What happens when you can't get parts anymore?

[@TargaWheels]

That's old school hot rodding. People nowadays call that a hack job. What they don't understand is at one time, there was no internet. If you couldn't find a part for a foreign car, or even an American car....you do what you can to get the car going again. Good on you for making it happen. 👍

[@repentnow1720]

Q - What happens when you can't get parts anymore? A - You become just like every 60's and 70's Chrysler owner - Creative.

[@oneeyedjack4727]

I had a similar experience with a mid '80s car that had an emissions pipe rotted out. My local hydraulic hose shop was able to form and bend a replacement (not perfectly formed but usable) that worked just as good as the old one.

[@CrookedMustache]

I like that, as long as it functions and holds up to the strees of the job! Make do and mend is going to be the way forward for many of us

[@skylinefever]

I heard about hydraulic hose shops back in 2008 we had some kind of Geo with a leaking PS pressure hose. There was no way to find one, so we paid the hydraulic shop to build a match. We did this to an AC hose. The reason was different. The VW Cabrio only had AC hose direct from VW. We had it saved at a fraction of the price. I had a new PS pressure hose made for a different reason. I could pay 300 dollars or more for an OEM. I could pay 100 for some hose made in China. I paid $200 because I would not tolerate either option.

[@willymccoy3427]

That Y pipe is part of the heater hose setup on a Dodge/Chrysler minivan. The original is plastic and the metal one is the replacement part for it. We had to put one on my daughter's '08 Town and Country.

[@garrettmillard525]

It's freakin coolant. Even with the bit of kink/tube collapse in that one section, that undoubtedly allows for far better flow that than the rust filled original. All it needs to do is not leak, not look pretty. Great work. Nothing "hack" about this job. Glad you did the whole thing! Was scared at first you were going to put that Y into the original!

[@CrookedMustache]

@garrettmillard525 The though did cross my mind for a split second about just cutting out the "Y" and heater hosing iit in with clamps but there was no justifying that from how bad the rest of the pipe could be. Waiting on a hose set for all those little rubber hoses to put the cooling system back together!

[@2XtreemRob]

That's amazing! Cudos for thinking out of the box to fabricate a part. Aside from flaring the tube ends as described on a previous post, I think you did great. Keep it up and inspire others. Out of necessity, innovation and creativity is born

[@gary6361]

Many years ago my father helped me make a similar pipe out copper pipe and we silver soldered it together. It worked for years.

[@CrookedMustache]

I love memories like this, nothing was better than working on cars with my father!

[@oneyaker]

You pack the tube with dry sand, plug the ends, heat it up and bend. It will not kink. You can do all the bends like this. Tig, weld the Y later.

[@CrookedMustache]

This is now on my to do list for another project, I really want to try this!!

[@derekhobbs1102]

That Chrysler part is to replace a plastic heater hose junction that frequently fails, so it's rated for purpose.

[@JeffDuncan-q4p]

I think it's Dorman that makes an excellent replacement for that. It has an aluminum fitting instead of a plastic one.

[@muddywater6856]

​@@JeffDuncan-q4pGM trucks have a similar part on the LS motors. Dorman makes it.

[@jomama01]

That’s why they invented JBWeld... and junk yards (oppps, automotive recyclers)

[@John-1984]

Welcome to the wonderful world of D.I.Y. parts. Keep learning because it will serve you well.

[@javierjavier7291]

I just did a timing belt water pump job on that same engine I also replaced all them little hoses I am glad the pipe was in good shape or I would’ve probably just used all hose with the “Y”

[@katieandkevinsears7724]

I own a 4 cylinder 2002 Mercury Cougar. Many parts were used in other cars so they're not hard to find yet, but other parts are unique to the car and can be tricky to get.

