 Fix Radiator: How To Repair Leaking Car Radiators
Posted by carsandtrucks on Friday, March 13 @ 14:25:13 PDT
The cooling system of your automobile is essential to the longevity of your vehicle's engine. It is never safe to ignore the warning signs of a coolant leak. While driving your automobile, you may notice the temperature gauge is going towards hot. Inspecting the cooling system, you determine that you have a radiator leaking coolant, thus causing the engine to overheat. What options do you have to get your vehicle back on the road? The radiators in cars of yesterday were made of brass and copper. These radiators were relatively easy to repair. Today's radiators are
made of plastic tanks and aluminum cores. Although not impossible to repair, the process is not as simple as it once was. If the plastic tank is the leak source, give it up and buy a new radiator. I have never found a product that will stop the leak in a plastic tank, or at least nothing that will work very long. There are some products on the shelf that claim success, but I don't hold any faith in them. If the aluminum core is the problem you can make repairs by blocking off some of the tubes. The first thing you have to do is drain the radiator and remove it from the vehicle. Carefully remove the fins surrounding the leaking area. A pair of tin snips or needle nose pliers works well. Next clean the area around the leak so that it is free of oil or dirt. Using the needle nose pliers, crimp off the radiator tube. Using JB weld for the patch, mix the two-part epoxy per the instructions. When the JB weld is ready, pour it into the leaking area of the radiator. You can speed up the curing of the JB weld with a heat gun or even a blow dryer. This type of repair is doable but not highly recommended. Blocking off the coolant tubes creates flow restrictions, which in turn will create engine-cooling issues. The best advice for a leaking radiator is to replace it. If you find the cost of a new or remanufactured radiator to be cost prohibitive try to find a used unit from a salvage yard.
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