Radaiator Repair

[JMNegrin <JMNegrin@aol.com>]

Hal Taylor asked in AD #23,

"...As always,  I'm on a student budget, and this is my daily driver.  So,
is it possible to REPAIR the radiator, or does a whole (in the middle)
mean replacement, no matter what?  What should I expect to pay for a
used radiator?..."

Radiator repairs are possible, depending on how good the metal in the radiator
is.  If it is all sound, the radiator is opened up, the offending holes can be
plugged up (soldered, actually), everything sealed back up, pressure tested,
and you are back in business.

More of the "depends" part.

If too many tubes are damaged, then you may not have sufficient cooling
capacity left when the repairs are done.  Remember, you are sealing off a
small part of the radiator when this is done.

If the radiator was marginal (weak and/or old soldering) when the incident
occured, then the core may have to be replaced, anyway.  (The core is the
heart of the radiator, sandwiched betweeen the two 'tanks', either upper and
lower, or left and right, depending)

Jay Negrin
ARO Southern California