Being that everything is made of plastic these days, I'm guessing -- it's possible to strip a plastic radiator petcock in a plastic side tank of a radiator?

I changed the t stat last night and came out today to a small puddle of coolant just below the drain on the radiator.
It feels like it is ever so slightly stripped in that it gets tighter, pretty tight, then looser.
However, I was able to keep turning it CW and leaning in on it and get it to almost seal.

Is it possible the seal in the petcock hole shifted when I opened it and it's not sitting in the right place, thus the dribble leak?

Can the petcock be replaced? I have no idea what brand radiator (aftermarket). Do aftermarket folks usually duplicate the OEM part design to that degree?

 

The answer is no this one cannot be stripped on an S car because it has no threads.

The other answer is yes it can be replaced but it would appear there is only one position in which you can get it to fully engage before turning it and closing it which is probably what my issue is . Just to be safe I have ordered a replacement so that if I drain the system again and find it is somehow messed up, I will have a replacement in hand. Maybe I will just pull the old one out and jam the new one in while getting doused in coolant. The fragrance is so..... Not pleasant

This entire thread is more or less useless to everyone but me. I'll probably delete it later

 

It may just need a new o-ring, some use two.

 

Thank you.

I think it was just never seated properly when I closed it after draining. I was under the impression it was threaded so I was spinning it counterclockwise when letting the system drain. I must have been slightly pulling on it because it seemed that the more I rotated it, the faster the flow. The little metal pin sticking out perpendicular to the shaft needs to be seated in its slot before turning . I had no idea it was there and I know that didn't happen.

I've never had a petcock out so I've never looked at one. Well I had the Escape one pull out on me but in retrospect it is for the same reason: push in and pull out. No threads. I will drain and properly lock this one before refilling.

It's amazing how once you go Hands-On full bore, you start to learn these small lessons about this and that. Things other people learned decades ago that are second nature to them but no nature to me. But I am on my way and I can't learn this kind of stuff without messing it up the first time.

The white car is my baby and I am taking an extraordinarily long time rehabbing the vehicle. One it is rusted as hell in many ways I cannot quickly deal with, two my hands shaking slows me away the hell down, but three and most importantly, I refuse to break things that I do not understand simply out of impatience. I still don't know a lot of what I don't know, but the support I get on this forum keeps me from impatiently damaging stuff out of ignorance. So once again I thank all of you.

In related and unrelated news, the water antifreeze I keep training and refilling seems to be remaining pretty clean since I changed it a month ago. So the cooling system must not be too gunky.

New drain plug and a back pressure tester that hopefully works out of the box are due in today and will both be used before midnight. If it is not a back pressure problem which I pray it is then I go for the leak down test One could argue I should have done it early on, but then I would not have learned anything I've learned. This decision was deliberate even though not necessarily logical.
It may be a long time before I have another golden opportunity to learn so much in so short a time span. And I don't want to be screwing up on the Audi when the time comes. No real room for error there

 

Received new drain plug,
Pulled existing drain plug.

1 of these is not like the other -- 1 of these just does not belong.

Current: Long neck, captive threads in middle of shaft, end is split and goes into inner hole, has ledges so it cannot easily pull out. Only o ring except at top of shaft where the flat **** thing meets the side tank
Replacement: 3/4 neck length of current, metal pin perpendicular to shaft, oring, then slightly tapered end but very very short.

It seems that the current design relies on a conical mating to seal the drain but with no give on either mating surface. The captive threads indeed let you tighten it (pulls it in) after seating the center properly.
I'm hoping that is what i did not do properly a few nights back, because the radiator in my 97 has a drain plug from 1993 style Saturn S car radiators. or Pre 1994. 94-2002 the same as the replacement i bought. It physically can not be inserted into the hole.

See now if I was hands on around 2007, I would have put in the right year part.

The other complication is that I can't find an exact match to mine --there are others that look like it but the captive threads, if present, are enclosed in a rectangular enclosure -- which means they are probably not there.

Oiy, I didn't check 91-92....the Bizzare years...

pray for me.

I can't bear to fill it and hear it leak again tonight. I will not sleep.

 

You may need another radiator. Aftermarket radiators only have to fit the car, they do not have to match the OEM design.

 

I would like to see some photos of them.

 

here ya go.

too p.o.d to transfer last night

First two are the piece that came out of the radiator came out of the radiator.

Has retainer as described and the captive threads.

This is the supposed replacement for a 97 S series radiator. It physically can not be inserted and is too short anyway. Aftermarket.


Comparison of the 2. length is completely different.
----------
YES, I ordered the replacement without pulling the original.
YES, that was stupid.
NO, I did not consider the fact that I might have a 1993 S-car radiator in my 97, installed by some local yahoos in NJ I gave a chance in 2010 ish.

Here is a picture of the radiator plug replacement for a 93 S car (currently available aftermarket.

Same style as mine but with a casing around where the threads are on mine.
------
a) looks like the rectangular part has retaining nubs.
b) EPIPHANY: The inside of the rectangular piece catches the captive threads of the removable piece. you can only insert that piece once unless you want to break it to get it out
c) Question: Rcctangular part has a slot in the side. Does the coolant drain THROUGH this slot when the petcock is screwed outwards?
That seems possible only if the rod of the petcock itself is holding back the flow (sealing). Seams quite alot to ask with no gasket/o ring.
..............But the end of mine came out slightly BENT, so...........I straightened it before reinsertion -- maybe it wore down being off-center and will never seal properly.

Seems the thing to do would be to
--drain
--remove petcock
--search inside petcock spot for the rectangular plastic piece INSIDE to confirm part design
--Order replacement
--collapse the one in the radiator to pull it out.

Yes ? No? Thoughts?

Thanks for pushing me to post pix, LB. I would not have realized this on my own any time soon

 

I have 2 mid nineties Cutlass Cieras that appear to use the same petcock as your Saturn.
Oddly when I search for a replacement ,the only result I get is the Dorman one you found.
I suppose it would be worth trying.
The one with a pin in it obviously will not work for you.
My son has a 96 Impala that uses that type. It goes in a slot and turns 1/4 turn to lock it in place.
Its sad when you cant even find a comparable replacement for a petcock.

 

My local Advance Auto shows the Dorman one in stock for $4.49
Part #490232