anyone know how to fix a radiator?

I have been eating, breathing, and sleeping under a car for the last 18 hours, I am beat and I need help!

I woke up at 5:00 (on my day off) and got to work on a stubborn motor mount on the 3000GT, the rear one. after 3 hours of spaying with pb-blaster, three trips to the autoparts and an impact wrench I finally got the mount out. next: oil change. then my mechanic calls me, the Starion is finished. After 8 months of visits from shop to shop, one terrible short and a blown headgasket he tells me the car is ready to be picked up. the wife gave me a quick ride to get it, payed and drove home. back under the car, now for an oil change on the Starion, quick check of the gear oil in the dif and the gearbox, flush the radiator and guess what....the battery is dead! I had ridden on only alternator juice to the house. plug up the 3000GT and stroll down to walmart for a battery, the book said 51-4. so I buy it.....guess what.....It dont fit! already frustrated I grab the rachet and go to twist off the terminals when it happened. the terminal was the +, the tip of the rachet handle touched the radiator, the radiator is metal. PPPSSSSPSPSSPSSTTTTTSPSPSPST!

it burned a pinhole sized poke into the radiator, so after 8 months of waiting to drive my car now I cant cause it pisses out water from a pinhole burn.

Does anyone know any way to patch it up safely? it will be at least two weeks before I can buy another but I have to drive in the meantime. a buddy of mine said to grab a torch and melt some metal over it.....I dont have access to a torch nor do I know anyone with one! will JB weld work???

i would got to a exhaust shop or radiator shop and see if one of them can weld it up for you... last case senerio i would use the jb stuff...

radiators are generally made out of aluminum so you can get it welded up. If it damaged any kind of plastic material, you could always try expoxy for that.

10 bucks for a torch, 4 bucks for solder. walmart is your friend. just dont do like I did on my DSM and torch your upper rad hose......


Mike

TIG welder... thats why i told him a exhuast shop or radiator shop. yes there is aluminum welder. i have one my self. i have a TIG welder that has the regular wire welding and a aluminum welding gun off to the side. so yes you can weld them... how you think the radiator shops fix them?
i welded my hks aluminum flang onto the side of my aluminum y pipe my self...

he seemed to be looking for a temp easy fix. I think a TIG welder, while being a nice thing to have, is just a teeny tiny bit more expensive than a torch and solder. and he said he would be replacing it in two weeks.

Mike

True but if he went t a radiator shop and asked them to patch it real quick... i bet they wont charge much... plus mabey he is replaceing because he thinks its not fixable... hey i not telling him to go buy a TIG welder just find a shop that does... i mesn he asked for sujections and thats what came in mind of what i would do...

I was gonna' say the same thing about going to a muffler shop, it's a quick fix, and it's cheap, and it doesn't have to last that long ne ways, so that's my opinoin. Good luck man, I hope it all works out for ya bro, later!

I hope duct tape holds it while I drive to the shop then. No way I'm gonna try welding it myself, TIG or otherwise I cant weld worth a crap.

thanks guys, I'll let yall know how it turns out.

I would jb weld, or epoxy

the 3S radiator is made of brass not aluminum.
You can EASILY clean the damaged tube down to metal, use a good flux, use a propane torch and solder the hole shut.

And yes, I have done this myself on the TT rad in our track car and it has never dropped a single drop of coolant. I even pressure tested to 50psi and let it sit for 30 minutes.