Outer Limits 4x4 Board

just found a small pin hole in the top of my radiator can i use the mig just to touch it up. the hole is just above one of the welds or is it time for a new one it looks in great condition apart from that tiny bit.

Not sure about using a mig on it.

You should be able to braze it, or take it to a radiator guy to fix it and give it a good clean.

Radiators are usually brass, copper or alloy. Touch that with a mig and your going to have a hole you can stick your finger through.

You need to silver solder it.

What about trying some of that radiator repair putty
stuff you mix together.??

chpd80 wrote:What about trying some of that radiator repair putty
stuff you mix together.??

Only a temporary repair to get you home if your stuck somewhere,

As said, needs to be soldered, but if it has a hole chances are the whole thing it due for and overhaul. (clean / re-core)

take it to a rad shop, not something you wanna piss around with yourself.
not worth the 50 bucks you save in getting it repaired properly if you drop your coolant and need a new motor...

Its piss easy to repair hole mate. Ive done it a few times this way, but only on copper/brass radiator endtanks, it wont work on plastic, and propably not on alloy.

Just clean around hole as best you can with emery paper or whatever until you got bare metal, then clean the metal with metho/brake clean/whatever.
Gently heat up the small area where hole is with an oxy on really low flame, or you can use those butane torches. Be careful here as the metal wont change colour when you have it at the right temp, you will just burn a gaping hole, it will take a matter of seconds.
Just gently heat, then use some solder you can buy at Jaycar or wherever and dab it on metal around hole and create a nice pad of solder covering hole.
You know you have it at the right temp when the solder will quickly melt as soon as you take flame away and touch solder on metal.

Hope this helps.

If its in your tank you can solder it. Drain the water out, wire brush the hole up clean. Clean with raw spirits (hydrochloric acid) then solder it with 50/50 solder. You will need to use the old type of iron that you heat up with the oxy torch. If this is all out of your league, take it to a radiator repair place it will only take them 20min once the water is drained out.. OR take your radiator out and down to them to cut the cost.

KUSTOM

last repair i had that was that simple the guy refused to charge me. took him less than 5 minutes.

thehanko wrote:last repair i had that was that simple the guy refused to charge me. took him less than 5 minutes.

Thats the kind of mechanic you give repeat business to.

quiksteel. i used it as a trackside repair till i got home to fix it. when i got around to trying to fix it i couldnt get the damned stuff off! still on there now and still going strong! the rad will die well before the quiksteel does from all acounts i have heard

lol yeh thats the problem with temporary repairs. With alll too many of us they become permanant as they work so well.

thanks everyone for the help put some quicksteel on till i can get to the radiator place tomorrow has held really well i think i could leave but will see what they say but i know to keep some in the car now thanks again

Used a bit of JBweld on a kingswood radiator many many (10 at least I reckon) years ago .. after a stack the radiator was sold to a mate, was working on his car a few months ago ... my JB was still there .. working a treat (even though the car was overheating due to waht I reckon is a clogged up radiator)