Radiator leaking - replace or repair?

[Raceit]

I've got a small leak on my passenger side of the radiator. It's right were the fins meat the side housing.

I called one shop and they said on those they have to replace it with a new one.

Are the '91-'94 radiators able to be rapaired?

 

[spiper]

A good radiator shop will give it an acid bath and solder it cheaper than buyin a new one.

 

[GenerationX]

You can try to get the tabs holding the tank on crimped, but that is not always going to last according to the guy at my local radiator shop. Anyway it was a year ago when I got mine fixed and now my rad is leaking again, what he said is right. Now i'm looking at a new radiator but hate to go with those cheaply made ones with plastic tanks. I may go with a Bauer radiator that has metal tanks.

Good luck

 

[GenerationX]

A good radiator shop will give it an acid bath and solder it cheaper than buyin a new one.

not if its leaking where the tank meets the fins, those tanks are plastic. unless they got some metal tanks and swapped the tanks which would require a whole seem to be welded in and may end up costing more to get that done than a new rad.

 

[Raceit]

Just the very ends are plastic. Then they are crimped to the metal "colums" that then connect to the fins. So that's what I'm hoping...a good shop can repair it at least.

 

[Iggy flywheel]

Rad

I had rad leak twice now on mine. Replaced the oem with the all metal. It leaked on me too at the tank on passanger side. I was not happy camper! I started to look closer out where the rad sits. On my 94 ford has foam that rad leans on infront. The foam holds the rad to far out from where the tabs on rad bolt to. I think it twiks the rad at the passanger side tank putting pressure on the seam. I put a spacer on that side of the rad where it bolts to front.

 

[RufusGentry]

I tried to get a new radiator from a Checker. They gave me three f***ing wrong ones. It took a month to get in, and I paid $250 in after the antifreez played into the equation. My advice is to get it repaired

:mattmoon:

 

[jimbo74]

that sucks..... after destroying mine last year, i bought a new on on sale from a wrecker with no warranty.... 6 months later that one had sprung a small leak... i ran bars stop leak through it and over 15k miles later have had no problems whatsoever......