i know this does not relate to my 53 imperial, but i have a 54 windsor that is giving me cooling problems. i will have the radiator done and change the cap, but iam wondering about the water tube. if it corrodes, do the rotten parts block the water flow or do they just drop off where they are not a real problem? what exactly does this tube do and if it is not there what are the associated problems? it seems easy enough to replace looking in the book, but is it really that easy. any help with these questions would be appreciated..dennis 53 custom, 54 windsor
The book implies that the removal of the water tube is easy, but it is not. The original piece is galvanized steel and it tends to break up inside the block and the rear most sections are difficult remove. There is a special made by Snap-on years ago and, of course, not available. The Chyrsler/DeSoto blocks are slightly longer than the Plymouth/Dodge blocks, so there were two tools - I have one of them and it will usually work on either length block. Someone is making replacement tubes in brass which are longer-lived. The purpose of the tube is to carry coolant to the rear cylinders. If you had an earlier Mopar block (before 1935) there is no distribution tube and the engines are prone to overheat under load. This is particularly noticeable when you turn the engine off and listen to the coolant boil in the part of the block.
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