there is a 1.5-2 inch crack along the top plastic part of the radiator. the car is a 2001 civic lx. bought used for my daughter to drive to school and work. Can the crack be sealed with some plastic epoxy or glue and hold sufficiently for her to drive or should I invest in a new radiator?

 

Give JB Weld a try. It's only temporary until you get a replacement radiator. They aren't that expensive, but sooner or later, you'll need it.

 

Probably wont hold.(for long) The tank expands and contracts with heat cylces,most glues/epoxys arent designed to with stand that.

You can usually get a Denso radiator for around 100 bucks or less.

 

I would agree with doing the above vs. JB weld. I thought perhaps you were just using this as a temp solution just to arrive home in an emergency situation

 

JB makes a 'water weld'. I do not know if it will work, but I do know it exists.

Likely you'll need to purchase a new radiator. You'll have the opportunity to do a coolant flush as well, so it's not all bad eh!?

 

The only thing I believe would work is Loctite 30558 aka NS 5109.

http://na.henkel-adhesives.com/produ...=8797875011585
http://www.rshughes.com/p/Loctite-NS.../079340_30558/



It's a high temp gasket maker that will handle the expansion and contraction as well as handle up to 5000 PSI.

It's typically used in boilers and such.

I still would recommend just spending the 100 dollars on a new radiator. They are easy to re and re, with the exception of the corroded fan bolts. Might stop in and get small bolts after you get one of them out. Usually the bottom ones are corroded pretty bad and you can't salvage them.

 

rtv might actually work as a temp solution, I used it on my infamous engine block crack issue and it's holding strong

just clean it real good, hit it with some rtv and let it dry for atleast 2 hours

obviously, after it dries, test for leaks before driving

 

Why kick the can down the road? Install a new radiator and new radiator hoses while you're at it. It's your daughter's car. I'm sure you don't want her stranded somewhere because you decided to cheap out on an already cheap part!