I need some quick advice. I want to go to Vegas soon, but I just found a small 2 inch hairline crack/hole that had been worn in from the radiator vibrating against the bumper. Its a aluminum dual core radiator. I just used some JB weld putty and sealed it up. But will it be ok for a trip to Vegas and back? Its about a 3.5 hr trip both ways. thanks guys.

 

Did you allow it to fully cure for 24 hours before allowing it to touch coolant? If so, it will probably be ok. If not, it will fail very quickly.

Take coolant with you.

Drove for 3 months with a JB Welded exhaust manifold in an 04 Civic...

Though, considering how cheap flights are, why risk it and drive?

 

buy a new one.
don't trust the jb weld

 

well its a decision to go on a whim. today actually. I used the JB weld stick. Its like a putty you mix up together and spread on. It says it hardens in 5 mins, and takes 1 hour to fully cure.

 

x2!!! it sucks, i recommending a radiator repair plug kit (not sure of exact name), it looks like a round stick of gum, and you cut off whatever length that you need, mix it by mashing it together, and stick it in where the hole or crack is. Allow for an hour to dry and it'll be fixed. I used jb weld on my radiator and in a week or two it it cracked where i applied jb weld.

 

JB Weld and bring egg with you lol

 

thats exactly what I used. Its called JB weld stick. Its a putty/gum consistency that you mix together and apply. Im just not sure if its safe to make a 4 hr drive there and back with a band aid fix. My radiator has had this for a while now, and I've never overheated or anything. But I only drive about 15 mins to work and back so I never do any real long distance driving and in the heat of the desert on the way to Vegas.

 

that's what i used to use. my radiator had a small hairline crack and i used it for over 1 year going back and forth from sac to redding, about 2 hours. just kept reapplying it then when i got too much, peeled it off and start over. did that until some dude hit my car and got a new radiator!

if you do decide to drive it like that, pay very close attention to your temp gauge and bring lots of coolant/water. thats what i would do, check the level every time you gas up or at rest stops.

 

I used JB Weld for some all-aluminum radiator pinholes.... 15 months ago, and no leaks.

I have never had good luck with JB Kwik.

I use JB Water Weld when I need to use a putty. I have never used JB Stik.

Looking at jbweld.net, JB Weld is resistant to 500F and good to 3960psi, while Water Weld & JB Stik are resistant to 300F and good to 6000psi.

I guess I wanted the extra temperature margin of JB Weld.... 4000psi is overkill.

Did you clean and rough up the surface around your hole, to give the epoxy/putty something good to hold on to? Should be good to go then..... Always split aces and eights.

 

hahah, thanks for the input guys. I ended up not going. Good info though. thanks.

 

good call on not going. imagine getting stuck on the side of the road, semi truck whizzing by ay 70mph 2 feet away from your car, and boiling hot coolant spray all over your face and hands when you pop the hood to check up on your radiator that you know was busted,. 100 bucks on a radiator (maybe less) 5 bucks on coolant, and bleeding it correctly isnt that bad.