Is This Radiator Repairable?

[BLB27]

This is the same radiator as in my March 17 post. It is a round tube radiator. I thought it would be good to start a new post.

These photos show it after filling it with water. I found two leaks. One at the cast iron outlet, and one in the core. Sorry, the last photo would not go in vertically. A follow up post will show these same locations after about four hours.

I assume the leak at the outlet could be repaired by soldering. I don't know how the one in the core could be repaired.

After finding the leaks, I flushed it with a hose in the inlet. The water was clear. I may fill it with vinegar to see what that will show.

I am looking for advise on what to do.

[StevenS]

Yes, all those spots are repairable. A radiator shop can do the work. Make sure they know it is used in a non-pressure system.

[Allan]

The bottom leak is between the tank and the outlet. You may get away with re soddering it in place by building up the solder between the two at the external junction. A proper fix is to remove the outlet, tin it and the tank, and then sweat/resolder the two together. It may be necessary to cut a little bit of fin away from the tube leak to get solder to the leak. Thankfully, it is a back tube and not one in the middle. If you are really fussy, both top and bottom tanks could be taken off, and the offending tube can be soddered shut at each end, blocking off the leak.

Hope this helps, Allan.

[Jerry VanOoteghem]

If the leaking tube just can't be fixed, for whatever reason, you can drill two small holes in the tube, near the top and the bottom. Using a syringe, inject silicone sealant into the holes. Use enough sealant to fill the tube at each end. This will "cancel" that tube, which will never be missed.

[TXGOAT2]

To give good, reliable service, a radiator must have physical integrity, with minimal corrosion, both inside and out. It must be free of metal fatigue. All mounting parts must be in good condition and properly attached. In addition to that, 90+ percent of the tubes must be clear of obstruction. 90+ percent of the fins need to be in place and reasonabley straight to allow full air flow. Besides all that, 90+ percent of the fins need to have a good thermal connection to the tubes, which requires that the joints between the tubes and fins must be clean and physically tight. Your radiator passes the "looks test". It evidently does not pass a very basic leak test. A good radiator repairman with experience with this type radiator construction could give a better assessment following a hands-on external and internal examination. Anything less is patch it and hope for the best. Good luck finding a good radiator repairman.

[Jerry VanOoteghem]

Neither one of those leaks looks so bad that you couldn't use it as-is, just to see how well it will cool. I'd do that first, then fix the leaks. Waddya' got to lose?