radiator repair

[immortal_suby]

The wife's svx radiator has a small crack in it in the plastic part on top near the filler neck. It loses a small amount of coolant. I have tried patching it with JB weld and a marine plastic repair kit but both do not stick to the radiator very well and end up separating slightly after the radiator heats up.
Is there anything out there that will patch a crack in this plastic or am I looking at putting in a new radiator soon.

[dromano]

Try some high heat resistant silicone caulk 500 degrees. Radiator lists for $400+.
Good luck.

David

[SVXtypeR]

Given what I went through, your best bet will be to break down and purchase a new radiator. I had a crack in the exact same spot, the (inexplicably) *thin plastic* top end cap where the coolant inlet hose flares out to 1/2 the width of the radiator. As much JB weld as I tried, the crack simply expanded out from underneath it and flowered open. The day my radiator got in, the crack was about 8 inches wide and had flowered open over 1/2 inch.

Just FYI, after my Haltech and intake/exhaust mods (circa x-mas holidays), I'm sending my busted radiator to Griffen as a template for a custom aluminum racing radiator. It'll cost me 6weeks and around $600 to complete the fab. If you're interested in a copy, let me know.

[vkykam]

It CAN be fixed.

I'll take a picture of it and put the descriptions and the product here later on tonight when I have time.

I had to try 4 different products before finding the right one and method.

Sorry to leave a cliffhanger, but such is life... :)

VK

Originally posted by immortal_suby
The wife's svx radiator has a small crack in it in the plastic part on top near the filler neck. It loses a small amount of coolant. I have tried patching it with JB weld and a marine plastic repair kit but both do not stick to the radiator very well and end up separating slightly after the radiator heats up.
Is there anything out there that will patch a crack in this plastic or am I looking at putting in a new radiator soon.

[dromano]

Originally posted by SVXtypeR
Given what I went through, your best bet will be to break down and purchase a new radiator. I had a crack in the exact same spot, the (inexplicably) *thin plastic* top end cap where the coolant inlet hose flares out to 1/2 the width of the radiator. As much JB weld as I tried, the crack simply expanded out from underneath it and flowered open. The day my radiator got in, the crack was about 8 inches wide and had flowered open over 1/2 inch.

Just FYI, after my Haltech and intake/exhaust mods (circa x-mas holidays), I'm sending my busted radiator to Griffen as a template for a custom aluminum racing radiator. It'll cost me 6weeks and around $600 to complete the fab. If you're interested in a copy, let me know. Is Griffin making a new radiator or replacing the plastic parts?

[Chris]

I have persoanlly done this. My time is limited right now so this i just a quick step by step.

Look for a puddy type epoxy called quicksteel. Comes in plastic tube (or something similar). Buy it and some sandpaper (medium to fine grade). Drain the fluid out of the radiator to lower than the point of repair. Use sandpaper to scratch the heck out of the crack and surrounding area. Wash with brakeclean or alcohol. This is important to remove all plastic depris AND residue of the antifreeze. Once the surrounding area is all clean, kneed epoxy-puddy. I only had to use about 1/3 of the stick. Do this quick becaus eit will start to get hot and harden VERY quick. (I also suggest using rubber, latex, or vinyl gloves during this process) Apply puddy and push it deep into the crack area and all the surrounding area. This will make a band-aid that will last for years. So far two years for me.

Good luck.
Chris

(PS -- I do not have pictures of the step by step process, but if you want to see the after effect I can post pictures of that.)

[immortal_suby]

Thanks!
She called me at work today while she was in traffic with steam coming out from under the hood. I lied and told her it was alright to drive as long as the temp didnt climb. Looks like I'm off to the parts store for some quicksteel and a tube of whatever vkykam recommends.

[wawazat??]

Originally posted by SVXtypeR
I'm sending my busted radiator to Griffen as a template for a custom aluminum racing radiator. It'll cost me 6weeks and around $600 to complete the fab. If you're interested in a copy, let me know.

When you get it done, please let me know. My radiator is in good shape now (only about 5 years old) but the thought of replacing it with another plastic tanked unit for $400 makes me shiver:eek: Are you going to increase the capacity or number of cores?

[vkykam]

As promised, here's my fix. It's held up for 4 hot summer months and 12000 miles, with no traces of leaks. I've attached a photo in my locker to give you an idea how large the crack on my radiator eventually became (12 inches across).

I tried something very similar to the QuikSteel product that Chris has had success with, but unfortunately that product did not work very well for me.

