Figuring I will have to replace my radiator anyway, I am willing to give brazing a shot to fix the small crack I have just below the filler neck, it is only about an inch long. I need a quick and dirty lesson on braizing, though. I have an Oxy/Acetyline set up and a 000 welding tip to go with it. Do I need to use a special tip for braizing, or will this work? How will I know when the radiator is hot enough to take the filler? Do I need to use flux? What kind of filler material? What kind of flame? And, anything else y'all can think of.

Thanks!

 

Brazing, and doing it well, is much HARDER than just welding something. It takes a lot of practice to do brazing and to do it well. Brazing is taking your torch and heating up the metal to be repaired while heating up the metal to make the repair and melting the repair metal into the metal to be repaired without burning a bigger hole in the metal with a hole already in it. You have to have the heat just perfect and it takes quite a bit of finesse. Make sense? I burned holes in the first few pieces of metal I tried to braze on and I certainly wouldn't practice FIRST on my radiator. If you are not careful, you will end up with a LARGER hole than you started out with and definitely have to buy a new radiator.

My 0.02

 

Is the radiator brass? I would think you could just sweat-solder the kind of crack you are describing. Same way you would solder copper pipe, use flux and solder rated for copper and brass plumbing and it should be o.k.

If the rad is aluminium, the just take it to a shop, I had a similar repair done a few years ago and it was less than $20.

 

Thanks Jayson, I tried sweat soldering it but the crack just redeveloped through the solder. I just don't think it is strong enough to withstand the pressure.

 

Sounds like the best bet is either a new one like you mentioned or visit a local radiator shop to see if this one can be repaired.

Good luck!

 

Hmmm...

If the crack is in a relatively flat spot, you might have to get a piece of sheet brass and make a little "patch" to solder or braze over it, rather than just trying to fill a hole. If you can solder, then you should be able to figure out how to braze, with a little practice. Get a small chunk of sheet brass, cut a a couple of pieces and try to braze them together using brass rod and flux. I think brass needs to get what they call white-hot, keep heating it after it gets cherry red, to braze properly. Try it using the fine tip on your oxy-welding rig.

Or just take it a shop and get a scond opinion...To see if it can be fixed.

 

JB Weld it. I've used it on my radiator in several spots and they've held for several years now.