The plastic top part of my radiator is cracked. The crack is on the top and runs along the middle if of the radiator and is about 3 inches long. Is there any way it can be repaired or do I have to replace the radiator.
I have a 1994 Civic DX.

I was thinking of using black silicone or epoxy. Has anyone ever attempted a repair like this. What are the possible consequences of this?

what is the cheapest price I can find a radiator for if it cannot be repaired?

Which radiator do you think is better, Honda OEM plastic top radiator or aftermarket metal top?

 

if you have the money get an aftermarket. but to answer your questions yes you can replace the cracked part.

 

How can i replace the cracked part? replace the entire top part?


[Modified by profroopchan, 4:40 AM 3/16/2003]

 

how bad is the crack man? Cause if its a hair line, Use JB weld. Can be found at a local Napa or hardware store. **** CAN HOLD ANYTHING

if theres a hole, spring for an aftermarket one.

 

The crack is a hair line so I think I will try JB weld. I'll let you kino whow it works. if that doesn';t do it then I will have to get an aftermarket radiator.

 

to add to his question, how much is to buy just the upper tank of the same radiator? F22B2 95 (accord LX 95)

 

i am thinking of buying a used radiator, should i try to get a used aftermarket one or should i get a used honda oem one?

 

I think jb weld is a metal epoxy... are you sure it will work on plastic?

 

well i had the same thing with the radiator of my subaru legacy. the turbo models had the radiator cap on a plastic box in the middle of the engine bay. the nipples that the hose connects to broke off (a little bit more than a crack) i put pipe nipples in it and sealed it up with GORILLA GLUE. this stuff is suposed to be a wood glue but i swear by the ****. it holds everything from metal to plastic and the wife's pottery too. and the best part is that it seems to be resistant to any temp and any liquid, yes even gasoline and oil. i did this about 2 years ago and it still holds the today.

 

Take it to a radiator shop and see if it can be salvaged. They can remove the plastic end caps clean out the core and put new end caps on. Hopefully they will have the ends caps in stock. Or throw it in the trash and get a new one. JB weld will not hold up it will eventually leak a again and it will be 10 times worse. The crack will grow. Mine cracked by the upper neck. Then the whole neck cracked off.

 

i have a crack just like that.
JB weld says it can be used for radiators, yes it says plastic. It didnt work well at all, worked for about 2 hours iuntil the rad. got hot. Then i tried quiksteel, that worked a little better because it is spec. for plastic i guess and it worked for a coupe days and then it slowly started to leak, just go to napa and buy another one for 100 bucks.

 

JB Weld works on EVERYTHING

Of course after reading the previous post, it may not work well in high temp environments

 

I agree with this.

Same thing happened on my Integra, and we tried to seal it up, within an hour it was leaking again.

Just got to your dealer and get the OEM one.

 

New plastic tops are expensive to buy (if you can find them) and then you have to pay a radiator shop to install it as it takes special tools. Find a good hi-temp plastic epoxy, drill a tiny hole at each end of the crack to stop it from spreading and seal it up. Give the epoxy a day to cure. You could get lucky

 

The rad. shop can get you the caps. I don't believe they are going to charge an arm and a leg for them. It has to be cheaper than a new rad. Be sure to get metal end caps. The plastic ones are ummm plastic POS . Worth at try if you are low on ca$h.

 

Use Bar's Stop Leak. I screwed up the other day jacking up my car. I was too lazy to get down and check that the jack was in the right spot. Well sure enough as I jacked up the car, the jack slipped, and hit on the rad. That caused the rad to be pushed up, and cracked the top tank (plastic). It was leaking (slowly). I went and got Stop Leak, put it in the rad, topped it up (including the overflow bottle, if there's any air in your cooling system, when the motor cools, it purges itself, and draws coolant from the overflow bottle) and it has not leaked since.