urgent radiator repair
Submitted: Saturday, Jan 28, 2012 at 23:16
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91515
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3988
Replies:
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80 Series Adam
Hi guys im currently in
hervey bay need to get bak to brissy tomorrow, but i have the little drama of a small crack in a seam on my radiator near the top hose. Wondering what products people have used to sucessfully seal up small cracks b4? Or even better if there is anyone here from
hervey bay that knows how to weld this up for me its a copper/brass tank not sure on which one, i have it out of the car already. Be happy to trade a carton for a few mins of sumones time.
Thanks
Adam
Reply By: dbish - Saturday, Jan 28, 2012 at 23:42
Saturday, Jan 28, 2012 at 23:42
Hi Adam. Mates 80 series had a crack in the tubes of his radiator & had a 800Km trip to do. Used Master Bronze radiator Stop Leak. Part No #52BM, its a bronze coloured powder you just remove cap from radiator when cool, run engine till coolant is hot, then add contents to radiator, replace rad cap. This stuf fixed the leak untill he eventualy got the radiator replaced.
AnswerID:
476242
Reply By: Member - Walter H (WA) - Saturday, Jan 28, 2012 at 23:48
Saturday, Jan 28, 2012 at 23:48
Hey Adam a good product that will fix your Radiator is Devcon as i have been using this for many years to fix anything from Radiators,water tanks and i even fixed a leaky Aluminium Aircond pipe on a landcruiser which was still there after 5 yrs..but like anything preparation is the key so you will need to Clean any paint away and wipe it down with Prepsol or similar...Repco or an industrial supplier should carry it...Good luck
Happy Motoring
AnswerID:
476243
Follow Up By: Member - allan t (NT) - Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 18:37
Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 18:37
2nd that used it on
mine 1year ago still there same place .Must put the new rad in
allan
FollowupID:
751335
Reply By: brucnjul - Saturday, Jan 28, 2012 at 23:52
Saturday, Jan 28, 2012 at 23:52
Hi Adam, You could try leaving the radiator cap loose so it does not build up pressure until you can get it repaired. Just keep an eye on the water temperature.
One of the auto shops should have some temp tank repair compound.
Supercheap on Boatharbor Drive and Autobarn in Main Street will be opened Sunday.
Bruce
AnswerID:
476244
Reply By: Begaboy - Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 00:03
Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 00:03
I have had this drama ( sort off ) with my Patrol - they have a cowling that "rubs" against the core - then rubs through causing a leak....
Now - i have tried all those useless products in the past - there all rubbish , NONE have ever worked for me , even as a temporary solution - so with that said if you handy enough and with tools - you can fix yourself - provided you have space and know how -
for me it was a matter of popping out some of the heat displacement fins - then finding the rubbed out area thats leaking - then using pliers - carefully folding over that area to block off the leak - should be a 1 hour job.
but more recently i was in
Toowoomba - had over heating issues with my patrol - ended up just buying a new radiator ( still didint solve my issue , but after much research found thats a prob that cant be fixed ) - im sure if you ring around harvey bay -
bundaberg you can find an after market Radiator.
But if you insist on trying to try those products , i have found that leaving your radiator cap loose so that the system will not pressurise but will still hold the water will help to not force the water out the hole. you just need to
check every now and then water levels
hope this was of some help
BB
AnswerID:
476245
Follow Up By: Member - Walter H (WA) - Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 00:34
Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 00:34
Hay Begaboy ,Devcon isn't a rubbish product as it;s been used in heavy Industry for years and still is, hence the reason it isn't cheap....Maybe your prep work is lacking as I have never had a failure yet !
FollowupID:
751263
Follow Up By: Member - Michael and Chris (QL - Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 07:01
Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 07:01
Begaboy,
I used to have overheating problems when towing up-
hill. A simple fix of replacing the oil in the fan hub, no big deal.
