The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Radiator repair

Recently picked up a used radiator where one of the brackets that attach to the side of the tank has detached from the tank. Any thoughts on the effectiveness of something like JB weld for a repair like this?

Solder it, that is the way it was attached originally.

I would resolder it

Dan Bentler

If there's a rad shop nearby , get them to resolder and test it . Most times if a side bracket has been loose , check the corner tubes for whitish marks (weep marks/calcium deposits) where they attach to the top and bottom tank . Without the support of the side bracket the expansion and contraction will loosen the corner tubes . You wouldn't want to install the rad and find out it leaks . When I worked at the rad shop (32yrs), the procedure was a soak in the caustic tank to loosen scale , reverse flush rad & check flow , if the flow was questionable then the top tank was unsoldered from the core and the core was rodded out . After the tank , header plate was blasted and retinned , & tube tips retinned & the plate would be soldered on then the tank , connections brackets etc . Then retested by plugging the connections and hooking up 15-18 psi air supply and dunking it in a test tank of water . Sorry for being long winded , you may be lucky and the tubes won't leak but maybe expect the other scenario . George .

Thanks to everyone for the input. One thing I didn't consider in using JB weld is what if the radiator needs to be repaired in the future...wouldn't be able to easily remove the tank if I used JB weld. Going the solder route!

Finding a guy who's good at repairing a soldered radiator is getting to be a real challenge. Most of them tend to be a little long in the tooth! My favorite radiator man is about my age,(63), and he inherited the place from his father who worked in the shop every day until he was in his late 80's.
Jerry