Crack in PLASTIC portion of radiator reparable?

[fixizin]

Not in my Ranger, but similar plastic-aluminum-plastic radiator in a Dodge Caravan... small crack up near filler neck.

I'm thinking it's tough or impossible to repair such a crack, but what if you DRILL IT OUT, AND TAP IT with NPT threads, then plug it with a std. NPT fitting and teflon tape? When you think about it, your cooling system is running at only 1/4 to 1/5 of your residential tap water pressure... it's not the cooling loop on a nuke submarine, lol.

Anyone ever done this, and lived to tell about it?

 

[AllanD]

Sorry, but it's toast.

AD

 

[Big Jim M]

Fixizin Back when I had little or no money I would have fooled around with glues that MIGHT stick to that particular plastic.. If I were to find one I would get a similiar piece of plastic or whatever that stuff is and whittle it down to a complete fit over the crack and GLUE it into place making it twice or more as thick as the factory size..
If the thing happens to be PVC..(which I doubt) it would be easy to reinforce.. However I don't know the exact composition of the particular plastic.

But don't fear! Have a go at it! And get back here with the results of the glue project.. I for one would like to know what WILL stick to or melt that radiator.

I might start with a small amount of JB in another part of the thing just to see if it would stick.. which I doubt but I'd try it anyway. Whatever I could find that would stick I would then CAP the top of the crack with a finely whittled piece that would reinforce the crack..

Big JIm

 

[SixFoFalcon]

IIRC the plastic used in radiators is usually ABS. Unlike metal which can be repaired pretty well, the plastic tends to flex when the cooling system pressurizes and depressurizes. That's one reason why the "stop leak" additives don't tend to work well on these types of problems--there are dynamic forces at work. Even with a quality adhesive designed for ABS repairs, the existing crack is acting as a stress riser and the flexing forces will tend to home in on it every time.

"Repairing" may not be worth the effort unless you are trying to do a cheap and dirty job just to sell the vehicle in the near future. New radiators aren't exactly expensive compared with the time involved with multiple band-aid repairs. Personally I'd rather spend $100 once and have confidence in the repair than lose an afternoon or two of my free time seeing if something works or not. If you have a lot of time on your hands you may feel differently, but consider yourself warned that there's a strong likelihood that the crack is going to be a persistent PITA for you.

 

[fixizin]

OK, just wondering... again, I presumed that fixing a CRACK in such plastic (glass-filled nylon?) was problematic, at best, regardless of the material's properties, if for no other reason than EACH END of the crack is a super-focused stress point, which will tend to keep propagating, enlarging the crack.

Then I thought of the basics of "dressing out" nicks in aircraft propellers, before they become stress cracks. This led me to the drill-and-tap idea, i.e. "rounding out" the crack, eliminating the 2 stress points. Apparently no one has tried this... some day perhaps... hmmm... better extract that tap from my kit, and include it and a matching fitting in my road kit. ;')

Anyway, all academic as we dropped in a new Proliant/Ready Rad unit (made in Cheena)... QUITE THE JOB on a FWD w/ auto tranny vehicle, especially with no shop manual. Much more involved than a Ranger rad, from what I've seen on this site.

 

[289-tiger-]

fixisin, the radiator is gone, you have obviously fixed it with replacement.

I have seen cracked canopies on unpressurized aircraft repaired by drilling (temporarily) but I would not stake my life (or job) on anything that did not meet manufacturer requirements that I needed to drive reliably.

 

[roc0999]

mine had a crack in it next to filler and I went to advance auto and purchaced some high temp epoxy and it hasn't leaked in 5000 miles, I just took my grinder and roughed up the area, cleaned, and applied , let set overnight and it was all good like I said it was 5k miles ago

 

[Southern3.0]

I kinda like the drill and tap idea it might not work but theres always a chance it will.

My buddy has a '94 Chevy Cargo van that had a cracked radiator, he tried some Seal all brand epoxy, it didn't work and I dont recommend it.

 

[Big Jim M]

GOOD post Roc!

mine had a crack in it next to filler and I went to advance auto and purchaced some high temp epoxy and it hasn't leaked in 5000 miles, I just took my grinder and roughed up the area, cleaned, and applied , let set overnight and it was all good like I said it was 5k miles ago

I ad no idea of that epoxy! Thanks for posting.
Big Jim

 

[fixizin]

Can't wait to call a few stealerships and indy shops to see what the LABOR on this Caravan rad-swap job is billed as.

Also wondering if there's not a torch/heat based patch/melt/weld type fix...?

mine had a crack in it next to filler and I went to advance auto and purchaced some high temp epoxy and it hasn't leaked in 5000 miles, I just took my grinder and roughed up the area, cleaned, and applied , let set overnight and it was all good like I said it was 5k miles ago

Interesting... Do you have the name brand of that epoxy?

High temps... that's why I won't use epoxy for anchoring hurricane related H/W into concrete in So-Fla, because it gets dicey above 105F, even when cured for a long time.