FollowupID:
751266
Follow Up By: 80 Series Adam - Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 09:10
Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 09:10
thanks for the replies think ill try and find sum of this devcon stuff this morning and give it a go
FollowupID:
751270
Follow Up By: member - mazcan - Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 10:11
Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 10:11
hi
my vote is for devcon not cheap but excellent results fixed a leaking concrete swimming
pool with there under wt and a leaking fuel tank with another preparation is the key element to success with devcon dont think sca would have it but bunnings or other hardware sops would be the likely
places
cheers
FollowupID:
751283
Follow Up By: Allan B (Member, SunCoast) - Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 11:05
Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 11:05
Devcon epoxy products were introduced to industry about 1960 and comprise a series of specialist types. We used them successfully for a surprising range of applications, not just leak repair. As has been said, preparation is all important.
Never used it for radiator repair but I'm sure it could be effective.
FollowupID:
751287
Follow Up By: Begaboy - Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 17:48
Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 17:48
HI Michael and Chris - as you mentioned it is an overheating issue on long hills when towing either my caravan ( 2 tonne ) or boat (2.5 tonne ) after reading Many forums on the issue with 4.2 TDI's the general consensus that the water galleries are not large enough to allow a good flow to help remove the heat from the motor - i had this issue even in heavy rain on cold days at driving speed ( 90 kmh)
anyway tried it all - and have learnt to live with it ... reason i replaced the radiator was because of previous repairs ( that had not failed ) just wanted to change it as i had spare time on my trip to do so
FollowupID:
751332
Follow Up By: Patrolcrd11 - Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 23:48
Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 23:48
Another vote for devcon.
We used to use it to repair cracks on the Hamersley iron railway tracks.
Local
karratha mechanic at the time also used it on engine blocks and would then rebore.
Its amazing stuff.
FollowupID:
751377
Reply By: Member - Bucky - Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 06:30
Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 06:30
Adam
lots of "nead it" stuff on the market, and yes they do one for radiators too. !
One rule though, get everything really clean first
Cheers
Bucky
AnswerID:
476247
Reply By: gbc - Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 09:05
Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 09:05
If a couple of tablespooons of Saxa table pepper in the tank wont fix it, nothing will. It has got me back from remote areas twice. Pretty bloody amazing really. I couldn't have thought of anything more stupid until I had no other option and bugger me it worked!
AnswerID:
476252
Follow Up By: Fab72 - Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 09:29
Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 09:29
Agree with ya gbc. Sometimes the most effective fixes are the cheapest and simpliest.
The pepper will flush out pretty
well once the repair has been done, whereas a lot of those chemical sealer things will require tank removal and wiring the core out to clean up afterwards.
Drop a raw egg in there with the pepper too...seriously.
Fab.
FollowupID:
751273
Follow Up By: glids - Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 09:52
Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 09:52
Another vote for ground black pepper.
In 2007 I was with my brother-in-law in his 80 Series crossing the Simpson. At Mt Dare Station we found a 3 - 4mm stream of water coming from the radiator. No radiators available and they couldn't fix it, but they recommended the pepper treatment - and leave the radiator cap off to reduce pressure.
Absolutely amazing!!
Within minutes the stream of water reduced, and we got back to
Alice Springs no problems. We stopped to
check the water level every 10 -15 minutes to start with, then longer periods, but the leak ended up only occasional drips.
Cheap and very effective.
cheers,
glids
FollowupID:
751281
Follow Up By: Bob Y. - Qld - Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 11:09
Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 11:09
Another vote for black pepper, and leaving the cap loose. Used it many times, back in the day.
Also, most servos should stock Epoxy Ribbon, or similar products. Cheaper option than Devcon, and nearly as good. Regardless of what Begaboy reckons!!!!
Bob.
FollowupID:
751288
Follow Up By: Axle - Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 11:20
Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 11:20
Epoxy Ribbon Gets my vote as
well, ...Cheap.easy to use, and stops the leak
Cheers Axle
FollowupID:
751293
Reply By: MEMBER - Darian, SA - Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 12:08
Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 at 12:08
I'm thinking of marketing a leak sealer made from gum leaves, seeing that a mere handful can totally block a PVC downpipe and flood my front verandah ! But seriously for a moment - the pepper idea has merit of course, because it has been used so many times (maybe buy a disposable grinder and pepper pack from the supermarket - then you can adjust the particle size :-o). I'm into road and mountain bikes - the latest technologies for
puncture sealing are quite amazing (for both tubed and tubeless tyres) - the products range from tiny fibres in a glycol fluid to tiny beads in a latex fluid - you can literally cycle for hours with punctures that you don't even know you have.
AnswerID:
476277