or sounds silly! If it works, it works!!

 

If it took 70 years for the last one to rot out then i don't think it would be a huge concern

 

He may just have to replace it in another 70 years like he did the first one.



Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Looks like it may have had water/coolant trapped between neck and hose

 

Now that's too easy Dan.

 

As long as he's not 70 himself!

 

That might be just what happened. If the clamp was not tight enough, the water could sit there and corrode the metal. Makes perfect sense to me.

 

Powder coating, or epoxy paint inside & out, + proper antifreeze will slow corrosion down. Moisture n dirt get between hose n neck, = corrosion. Doesn't matter if it's steel, Alum, cast iron, pot metal, etc. Eventually, it'll happen. & that water neck looks just like a piece of expanded exhaust pipe, & none too thick, either. Still, should easily last longer than he needs. & if these are that hard to come by, I'd weld a piece of steel tubing to the old one, for an emergency spare on the shelf.
Marcus...

 

get one made from stainless steel keep the nos one in the box

 

Ceramic coating is bullet proof. He should have had you do it here before you shipped it to him.
The Wizzard

 

I did the inside of my 8BAs with Glyptal - we'll see how it works.

 

It will be if the new one is made in China. I had a black pipe gas line fail in 5 years after the US made pipe lasted 50.

 

Agreed,it appears the original neck lacked any of the additives that are in modern antifreeze that aid in preservation of the cooling system. HRP

 

Keep the hose clamp right up against the end lip. That keeps the coolant from being between the hose and neck. I prime and pain mine with engine paint. So far so good.

 

Don't talk like that, that is what I used to run the propane line from the tank to my house!

 

But here's the rub: Anti- freeze coolant must be change every few years because it breaks down and becomes acidity.

 

This was a propane line pipe was from Lowes how plastic.

 

Por 15

 

Bingo! The parts rust because the coolant is of the wrong ratio or even straight water. Run good antifreeze mixed 50/50 with water. Testers to check the strength of coolant are cheap, everyone should have one.

 

OR he has a bad ground and electrolysis set up and the water neck was the weak point. VWs used to erode the PLASTIC thermostat housing because of it.

 

What you are looking at is crevice corrosion, probably accelerated by anti-freeze that was not changed every 2 years. Ethylene glycol oxidizes to oxalic acid that eats iron. The tension on the iron under the clamp promotes corrosion. A rubber band on a test coupon in a salt spray cabinet will cut its way through the metal.

 

Agree that the system needs to have a good mixture of antifreeze to prevent corrosion. I live in the great white north and have had no corrosion issues using Prestone. The GM Dexcool breaks down and eats gaskets. I had to replace the water pump gasket this summer as I was not as up on the issues with the Dexcool.
I managed the construction of 2 large office buildings for a pulp & papermill that used hot water for heat. The first building used hot water treated monthly with chemicals to keep the system happy and it had a heat exchanger with antifreeze to warm fresh air. The architects argued the split system was the least expensive way to run a sophisticated hot water heat system. It was easy to tell if the system missed a chemical treatment as the control valves got sticky and would need assistance to free an occasional sticky valve. On the second building I had the architects use antifreeze in the entire system. It eliminated the monthly chemicals, heat exchanger to heat fresh air and the valves never stuck. The antifreeze was tested annually and replaced when it was required. I would argue that the second building was the least costly to construct & operate. The pulp and papermill had heating several systems that used antifreeze with the carbon steel piping that stayed almost like new inside.
I have always used good antifreeze and have never lost a radiator or had a heater core fill up with rust. In this area the antifreeze and water mix has to be good for the coldest possible strength. My cars & trucks are driven until they have no reliable service life that range from 15- 20 years. My vehicles have run at -45F at home to 96F in the high Rockies in 2003 without any serious problems. It was really hot in the mountains on the August long in 2003 so I had to turn the AC off while climbing at altitude. There were a lot of vehicles pulled over and cooling off as that was an extreme day.

Salt kills a vehicle here before the drive train fails here. A fan of RustCheck now.

The Packard neck may have failed from crevice corrosion, wet dry cycles or it may be a symptom of a system where the coolant is problem. It is not common for a water neck to corrode that badly and that occurred over many years.

It is safe to replace the neck with the NOS part and a quality antifreeze mix. Hope that the coolant used over the years has not harmed the block or head so that there is a good service life remaining.