Graeme Smith Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 My rad has a little nick in one of the water channels, towards the top. It doesn't seem to significantly lose water when running but if you squeeze the hose, you get a pretty little fine fountain and after standing there's a small pool of water underneath. I'm getting a new rad, but until I can get it fitted, is it possible to make a repair? I'm thinking sealling over the nick with something...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susser Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 I've had a number of rad repairs over the years; they've been mostly successful. Think you'll find the repairer will pressure test the rad prior to repair to see if it needs re-coring. About twenty five quid each for my last 2 Caterham ones. Brass I assume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomB Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 I had a minor weep from the bottom right side of the tank on my old caterham triple pass radiator which was repaired in Chorley for £10. He hammered the crack to open it up properly, ground it and put lots of solder on and finally sprayed it. Job done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Smith Posted April 10, 2008 Author Share Posted April 10, 2008 I only want it to last another 20 minutes, and then I'll replace it between qualifying and the race. So a dollop of solder should do it...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECR Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 If it's a brass rad and you solder it, it will probably outlast the car Make sure the surface is good and clean with emery and use a flux if you have some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Smith Posted April 10, 2008 Author Share Posted April 10, 2008 It's ali... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECR Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Ahhh.... As its just a pinhole and it will be a temporay job, try a metal weld type of epoxy, or an epoxy putty from Halfords. Prepare the surface well again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westfield Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Body filler 😬 In the good old days when I worked for a large fleet operator, keeping the vans on the road was paramount. If a radiator sprung a leak, sometimes due to a stone through the grill, other times because of vibration or even corrosion, we used body filler. Funnily enough, the repairs lasted so long we stopped replacing the radiators! Take the rad cap off so the system does not pressurise. Star the engine so the radiator gets nice and warm which makes the body filler go off quickly… mix up a golf ball size dollop and force it around the leak and well into the fins. A few years ago I did the same on a mates Honda Accord… he is still using it *smokin* 1997 HPC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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