Radiator crack on top

[Shigun]

I have a small area on the radiator at the very top, to the left of where the pipe is that looks like its peeling. Underneath I can see some cardboard colored material, and can hear it hissing and visibly see vapors coming out. This is obviously using up quite a bit of coolant as well. My question is, since it seems as if this is not a HUGE bit of damage (IE, I can't SEE there is any leak or anything, I can just tell that its vaporizing somewhere under there) would it be feasable to use something to epoxy that closed, or am I looking at a whole new radiator?

 

[solo92s10]

Id give bars leak or something of that sort a try and if that doesnt help then i would try some epoxy. Ive used epoxy before on beater car radiatiors and it held up fine but i would try the cheap fixes first if you dont have much extra cash and save up for a new radiator down the road.
Or check out a junk yard maybe you can find a good one.

 

[GVR4592]

I would use JB Weld.

 

[JBDdsmer610]

I had a big crack in the top of my rad i used some jb weld and let it sit overnight. Its still holding strong.

 

[undertaker]

I there people...
I have one question for you all...
here goes...
what a hell is JB WELD that everyone here talks about???
I´m from europe and here nobody knows this product...
thanks... regards

 

[Defiant]

The plastic in that radiator has reached the end of its service life. IF JB Weld would work on it, it will only crack at the next weakest point.

JB Weld is a high-strength epoxy meant for metal repair. You may only have Devcon, or other specialty epoxies.
http://jbweld.net/index.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J-B_Weld
You're on the Web. Use it.

 

[undertaker]

Thanks....
regards

 

[eclipsegst1990]

I 2nd JB-Weld.

I used JB Weld to seal a relatively large crack in the aluminum of my radiator. It worked very well. You MUST wait overnight and mix it properly.

I've used the radiator "stop leak" and for some reason it clogged everything and prevented the thermostat from opening...overheated. Once I flushed my radiator of the stop leak material and replaced my gunked up thermostat, everything was fine. For some people the the BARS stop leak works, but I've had a bad experience. I used it as directed too.

Good luck and happy welding.

 

[bling5tatus]

jb weld is a bandaid fix... you're better off buying a replacement radiator... a lot of the replacements that auto part stores sell are all metall and will not exhibit this problem.

You can try the jbweld thing, but it's not really something I'd rely on too much, maybe just if I HAD to drive the car somewhere (ie. to the store to buy a new radiator haha)...

Anyway, good luck, let us know how it turns out if you use jbweld.

 

[eclipsegst1990]

jb weld is a bandaid fix... you're better off buying a replacement radiator... a lot of the replacements that auto part stores sell are all metall and will not exhibit this problem.

You can try the jbweld thing, but it's not really something I'd rely on too much, maybe just if I HAD to drive the car somewhere (ie. to the store to buy a new radiator haha)...

Anyway, good luck, let us know how it turns out if you use jbweld.

I definitely agree

 

[Raph]

I there people...
I have one question for you all...
here goes...
what a hell is JB WELD that everyone here talks about???
I´m from europe and here nobody knows this product...
thanks... regards

2 Komponenten Kleber . thats what jbweld is. (usually, its in a yellow+ black package.. in parts stores and hardware stores (hela,obi,praktiker,hornbach etc .. dont get the plastine 2 komponent glue..that wont work)



ot:
Hey, i go to luxemborg every once in a while to fill up (live about 1 hrs drive away).. and do you go the 1/4 mile track in Bitburg (close to Trier)?