[@CrookedMustache]

@katieandkevinsears7724 Absolutely right and thats the stickler, this part was on multiple V6 Audi models as well as the V6 Passat in early 2000's. Despite that every entusiast part supplier that a Euro owner would normally go to is like "Sorry dude"

[@theodorgiosan2570]

I daily drive a car that has very few parts available anymore (79 Subaru DL). What I do is adapt a part of another car. So far I have adapted: GM HEI ignition module, Ford TFI coil, Ford inline 6 carburetor, Suzuki Samurai alternator, newer Subaru distributor, Toyota Corona distributor cap, surface gap spark plugs from a boat, custom spark plug wires, tie rod ends from a Mitsubishi Tredia, brake calipers and rotors from a 1983 Subaru Brat, Toyota Corolla heater hose, 1992 Subaru Loyale air intake pipe, Chevy truck air filter, and a Ford Racing 90 degree oil filter adapter so I can use a commonly available PH2 oil filter. There's probably a lot more I am forgetting. All of that is in addition to the engine swap which is a 1989 Subaru EA71S factory race engine for the FJ1600 open wheel race cars in Japan, which is hooked up to a dog gear transmission either out of a 1972-ish Subaru 1300G or Subaru RX that has the differential out of a 1983 Subaru hatchback installed in it. I have over 200,000 miles on it in roughly this configuration but it's always evolving and gaining parts from different vehicles. Every new part I adapt, the car gets better, and better and better.

[@CrookedMustache]

@theodorgiosan2570 Dude that is awesome, my hat is off to you and that Subaru! Your ride makes doing an LS swap to my Audi sound like a walk in the park.

[@randyduncan795]

I can't imagine buying an Audi or anything else that's such an incredible pain to work on. New cars also suck to the point that I agree that fabricating your own parts is a better option than buying a new car that offers constant distracting noises in the cabin, touchscreens that require one's eyes to be taken off the road, and hijacking of braking and sometimes steering because the operator must surely not know how to operate. That was nice work.

[@johnkunze5362]

Like Shirley MacLean, you'll know what a-part-ment!

[@scotthenry3401]

You can get special coiled springs for putting inside pipes when bending that stops the pipe wall from collapsing or restricting the flow, alot of pipe benders come with the spring.

[@CrookedMustache]

@scotthenry3401 ok this sounds cool, I contemplated the "fill the pipe with sand technique" but insertable springs would be so much less hassle

[@ronbelanger4113]

NLA happens regularly as your ride ages. "Field manufactured repair/replace" , happens.

[@buddyd.irishsr.5646]

Being my own mechanic I find a lot of these parts you can't find any more especially on hoses and parts like he has in his hand but if you got a Plumber's Friend and they know how to solder copper tubing and pipe you could do it with rigid copper pipe, my buddy has a pipe exactly like that in his Mustang that he made from Home Depot where there's a will there is a way. We matched it up almost exact and with a little black pants you couldn't tell the difference. I also had a problem one time trying to get a upper radiator hose pipe for my 3.0 Ranger, the parts were going to take weeks to get. Went to Home Depot with some hoses I got for my buddy that I matched up with the old hose without the fittings and from copper tubing fittings to fit those and sometimes I found brass fittings that will fit inside a threaded copper tubing part. Think outside the box nothing is impossible and you can make quite a few things out of different things, my upper radiator hose looks just like the other hoes after I painted it black is nobody else's business my truck's been running 75,000 me on what I just did a couple of years ago on those hoses get another head in there and start doing some thinking you'll be surprised what you could come up with to replace that.

[@CrookedMustache]

I made the mistake up googling "does copper react with antifreeze/coolant" and it said yes! Then after I finished I had a brain fart and realized that most radiator have copper cores! I could've made the whole piece out of copper soldered the joints and no clamps or heater hose

[@trentryan27]

Like yhe EGR downpipe on my 93 cougar, i broke the 1 on the car, then learned its completely unobtanium

[@lesklower7281]

If you can't buy a replacement part make it well done

[@herculesinwyoming]

Speaking of challenges, I have a 76 datsun truck, certain parts for this truck can be impossible to find

[@knight6757]

Necessitie is the mother of invention !

[@gannonfamily2000]

I just put a rubber vacuum system elbow for my 2003 Jeep TJ with a 4.0. No one offers the part. Weird size on each end. I found one that was tight but went on. It wasn't specific. It split and I read the reviews of several other Jeep applications complaining the same about the rubber not holding up to the application. I found one poster on a web discussion site show a Mercedes Benz hose saying it was the one to use. I tried it out and it was a great fit. And is still fine. Sometimes it feels like this high tech world is becoming more and more a third world for all. Cuba style life when trying to do our part of maintaining our cars. Imagine how much we could cut manufacturing pollution by just mandating cars etc be built to last as long as possible. With maintenance parts available to keep them going. But the Green narrative seems to keep new products that fail being pushed into production constantly. We just throw it away. That has way out polluted even the 1980's cars if they all were still running as daily drivers. What a trip.

