Dave in Texas Posted November 9, 2015 Report Share Posted November 9, 2015 Hi Haven't been here for a long time.....sick. Back in '08 I replaced my 4.1 engine and radiator. Did the flush/fill in '10, '12 and again a few days ago. Did a test drive and 'service now' plus the fan light illuminated. Luckily I was close to home. Drove onto driveway and saw a telltale coolant trail. What had happened was the plastic petcock twist out/in piece had broken off, apparently when the system got to pressure. Radiator manuf overnighted me a new petcock (free). What I have is a plastic part of the petcock innard still in the drain. The part they sent me doesn't look like the leftover piece still in the drain What I'd like to do is seal that drain and next time(s) drain the radiator from the lower hose. Any suggeation on way to permentaly seal that petcock drain hole? Thanks Dave GM Reman 4.1 engine Dec '08 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted November 9, 2015 Report Share Posted November 9, 2015 The first thing I would do is get the old one out, without damaging the housing if possible. Others will have ideals here, such as an easy-out kit designed for composites instead of the usual brass or steel. One thought is to heat a small screwdriver and embed it in the broken-off piece, then unscrew it. There may be something equivalent to penetrating oil that works for composites. Once it is out, you can tell for sure whether or not the new part will work. If it won't, take the remains of the old part to the hardware store and match the threads, preferably with a nylon or Teflon bolt, and use that with some polymer-safe Permatex to seal the petcock. This will do the job best, and leave open the option of fixing it in the future. -- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data -- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Texas Posted November 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2015 Fixed. Had to work with mirror to get a good visual. The nut-part of the 2-piece petcock was still there and loose. Could not pass an awl very far into that peice so I assumed the stem had broken at the threaded end. Was able to grab the threaded nut part with a small needle-nose plier. Once I was able to squeeze the piece together it disappeared into the radiator bottom. Installed the new petcock and this time tightened it only finger tight. Refilled with AF and let the engine run, in the driveway for 30min. All is well the old girl is back in the lineup. Dave GM Reman 4.1 engine Dec '08 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Woods Posted November 16, 2015 Report Share Posted November 16, 2015 Congratulation on the repair. Could have worse like a radiator replacement. It's funny that smallest of parts that are simple ( like no electronics or computer chips) can cause some of the biggest problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohio Jim Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 Dave S, Nice work! You seem to have some of the same luck I have in Ohio. Just when I think I've screwed something up beyond repair, it seems to work out. You had the diligence to follow through without making it worse. Congratulations! Ohio Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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