The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks Radiator and Rear End Issues

Hey All,

Long time no see!! I finally got my '61 out of storage and she is having a couple of issues. The truck in question is a '61 2wd swb 235 4spd 1/2 ton.

1 - My radiator is leaking from the bottom of the radiator at the lower hose location. I think that it might have died over the long, and overly cold, winter up here. Should I look into getting it rebuilt? Or is it better to buy a new one. This is the original radiator to the truck.

2 - My rear end is leaking gear oil. I am going to pop her open and inspect things. I know I will need a new seal for the diff cover. Is there a seal for the drain nut in the bottom of the axle?

Thanks!

Kyle

Price new radiators on the web then check with your local radiator shop. Go which ever way you feel is right for you. If it's not too expensive I would go for original.🛠

I would really like to keep my original one if at all possible. Ad for the rear end I think that I have a 10 bolt. Is that correct?

Kyle

There isn't any seal on the drain nut, but there might be a thin copper or brass washer.

It has been my experience of late that radiator shops are not what they used to be. They will rarely agree to fix anything that old. Even if you get a re-core it's going to be about $400, which is about what a complete new one costs.
There are a lot of good aftermarket aluminum radiators available
for reasonable prices.
Fred

Thanks Cables!

The trouble with these old radiators & rad. shops is they clean them up & then find out the core is rotten. It cost you & you &still don't have anything. If you want strick originality you can have it recored. Like rfs says it is expensive. These new aluminum radiators are rugged & cool good. I have one on my 56 & it works good. You have to be real careful as the fins bend real easily. If you want to get by for a while put a can of Bars Leak in it. This will stur up some comments from other Bolters but I've done it for years & haven't blocked anything up.
On the rear end, check around the pinion seal. That is usually where they leak.
George

So it's likely not the rear cover? That would make sense as it looks pretty decent on visual inspection.

Thank you!

Kyle, if your radiator is leaking at the lower hose fitting, it might just need a solder repair that you can do on your own. If the leak is at the hose fitting, it is from the lower tank and not the core. That would be great news for you and an easy fix.

Here is a tip that I learned when helping at my uncle's radiator repair shop as a kid. If you are going to do solder work on either the upper or the lower tank, you need to keep the radiator full of water up to the level that you are working to protect the solder joints connecting the core to the tanks. That is easily accomplished by plugging whatever inlets/outlets are necessary (I use Oatey pressure test expansion plugs available for a couple bucks at the plumbing department of any Home Depot or Lowes) and filling the radiator with water up to at least the core/tank seam. Be sure the tank/core seam closest to your work is covered with water. If you can angle the radiator to keep water against any other solder joints that might be on the tank that has the leak, do that to protect them. Just make sure that you don't have water up against the area that you need to repair. If working on the upper tank, the radiator is right side up. If working on the lower tank, the radiator is upside down.

Find the leak. Use sandpaper to clean the brass around the leak really well. Make sure that there is no paint left and that the brass is very shiny. Apply regular plumbing flux to the area. Use a propane torch (or a micro-torch if it is a pin hole leak) to heat the area and use regular plumbing solder to repair it. When it is hot enough, the solder will flow beautifully. If it bunches or beads, it is not hot enough. Be careful to isolate the heat the the leak spot to avoid melting other solder joints on the tank.

It it is just a pin hole leak or a small crack, the solder itself should do the trick. It it is a large leak or a gash, make a repair patch out of thin copper and form it to the contours of the repair area. Copper is soft and forms to shape easily. Don't be afraid to form it with a hammer if necessary. Use solder to tin both the contact side of the patch and the repair area on the tank. Once both pieces are tinned, apply flux and solder the patch in place.

This can also be done with an acetylene torch, but I recommend propane if you aren't used to doing these repairs with the hotter acetylene torch.

Since you filled the tank and covered the tank/core seams with water, you will not loosen those solder joints. Since the water is not touching the area of the repair, it will not impede soldering by cooling the area.

If you are ready to scrap the radiator anyway, there is no harm in trying.

Send me a PM if I can help,

Matt

When I typed the above, it reminded me that I had put together some notes for a fellow 'bolter about a year ago who wanted to pull a dent from his upper radiator tank. Just in case anyone else is interested, here is a scan of the notes.

Matt

http://s844.photobucket.com/user/ma...20AM_zpsuprmy6o5.png.html?sort=3&o=0

Maybellene - Thank you so much for the info. I am hoping it is an easy fix like that. That would be great. I might PM you if that's alright when I get started if I have questions. Thank you!

Kyle

Is it very hard to change a pinion seal??