[@CrookedMustache]

This scenario has crossed my mind, knee-capping older cars by making the most random but critical parts become unobtanium

[@randaldavid7685]

excellent attempt!

[@niviuk8335]

You need a pipe bender - plus a bead roller. Without beads at the ends of yout pipe your hoses will fall off under pressure.

[@CrookedMustache]

@niviuk8335 I was unprepared on both fronts, didn't realize or should I say I under estimated the how much bigger 3/4" pipe was than the brake lines I had worked with and it didnt come close to fitting in the pipe bender I had, and the flaring tool I bought had 5 sizes, but not 3/4", so I kinda flared the ends by heating them and bedning them out to give the clamp some footing

[@40intrepid]

Did you stop because the rubber hose was bad? Or did you get it to work?

[@CrookedMustache]

@40intrepid Yea, VW and Audi are famous for having a bunch of proprietary hoses, a with very specific bends and lengths that make it impossible to replicate with generic heater hose, well without it collapsing. Found a full silicone hose set, we're waiting on that to arrive they we can put the car back together.

[@custos3249]

Sand packing, my dude. When you're working on tubing like that, pack it with sand and that will help to keep the pipe from kinking as you bend it.

[@CrookedMustache]

I’m now dying to try this!

[@351cleavland]

Two lessons from the video: 1) when obsolete make your own parts 2) hot things are hot 😀

[@Black88E30]

I see 3 sellers on amazon, in stock, all new...

[@machineman6498]

That’s a win.

[@TheVigilantEye77]

Can’t use heat tolerant rubber or urethane ?

[@CrookedMustache]

I would have used silicone hoses the heater hose was quickest to get a hold of, there are silicone replacements for the other rubber hoses

[@ruudmobile6726]

Just order it in Europe. Found plentiful pipes over here.

[@covidonenine1948]

There's a whole bunch of these coolant pipes available on ebay . . .

[@Youtubecensoredmyusername]

You make your own shit. Like Cuba has been doing for 50 years

[@CrookedMustache]

Making my ancestors proud dude 🇨🇺! Hopefully I never have to go as far as making my own brake pads though

[@DocZoidberg549]

Make them and sell them. Great source of income. Make a jig to manufacture them.

[@rodneyadamson8270]

Never buy Chevrolet Tracker aka Suzuki Vitara.. my daughter had one it got wrecked and she wanted another so I used the first to keep the second one running 😂😂😂 when I was done the differential was gone along with interior items 😂

[@CrookedMustache]

I've been there lol! keeping a parts car to keep the running one going

[@robertpage2023]

I could make that part out of copper.........easily. Some bending and soldering and done.

[@CrookedMustache]

Was literally the original plan, then made the mistake of asking the “internet” if copper and coolant would “react”. Completely forgetting most radiators have copper cores 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@j.1294]

Good job, but the music sucks incredibly.

[@CL500MBZ]

Ok why not just use a silicone hose with brass t splitter for the entire thing.

[@CrookedMustache]

Honestly.......shortsidedness. It didn't cross my mind. In the frustraton of not being able to find the part, tunnel vision set in. Wanted the specific y pipe to join perfectly to the stock water lines. Copper crossed my mind and i found one search that said coolant/antifreeze would react with copper. All while forgetting that most radiator cores are copper anyways. The silicone hose would probably last longer that generic heater hose too!

[@flashnmb1]

Here’s a discontinued Honda Part; Steering Angle Sensor for a 2005 CRV, amazing a Honda and you can’t get parts.

[@CrookedMustache]

Uh, what?! 😳 and it’s for the CRV?! Ok this is a bigger problem than outlier cars

[@flashnmb1]

@@CrookedMustache I always thought you could fix a Honda; Dealer has now tried 3 used parts to repair. Manufacturer trying to force people to junk a good car in hopes of replacing whole vehicle. Just like computers; no longer support old version, forcing you to get new & improved.

