i was racing a few weeks ago and cracked the radiator. dont know how it happend but there's a 5 inch hairline crack at the top where one of the bolts for the fan is. it was fine, just leaked a lil, til recently where i was havin to rev to keep temps down and was refilling the coolant tank every other day. so yesterday i went and bout some jb weld and applied a thin lil coat and only let it sit for about 9 hours overnight (my only ride thus far, kinda sucks). weld broke b4 leaving my apartment complex. same day got home from work and immediatly applied another layer and this one sat for about 12 hours. broke again. im trying again tonight, only i did a few steps in a tip list i found off google and it will sit til sunday night (about 32 hours). im feeling a lot more confident with this third try, but is jb weld a lost cause or will this try work? im going to try to get a new radiator next month, so just buying a new one right now isnt an option.

thanks in advance!


Modified by Claborn at 2:40 PM 10/27/2003


Modified by Claborn at 2:42 PM 10/27/2003

 

In a lot of hardware stores there is a bonding agent called "Stop-Leak", or "Radiator Stop-Leak". It's a coagulant that you pour directly into your radiator cap. (Make sure it's cool lol) It's pretty ghetto and my friend used it for a while until he could get his crack fixed. I'm not saying that it will immmediately patch up a 5 inch crack, but it's pretty cheap so there'd be no harm in trying. The best fix would be getting a new radiator, but this should help you until you can saved up the dough. Hope this helps.

 

put duct tape ontop of the jb weld. no idea if it will help but might

 

silicon 2. sticky as hella and super flexible. those stop leak stuff wont work if the crack is above the water line or
too close to the top.

 

just a replacement radiator, it's like $100.

 

I wouldnt go putting any of those quick fix solutions into the radiator, they say theyre safe for aluminium engines but if you think about it, that crap is supposed to bond to the inside of the radiator blocking the leak, if thats the case then that crap will also stick to everything in the engine coolant channels too, I had a busted radiator a year or so back, i just always kept a gallon can of water in the trunk and topped it up every time i drove until i got a new radiator.

 

hey man all depends on how much you want to spend on the fix in the end.... i know that you can get some jdm itr radiators for about $99 plus s&h

 

slap some JB weld in it and call it a day

 

thanks for all the replys guys! i'll just wait and see wut this weld will do. and i might be interested in the itr radiators if theya re indeed 99 bucks

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by oMekoneDC2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">put duct tape ontop of the jb weld. no idea if it will help but might</TD></TR></TABLE>
WOW thanks for the help, man

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mugenracer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I wouldnt go putting any of those quick fix solutions into the radiator, they say theyre safe for aluminium engines but if you think about it, that crap is supposed to bond to the inside of the radiator blocking the leak, if thats the case then that crap will also stick to everything in the engine coolant channels too,.</TD></TR></TABLE>


I used stop-leak before...learned my damn lesson and I had to get a new radiator

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by integraL &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
WOW thanks for the help, man </TD></TR></TABLE>

np bro DUCT TAPE OWNED YOU

 

Go to an auto part store. They sell sealant. If the crack is that bad? Quick fix! Get a torch and sodder clean the spot off real good, sanding it wipping off, then sodder it like if you were doing soddering work in house pipes.

 

third times the charm!! i gues u gotta let jb weld sit for a good 24 hours. test drove it all day sunday and everything held up fine. thanks for all your replys!