Punctured Aluminum Rad: Repairable?

[ChiGGz]

I used a temp bolt to hold the manifold cover but didn't screw it tightly. Vibrations caused the screw to come loose and it dropped between my radiator and the intercooler line.

Drove around town when I noticed a smell then suddenly large clouds of smoke coming out of my hood vent. Apparently bolt punctured a hole in my radiator..it was pissing out coolant onto my manifold and burning up into smoke.

So that's my story. Is it possible to get my aluminum radiator welded up?

 

[islandigital]

yea it is, but bring it to a reputable tig welder in your area. Depending on the break it may not be. If you just poped a small crease in the front then welding that shut is not a problem, if you punched through it and cut in between the bars then you are going to have problems.

Make shure to get it pressure tested after you fix it too!

 

[Cs4g63]

If you cant find a good welder than I would take it to a radiator shop to see what they can do for you. Dont make it sound like if they cant fix that one that you are going to need to get another one because they will just tell you that it cant be repaired.

 

[ChiGGz]

well from what I saw it was peeing a single stream which leads me to believe one hole. Maybe the other line is slightly damaged and just needs reinforcing.

I'm going to take it to a shop thats in one of the units where my dad works, so he'll know I'm a local guy and won't screw me over.

So to take it off it's just the top mounts right?

 

[ChiGGz]

So I got it fixed! Took about four tries. Finally found a good use for cigarettes . We held the cigarette over the weld and looked for burning embers or smoke flying about. I'm gonna test again later at home in a big bucket of water if i can find one.

How many PSI should I be putting through the radiator to ensure a good seal?

 

[CruisinGSX]

Tool companies like Snap On and Mac Tools make pressure testers to provide a way to pressurize the coolant system and locate leaks. There are a few places that let you rent tools that you may need (Advance Auto comes to my mind), rather than buying something that you don't use often enough to justify the money spent. I don't know if they have them or not, though.
These tools have a pressure gauge on them to show how much pressure you're putting on the system. The red zone on the gauges (signifying not to go futher than that amount of pressure) usually starts at 15 PSI. If I remember correctly, coolant pressure caps usually open up around 17-18 PSI, so I'd put no more pressure to it than that to test the radiator.

 

[Defiant]

Or just use soapy water.