[@RangerRick-cg2gu]

I've found that a significant number of parts can be ordered either from ebay sellers in Europe, or European websites of Amazon. There also are a lot of dealers, or classic car specialists in the UK, and Germany, that will ship to the US. The general issues are time, and cost.

[@CrookedMustache]

@RangerRick-cg2gu You reminded me of an old wheeler dealers episode (oddly enough for an Audi ) where it was this guy's personal house, and he was literally the last word in parts for that one particular model, like the whole second floor of his house was dedicated to parts inventory and stock

[@ofp8574]

I would have just tacked up the hole with weld, sweated it, or used some epoxy or something, personally.

[@CrookedMustache]

Similar thinking, even of just cutting out the y section and swapping it for the piece i found, but the rest of the pipe was what had me worried at that point

[@dereksimenac8844]

It's a tube ffs, it's not rocket science.

[@jamesbrooks5442]

what u gonna do when electronic parts are not avail.

[@CrookedMustache]

Think Back to the future 3, when they had to make the flux capaitor circuits out of 1950's parts. 🤣

[@David-yy7lb]

Junk got plenty of them

[@CrookedMustache]

but they're likely to be in similar condition, thats the downside

[@alexwilsonpottery3733]

Braze repair

[@chylimzbydzi]

12 USD in Poland

[@CrookedMustache]

@chylimzbydzi shoot me a link here, none of the places where I normally purchased the parts have it listed for less than $100+

[@stvargas69]

You need to flare the tubes or they will leak.

[@TheVigilantEye77]

Never mind

[@hotpuppy1]

American cars are no better for parts availability once they get some years on them.

[@theodorgiosan2570]

Not really, or at least not GM vehicles. My friend can get nearly any part for his 82 Oldsmobile Toronado diesel that day or the next day at the auto parts store. Rockauto has everything else. And the few things that are really special are diesel engine specific and a diesel injection shop can get them easily. Things that are no longer made like good quality head gaskets, Cometic will custom make them for less money than buying a new old stock set. Almost every part was reused in significantly newer models. For example ball joints for his Toronado were used in the Chevy S10 until 2005. Same with control arms. Same with CV joints. What isn't available through the auto parts store is easily available through the performance/racing parts suppliers. The brake calipers and steering box from that car are perhaps the most common types in circle track racing for example.

[@CrookedMustache]

@hotpuppy1 This is unexpected, I figured avalibility would be more consisten for domestic cars

[@CrookedMustache]

@theodorgiosan2570 This is the exact reason why we're contemplating a GM LS swap for a V8 rather than the Audi unit, parts availability should be pretty much guaranteed for a long time to come.

[@emmanuellopez5037]

Junkyard

[@CrookedMustache]

@emmanuellopez5037 that would've been my next option, but between scarcity of this platform and the likelihood that one that ended up in the junkyard is likely to be just as coroded as mine was, I held off

[@philliplopez8745]

Why then , you fabrocobble .

[@CrookedMustache]

@philliplopez8745 ok, this has to go on a T-shirt - fab·ri·cob·ble /ˈfabrəˌkäb(ə)l/ Verb - To construct or create a new part from leftover or unintended components "I'm going to fabricobble my cooling system"

[@mikea9014]

jb water weld

[@CrookedMustache]

@mikea9014 my only fear was how bad the rest of the pipe could be. "Murphy" tapped me on the shoulder when I contemplated just bodging together a repair.

[@EarlGuyton425]

If auto parts got to where they werent available, I would simply give up driving using any vehicle. Many may not be able to do that, but I could. What people need to worry about these days is food supply

[@timothyhall963]

Try parts geek

[@daiwaras]

20 eur for new in europe without a discount.

[@CrookedMustache]

@Daiwaras shoot me a link here, even if the part was in stock it was over $100

[@rkan2]

​@@CrookedMustacheNot so easy to shoot links in the comment section... There are about 5 different makers of the pipe it seems and the advertiser to this video for me (Autodoc... 😂) has a few of them. Don't buy from Autodoc btw, just use it to find the aftermarket part numbers... Also alwayd check Audi Tradition, Ovoko etc for your German saloons.

[@SakibAhsanTamim]

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