Dolomitejohn Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 Hi all Thought my rad was OK despite some previous owner muppet having jacked the car up using the rad. But alas its leaking. Can't afford a new one..... I am near gaydon in Warwickshire. Cheers all. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 might be worth attempting a home repair if youre on a tight budget. A lot depends on where the leak is but if you have a gas torch soldering might be possible or dont discount using epoxy metal as on a clean solid surface its good stuff.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolomitejohn Posted March 10, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2019 Thanks johny It's got 2 tiny cracks where it has been creased. If you can imagine it's been jacked up using a 3 inch square block which has crushed the base and bulged it out front and rear. Shall I use ordinary tin solder? It's clean or can be cleaned and I have a gas lamp and plenty of solder. Thanks Johny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted March 10, 2019 Report Share Posted March 10, 2019 Can you manage to "un-crush" it at all? The job will be easier and neater if the shape is correct. Then you'll need to clean it back thoroughly (wire brush in a drill or scotchbrite disc) and apply some good quality plumbers flux along with the solder. Brass is a bit harder to solder than pure copper plumbing pipes but it's not too bad. If you can get hold of some thin copper sheet, I'd suggest folding that over the damaged part and soldering the full area. That will make a more robust repair. Pressure test before re-fitting. Remember to clean up thoroughly once done (remove all traces of the flux) and give it a nice coat of paint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted March 10, 2019 Report Share Posted March 10, 2019 Isn't this a case for TiG? Few will have the kit, or the skills, but a local fabrication firm will, and the right welding rods for whatever metal it is. They might do the repair for a drinks style charge, ask! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted March 10, 2019 Report Share Posted March 10, 2019 I agree with N/M but also take care not to overheat as you don't want the heat to travel along to another joint and melt that one as has happened to me when remaking some copper pipe joints Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted March 10, 2019 Report Share Posted March 10, 2019 an idea . cooks blowtorch from aldi or lidl good heat small area , a std gas plumbers torch can heat more then needed unless you have a small nozzle to fit getting the brass clean is the hardest part and good flux and a std solder works well. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted March 10, 2019 Report Share Posted March 10, 2019 If its the bottom tank away from where the bottom tube plate or drain tap is soldered on I think the risk of anything else melting is minimal and a perfect repair achievable. Either plate it, as suggested, although this can make it difficult to see if you got good adhesion or form the cracks into little troughs so that puddles of solder are formed. Dont use electrical solder.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted March 10, 2019 Report Share Posted March 10, 2019 I have a small 'gas pencil' which runs off cigarette lighter gas. It gives a very localised jet and may be useful for this. Probably find one on fleabay for a few quid. Very useful for heating up tight nuts (Don't go there Doug/Pete!!). Put to good use burning out old suspension rubbers last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted March 10, 2019 Report Share Posted March 10, 2019 I would second the epoxy idea. I had a leakbon a herald rad, actually a tube in the core. But a clean up as best I could, then a 2p pice with a good blob of epoxy did the trick. I think it had 8 years service with me before I sold the car. No more problems (with the rad at least) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted March 10, 2019 Report Share Posted March 10, 2019 I'm lucky enough to have a decent radiator repair shop in town (Yeovil) and have found that they do a much better job than I can for reasonable cost. Previous experience (Vitesse heater matrix and PI radiator neck) has suggested that the OE solder melts at lower temperature than DIY store plumbers solder - which is unhelpful in this context! It was suggested to me (by the rad repair folks) that the lead alloy used for body soldering (lead loading) is more like the OE stuff. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Foster Posted March 11, 2019 Report Share Posted March 11, 2019 On 09/03/2019 at 18:36, Dolomitejohn said: Can't afford a new one..... I am near gaydon in Warwickshire. IIRC there is a GT6 on the upper floor in the Jaguar/Leyland building. Just saying !! Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted March 12, 2019 Report Share Posted March 12, 2019 IIRC it's not a mk3, does it matter? db Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolomitejohn Posted March 13, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 Guys, wow what a great response. I am not sure who said it, but I decided to get it repaired locally. £25 - £30 at a company called Warwick Radiators in Coventry. Should see me through . Thanks all. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigfella70 Posted March 14, 2019 Report Share Posted March 14, 2019 Great result, John. Good to see there are still a few radiator repair places left. It was suggested to me by the vendor of my GT6 to have the top tank removed from my rad and the cooling channels rodded through, rather than a recore to ensure all clear as the car has been stood in dry storage a few years. The rad was flushed with water but I'll look into this service and see what the consensus is. It's not leaking at the moment though ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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