In fact, IIRC, that's what was involved in the fatal partial collapse in Boston's "Big Dig" tunnel debacle 2-3 years ago, i.e. epoxied anchors letting go in the summer heat.

 

[Big Jim M]

Can't wait to call a few stealerships and indy shops to see what the LABOR on this Caravan rad-swap job is billed as.

Also wondering if there's not a torch/heat based patch/melt/weld type fix...?



Interesting... Do you have the name brand of that epoxy?

High temps... that's why I won't use epoxy for anchoring hurricane related H/W into concrete in So-Fla, because it gets dicey above 105F, even when cured for a long time.

In fact, IIRC, that's what was involved in the fatal partial collapse in Boston's "Big Dig" tunnel debacle 2-3 years ago, i.e. epoxied anchors letting go in the summer heat.

Fixizin Methinks you need a better epoxy for them anchors.. Here in Austin we use epoxy to anchor all our concrete stuff..
On our lakes we drill into the rock and anchor our boatdocks with epoxy..
When adding on to an existing concrete we drill and epoxy dowls into the old concrete.. to support the new stuff.

AND you say epoxy won't do for a hurricane? That's what lawyers and engineers in a court room will getcha ain't it? The 105*F is a joke.. The stuff we use clings to the rock and the metal anchor even here in the desert.

Personally I think a hurricane will bring down anything that one can AFFORD to build so I ask "why bother"? If it is going down anyway don't spend extra time and money fooling around with silly stuff.

Big JIm

 

[fixizin]

Methinks you need a better epoxy for them anchors..
Or just use 8,000 PSI anchoring cement, bonds wickedly to existing concrete, even without expensive undercutting tools. Cures underwater too. Impervious to any temps below the kiln it was made in, lol.

Here in Austin we use epoxy to anchor all our concrete stuff..

BRAND name? Because the stuff I've looked at warns RIGHT ON ITS OWN LABEL about the 105F. Then there's SHRINKAGE and coefficient of THERMAL EXPANSION issues too... quite a different material from the surrounding Portland cement mixture.

On our lakes we drill into the rock and anchor our boatdocks with epoxy..

Immersed, or coffer-dammed? It's a lot of labor to make a "dry spot" in a body of water, lol.

AND you say epoxy won't do for a hurricane? That's what lawyers and engineers in a court room will getcha ain't it? The 105*F is a joke.. The stuff we use clings to the rock and the metal anchor even here in the desert.

Again, it's the folks who MAKE IT saying this, so it'd be kinda hard to defend in court... or explain to your (surviving) family members, eh...? =:O Have you read up on Boston's Big Dig debacle? Believe it was an epoxy (workmanship?) failure which killed some innocent civilians driving through in their vehicle. Apparently proper resin:hardener ratios and mixing techniques are a bit too exacting for the average illegal immigrant non-union laborers...??

Personally I think a hurricane will bring down anything that one can AFFORD to build so I ask "why bother"?

Uh, perhaps you're confusing hurricane with TORNADO, or hurricane winds with hurricane STORM SURGE? All of coastal Fla. (incl. my house) is built to withstand hurricane WINDS, and HAS, many times, e.g. 2004-2005.

You may have to clear some trees off the bridges, but you can drive right over them after the wind abates, not a creak from their beefy concrete piers. ;') The concrete power poles stand, the wooden ones over 12 years old snap... oh well... kinda like when peeps put a wood-frame addition on a sturdy CBS house--looks like a cleaver removed the addition, LOL.

And is was all AFFORDABLE (the local sand, gravel & limestone is PRIMO for making high PSI concrete--we export trainloads of it everyday)... until Greenspan did his Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac BUBBLE thing 2001-2005... as that unwinds, in a bad way, it's again becoming affordable... via foreclosure auctions.

 

[F150hybred]

Only thing I can think of would be an auto body panel adhesive. If it can hold body panels on, why not seal a crack in a rad?

 

[fixizin]

Only thing I can think of would be an auto body panel adhesive. If it can hold body panels on, why not seal a crack in a rad?

Wow, never even heard of that... BRAND? But I agree, semi-high temps aside, it's only gotta hold 15 PSI... my garden hose handles 70 PSI all day and half the night.

OTOH... body panel adhesive is probably designed for metal-to-metal, and I'm after the elusive PLASTIC repair.

After the LABOR involved in that FWD rad-swap, I'd like to have a slicker trick up my sleeve... and if it's a trick that works on the side of the road, SO MUCH THE BETTER, eh?

 

[racinranger]

I have Used Fusor #70 2 part epoxy to repair plastic. I work for ford and they supply it with explorer rear glass recalls to bond the glass to the plastic anchors. I've glued trim together with it. Hell i even glued some PARKING BRAKE SHOES!!! yes the inside the hat of the drum type. They held for 6 months now no problems and the vehicle has been in for other things but not those. I sugest you look up Fusor and see if they have an epoxy that will work for you. Also the package says it cures under water with no pressure present.