$#@@%^&*!!!!

[Jehu]

Nice. Can The hoses leading to and from the expansion tank be successfully clamped before removing them from the Tank to prevent coolant gushing? Ross suggested a stopper but i have not found one shopping around yet. Today i had the Tank off the firewall kind of propped in place on one of the Manifold pipes still connected with all the hoses just kind of held in place with that Clip coming from its bottom when a gust of wind blew the hood down and now not only do i have two brand new little bumps showing thru the hood but the tank is cracked and leaking. I hope to get a new Tank from the Stealership tomorrow so can i just use maybe vice-grips and some cardboard over maybe two strips of hardwood or some equally firm material and just crimp that hose without damaging it? I am trying to remove and replace my Blower Motor and i was having a hard time getting the lower middle hex head screw fitted in a socket there's damned little room to maneuver the socket and wrench but that was the last one to remove the cover plate and get at the Blower . I'd like to Ideally get a new Expansion Tank and be able to know that hose will stay sealed with my Vice Grip Idea while I do the Blower Motor and NOT prove to have been cracked when i reattach it to the tank and end up Stranded unable to go buy a new hose as i lack alternate transportation. Obviously i could rent a car but lets not get crazy here...

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/8165/dent002qo7.jpg

[Macv]

That sucks man, how far do they stick out? (the bumps)

No input, just feeling your pain from the hood :(

[632 Regal]

freakin OUCH!

2 ways to approach the water prob, 1 being hemos or forceps (or large roach clips). the other being hoseclamps and a plug such as spark plugs, valvebody parts, very large bolts etc etc. I wouldnt use cork as it has a tendancy to "pop" ...have I wrenched for a bit LOL. OH some of the larger hoses can also maybe be plugged with cut chunks of broom handles.

[Jehu]

That sucks man, how far do they stick out? (the bumps)

No input, just feeling your pain from the hood :(

far enough... i'd guess a couple of Milimeters.Weird wind today.. it would be dead calm then high gusts then dead calm... I had borrowed a set of sockets from a friend and several were bounced out of the case into the wheel well area when the hood fell and when he came out he noticed six small sockets were missing that i hadn't noticed. I could tell he wasn't buying my wind story since it was dead calm till this heavy gust swept over and blew the hood down again though i was there this time to catch it.. A broom handle will be propped in there next time i work outside. No biggie though I have a few lumps on me too.

[clindahl]

I have a 1989 525i with the battery in the engine bay, and there are two lumps where someone obviously had a socket and wrench on the battery terminal and the hood closed on it, I feel your pain. I'm guessing the battery wan't connected on the other terminal as the hood doesn't have a hole it it, just a few little bumps.

[leicesterboy15]

Wouldn't it be easier to drain the coolant first than go through the hassle of crimping the pipes risking a leak? At least it gives you a chance to renew the coolant at the same time. Real shame about the bonnet, I feel your pain too, its even worse when you can't blame anyone else! I had the same thing when I damaged my front splitter - it was all my fault!

[shrike071]

For the dents, try getting a hair-dryer and some dry ice. Use the hair dryer on the underside of the hood - where the dents are, and heat it up. Be careful and don't get it too hot and screw up your paint. Once it's warmed up, take some pliers and grab a hunk of dry ice and hold it to the underside of the dent. The rapid contraction from the ultra-cold dry ice MAY pull the metal back into place.

[Jehu]

Wouldn't it be easier to drain the coolant first than go through the hassle of crimping the pipes risking a leak? At least it gives you a chance to renew the coolant at the same time. Real shame about the bonnet, I feel your pain too, its even worse when you can't blame anyone else! I had the same thing when I damaged my front splitter - it was all my fault!

Of course.. However that would mean taking in to an $85-100 / hr shop for me as i have no where other than the dirt parking lot of my office where i can work. I live at a Condo who's bylaws prohibit working on cars in your parking space and i have nosey neighbors. Anyway i have no place into which i may drain coolant so If i want to drive my car any real distances without thinking about coolant levels i'd like to get it replaced asap. I boght the blower motor from a Greenleaf's Salvage apparently a Nationwide chain for $60.00 yesterday so i called them about the tank. They don't inventory them so somone's got to go look.

[Jehu]

For the dents, try getting a hair-dryer and some dry ice. Use the hair dryer on the underside of the hood - where the dents are, and heat it up. Be careful and don't get it too hot and screw up your paint. Once it's warmed up, take some pliers and grab a hunk of dry ice and hold it to the underside of the dent. The rapid contraction from the ultra-cold dry ice MAY pull the metal back into place.

Veeerrrry interesting. I'll check it out,Thanks!

[Jehu]

An interesting and pleasant update. It appears the leaking coolant was actually from the overflow when i had the tank tilted trying to unscrew the rear panel. Aside from about an ounce or so on the drop tarp i had underneath this morning not a single drop manifested all day anywhere and no smell of burning coolant so i must have overreacted. The second fortuitous report is that i decided to recheck Fuse 19 for the blowe rmotor and danmed as hell is had a hairline fracture .I replaced it with a new fuse and the blower kicked on right away... however it did not start right up after shutting the car off the next time i started it but it did come on after a while and stayed on for a good bit then went off again but has since come back on staying on when dialed up. However many times i shut the car off it has so far come back on. We'll see how long this lasts. Something casue the Fuse to blow and there is some reason for the occasional intermittency so I guess if it reverts to regular failure then i'll do the blower..

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

decafe coffee

yoga

low sodium diet

bong hit

deep beathing

have a drink

then tackle a repair

[Jehu]

Oh easy for you to say Maui Jim!

[Ross]

That sucks! Use a wine cork, sounds like you could at least use the wine.

[Jehu]

My financial livelyhood depends on the car functioning. I can't start hemmoraging money at this particular juncture so it did add considerable unwelcome stress, I bought a pair of these (http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=98538-45890-9050&lpage=none)and i'll just get a section of slit open hose or something to cover the teeth and clamp down on the main hose when i get around to it.http://images.lowes.com/product/022728/022728905306.jpg

[BobHarris]

There are people that specialise in repairing dents like yours without damaging the paint.

[Jehu]

There are people that specialise in repairing dents like yours without damaging the paint.

I'll look into it, thanks for the idea.

[nk530]

what you really need is new hood shocks
GAS PRESSURIZED SPRING 380N 2 51231944119 $31.81

[Jehu]

what you really need is new hood shocks
GAS PRESSURIZED SPRING 380N 2 51231944119 $31.81

Yah a friend pointed that out when i had it the hood open earlier this week showing him where the blower motor is and what i needed to do to get at it and how i got the dents. Thanks for the assistance. If the Hood should be able to withstand a moderate gust of wind and remain up that's good news.