The product I used was in a syringe format that I picked up at a local Canadian Tire (general automotive/hardware store), made specifically for plastic radiator repairs. I used my Dremel, cut through the plastic portion of the radiator where the crack was, and made it even longer to make sure that all the fracture was cut through. I applied the product, and according to the product instructions, it does not activate/cure until it reaches 200F. So I used a propane torch, and heated it GENTLY, making sure it heats but does not scorch the epoxy. I find that it worked best by holding the torch about 4-5 inches away, and doing a few quick sweeps across the epoxy, waiting a minute for it to cure and harden up, then continue to gently heat it. This will prevent the scorching of the epoxy.

The key here is PATIENCE. It only takes a few minutes for the product to harden, but let it cure OVERNIGHT. If you are a neat fanatic, you can sand this product afterwards to make it smooth. I didn't, and you can see the bulge on the radiator.

And the standard common sense stuff applies, such as sanding, cleaning, draining the radiator to below the crack, and flushing the radiator afterwards to remove any debris that may have entered.

Voila, and a $400 expense averted.

VK

[SVXtypeR]

Griffon will be fabbing a *complete* radiator from scratch for me.

The unit will be a twin core, so those of you who have an aux trans cooler between the rad and condenser *may* be s.o.l. unless you find a new place for your mod. The Griffon core will essentially be twice as thick as the stock unit (imagine the core being as thick as the endcaps). since it will be a close call for the stock radiator fans, I'm sending a FAL (Flex-a-lite) low-profile twin fan unit with my stock core so that Griffon can fab mounts for it at the same time as the rest of the unit.

The end caps will be *all* aluminum, so they'll be high-quality units. I've seen many old-school and big-block guys run Griffons at the track, and they look pretty good.Overall, I am purposely designing the unit to "overcool" the car in it's current configuration along with an extreme-duty oil cooler. The objective is to be able to back out on the timing for more power and not tax the cooling/lube systems.

FYI - If anyone's not interested in this configuration, I'm requesting that Griffon keep a stock pattern (all aluminum, of course) on hand for anyone who simply wants a better functioning stock-type configuration.

[immortal_suby]

It worked!
I tried the sandpaper and alcohol method and used quicksteel-magnum steel and it has held up for 3 days so far - the other stuff cracked the first day. Hopefully it will continue to hold up, if not I'll try the syringe stuff but it looks like this quicksteel will work.
Thanks again, I really didn't want to pay for a new radiator right now.
This club rules.
:D

[Chris]

Repairs are obviously temporary.
I am working with several vendors for aftermarket radiators. Anyone interested, PM me so I can have numbers for an extimated group purchase/buy. Discount in volume people. And dont think it will never happen to you :D

[benebob]

Sorry I came in so late. Magnum Steel is the way to go. Going on 3 years with my SVX, granted that's about 5k but still it holds up great and looks well as crappy as the day I put it on. As for replacements, does anybody have access to plastic makers? If so the top can be replaced. I just did it with my XT6 and that has a vertical plastic return tank. Nary a leak in that. Took me about an hour to switch the top.

[ensteele]

Chris

I would be interested, but maybe you should start a new thread for a list. I don't know if all of the members will see your thought here. :)

[TomsSVX]

i went out and get some wet weld by jbweld for my first try at fixing my problem. That blew to peices so i went and got some of the quiksteel from my parts store and tried that. with not success i am trying the last product i have so far and that a repair kit i bought. It includes fiberglass sheeting and resin to coat on. I will let it set for a few hours, recommended 30 mins at least and give that a whirl. Otherwise i am dead in the water for my radiator. good thing my daily driver still works. anyway, if someone else has suggestions let me know. I used a dremel to gring out the crack and filled it in w/ quiksteel today and it still didn't work so i am hoping this will work.

[TomsSVX]

HAHA!!!!!!!!!!!! i finally got it to stop leaking. I cut all the products i saw were used out and i plasti welded it. Yes i bought a plastic wleder off ebay a week or two ago for something else and i was able to use it on this. It came out pretty good and i am looking foward to driving my baby a little more. But its not a bad investment for anyone who has an air line at home.

[Earthworm]

Of the things I tried fiberglass was the worst.

I had it plastic welded initially and it only lasted about a day. The permanent fix would be to use an all aluminum radiator.

[TomsSVX]

thats the plan but the plastic weld is holding up good right now.

[immortal_suby]

The magnum steel fix on the radiator I started this thread about (in 2001) still has not failed. What has failed is the plastic has now cracked on the backside of the top. These repairs can hold up, but the real problem of the deteriorating plastic will eventually come back.