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Fix Hairline Crack at Top of Radiator (plastic)?

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Telltell

10+ Year Contributor
45
0
Jul 13, 2009
Dallas, Texas
Hey guys. Thanks for your help in advance. I have a small hairline crack at the top of my radiator (plastic). Its about an inch and a quarter long. When i turn the car on i see a very small puddle of water on the top plastic part of the radiator, that's how I found this crack. Do you guys know if this can be fixed?

Search yields results a bit different than my situation, that's why I looking for advice.

Thanks guys!
 
I had the same thing happen and all i did was use some plastic weld. It held for almost 4months. You could do that, however, it would be much better for you to just go ahead and invest in an aluminum radiator. There are many good ones out there and they will definitely give you great results. I got a mishimoto off of ebay for about 150 brand new and my car is much happier/cooler now because of it. Just a thought. Good luck fella.
 
You can use something to try to seal it but in the long run your best option is going to be to replace it. There are a lot of good inexpensive aftermarket one's out there as TYGRR pointed out.
 
I'm in no way telling you to do this. Just thought I'd share a KINDA funny story with ya. I had a small hairline crack in my 1g's radiator the same as yours. I tried using some JB weld to kinda fill the hole but it didnt work at all cause it just ended up cracking through the JB weld too. So instead, I got some Gorilla tape to just hold me over for a day or two till I could order a new radiator. Believe it or not, the radiator heated the glue on the Gorilla tape and it sealed the crack. I drove the radiator for about 2 weeks like that till I found a really cheap one.
 
I JB welded a crack in the plastic top the radiator of my hyundai many years ago. It held the whole 5 years I had the car. It was right on top in the flat part.

I have tried to do the same thing in other cracks in radiators, but they were in corners and bends and other areas that didn't hold well.

Getting it to hold well is all about the prep work. Partially drain the rad, rough up the surface, clean with rubbing alcohol, mix the 2 parts exactly 50/50, let it cure for a full 15 hours like the instructions say, and longer in the cold. Use a hairdryer for a few min after it sets up to help it cure better. Shit, give it a shot and see how it does.
 
Hey thanks for your advice everyone. For future reference, here is what I ended up doing:

Turns out this plastic part at the top is a tank that can be replaced. Called around and found a small radiator shop that did those replacements. $65 for the tank including labor. I did have to bring them the radiator off the car, but its real easy to take out / put back in.

So anyone low on dough, that's an alternative to buying a completely new radiator. It worked out just fine for me.

Thanks again guys.

PS. If you do this, you might call around to different shops, because most of them wont give you that price.
 
Not to burst you're bubble but I could have gotten ya one for $71.75 next day delivery LOL.
 
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