repair or replace?
 

One of my fan bolts worked loose and came in contact with my radiator and rubbed a nice hole in the center of it. My question is: Should I find a place to re-core it or is it cheaper to buy a new one? This was my 4 core radiator in my '82GT that cost me $225 at the time. It leaks pretty bad too.

I would replace it..... I was charged $65 to weld a crack, small one too; on the passender side tank on my 3 core aluminum radiator.

And it starting leaking again 4 months later! I spent a total of $95 bux for the repair.

:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Replace it
 

I had a 4 row brass radiator that I had "rodded out" to unclog the core. In doing that, the straps that hold the radiator together have to be removed and resoldered when it's reassembled. Well. one of the straps came loose and wound around the fan destoying the radiator, fan, and the upper hose.

I vowed after that little fiasco to just buy a new radiator the next tme it got clogged up.

Rev

Have it fixed.

Ive had more than I can count fixed, and for various reasons, all with good luck.

i agree, at least compare price's, i have seen some bad radiator repares done, cheaper than a new one? just my .02. :)

Just have it fixed. Should't be that much to have it sodered up.


-Josh, aka tireburner

Keep in mind that a fan bolt was spinning at engine speed across the radiator in a perfect circle.
Looks like a radiator crop circle.....:(

Get a soldering iron and a spool of solder for about 20 bucks, drain the radiator, lay it flat, and solder away. You're just plugging a hole, pretty straight forward. If it starts leaking again...well, you did your best but didnt lose a lot of money in the process. If it doesnt leak but one of the passages is clogged but it still cools the car, you just saved yourself a whole bunch of money.

Oh yeah......

Dont use radiator sealer!! Ever! I lost a radiator by doing that. Brand new radiator got a small hole punched in it so I decided to be lazy and use the sealer. Well, it simply didnt radiate after the sealer. Probably coated the inside of the entire thing with crap. I should have taken my own advice.