radiator repair

my radiator cracked like 4 weeks ago and if fixed her up with some jb weld, but now i see that its not holdin up and crackin through the jb weld jb weld must not hold up to the heat or pressure, does anyone know if theres anything else to fix a radiator, i know theres repair places but the closest one is 2 hrs away and was wonderin if theres anything that u can do urself?

the company Permatex makes a radiator repair kit, but its only for fairly small sized holes, prolly not bigger than a 1/2" check it out, you can find it at your local auto store.

this is why i took my stock air filter assy off! when i worked in my parents shop i would see at least 1 out of 15 honda's cracked right where the air filter assy attatches to the radiator.not a good idea with a plastic top radiator.

i was thinking about taking a soldering iron to mine. but i know from previous sheet metal expieriance you have to stop drill the ends of the cracks or they will spread. use a small drill bit and drill a hole on one end of the crack, then the other. this relieves the internal pressure caused by the crack and keeps it from spreading. Then i would fill it with high temp epoxy, and then take my soldering iron to it to cotorize the top.

i will look into that repair kit, the crack in the radiator is were the air filter thing is connected, its a hair line crack about 4 inches long, just enough to lose pressure and some fluid

i tried jb weld once too :thumbsdow i ended up having to fix it on the side of the road with electrical tape to make it home, lol.

we need to fix a crack in hooptie's rad. top so we picked up some stuff called "QuickSteel" made by CarGo. it says it's good for:
-gas tanks
-radiators
-blocks
-tailpipes
-mufflers
-intake manifolds
-batteries
-stripped bolt holes
-body rust areas

plan to use it tomorrow. i'll let you know how it works

Better yet, just replace the radiator & fix it properly. Not temporary fix. I just got a new radiator for my '91 civic Si last week for $75.00. If you want a new one I can get one for you - $100.00 + shipping.

not speaking for everybody but i used jb weld on my radiator because i was waiting for a new one in the mail and still needed to drive my car. i plan to use it tomorrow because the hole is less than a 1/4"....it barely leaks.

i am actually curious if the QuickSteel will work tomorrow. if it does i might just keep it in the car. if it does all that it says then it might be good to have for "just in case"

and FYI...you can get a brand new radiator from RadiatorBarn.com (http://www.radiatorbarn.com/s7.asp?ac=N&year=1989&make=HONDA&model=CIVIC&submodel=DX+%26+SI+MODELS&engine_size=1.5L+%26+1.6L) for as low as $94 (and some change) shipped. i have gone through them before and can say they have fast service

yea let me know if that quick steel stuff werks and where u can get if u know

i fixed mine with JB weld about four years ago and its holding just fine, i scraped out the crack in a little "v" to give the jb weld a little more to hold on to and after the first bit i put on set up i added another layer and a little brass sink screen to give it some dimentional stability.

its not pretty but it sure did the job...

yea let me know if that quick steel stuff werks and where u can get if u know

found it at wal-mart. put it on the rad. it went on good...looks like it will hold. but then we didn't use the rad. so i can't say if it held up. says it's good for 500 degrees. you might want to give it a try. it comes like clay kinda and you kneed it til it blends to 1 color then apply. pretty simple.

yeah i went out and got some last sunday cause i needed it fixed quick, and put it on, its werked so far kinda think itll last cause its rock hard and pretty durable, doesnt soften like the jb weld did when the radiator gets really hot

If your gonna half ass repair it like that, at least do not tighten the radiator cap so full pressure doesn't build.

If your gonna half ass repair it like that, at least do not tighten the radiator cap so full pressure doesn't build.
c'mon. lighten up, please. you call it half ass but you really don't know. there are situations where a new radiator isn't required. if he had posted a pic of a big ass crack then i would agree. but none of us know what the story is.

i do agree with avoiding full pressure if it was half assed. but wait....that doesn't mean leave it loose enough to spew fluid (lol)

haha if i had a picture of it it would eb halfed ass but it werks and i dont wnat to spend 80 bucks on a new one id rather spend 5 cucks to fix it

c'mon. lighten up, please. you call it half ass but you really don't know. there are situations where a new radiator isn't required. if he had posted a pic of a big ass crack then i would agree. but none of us know what the story is.

i do agree with avoiding full pressure if it was half assed. but wait....that doesn't mean leave it loose enough to spew fluid (lol)

:icon16:
Im just saying leave the cap 1/4-1/2turn loose to prevent full pressure. This way your repair is less likely to fail. If its gonna over-flow it should go in the over-flow tank.

The JB Weld stuff works good, I baked it on with a campfire lighter and used plastic ties to secure the air intake after removing the bolt holding it to the top of the radiator. Then I printed a "HOT!!! Do NOT TOUCH" sticker to keep idiots from using the intake pipe to support their body weight (That's how I broke the radiator in the first place :( ). That car eventually got sent to the junkyard with only 298,000 KM because of my crappy ghetto repairs; a rusted exahust center pipe that I ghetto fixed managed to puncture the gas tank; blew the head gasket and my radiator repair going 180 km/h when the car had 298,000 KM without a rebuild or swap... :nono:

Bottom Line: if you like your car and plan to keep it, get off your lazy behind, go to the junkyard and find yourself a good radiator for very little $$$. A radiator can be found for as little as what you would pay for the JB Weld tube.... I learned my lesson the hard way... now my 91 SE is always in top shape :grinyes: .

...Then I printed a "HOT!!! Do NOT TOUCH" sticker to keep idiots from using the intake pipe to support their body weight (That's how I broke the radiator in the first place...

What the hell are you leaning on the intake for? :screwy:

What the hell are you leaning on the intake for? :screwy:
i know! isn't that what the valve cover is for?

i know! isn't that what the valve cover is for?

NO, thats what a hot exhaust manifold or header is for! :eek7:
O/T I had me some mechanics gloves on, leaned on the exhaust manifold & didnt't feel the burn until the glove fried to my hand - OMG the hurt :grinno: see if I ever do that again :nono: