Repairing a radiator leak

Somehow I punched a small pin hole in my radaiator on my deuce (must have been a limb or something). I've done welding and soldering all my life but radiator repair has always been a mystery to me. I've got good access to it and what I'd like to do is patch the hole while it's in the truck. Is this just a straight foward soldering job of clean, flux, and solder or is there more I need to know about making this repair? I've got an electric iron and a propane torch, which one would be best for this job? I just don't want to end up with a bigger hole than when I started.

I use a nice big electric iron. Lightly sand it or use Scotchbrite, to clean the immediate edges of the hole. Flux it and the clean iron(I actually use a file to clean my iron tip). Tin your tip and touch the tinned tip to the hole, feed some solder on and pull away and see what you have. Once the edges of the hole are well tinned, it is easy to load your tip with solder and touch the area and build a cap of solder, if needed.

YMMV

Well m16ty I am relatively new to the deuce, but one thing I have already done was pull a radiator on one. Its about
the easiest radiator pull I have ever done, the way the grill comes off, ect. Having said that I would take it in for repair,
pressure check and cleaning.

dozer1 said:

Well m16ty I am relatively new to the deuce, but one thing I have already done was pull a radiator on one. Its about
the easiest radiator pull I have ever done, the way the grill comes off, ect. Having said that I would take it in for repair,
pressure check and cleaning.

Click to expand...

I've pulled many radiators on deuces. To be honest, I've got two more spare radiators so if I pull it I'll just put another one on there.

I just thought I'd try my hand at fixing this one before I went to the trouble of pulling it. That and radiator repair is just something I want to learn. I've soldered all kinds of stuff before, just never a radiator. It seems as it's becoming a lost art with shops just wanting to sell you a new one rather than fix what you have.

The only radiator shop in town used to be an old man that was really good. He has passed away and his daughter has taken over the business. I haven't been by there since the daughter has taken over but I've heard horror stories from people that have. There is a good shop in Nashville but that would require a day off work to take it up there and get it fixed. That's if they could fix it while I wait.

DH, do you have any trouble with contaminants from the inside (where you can't clean the hole) not letting the solder stick? I have tig welded on AL radiators before and this is always a problem on AL radiators.

Ahh I see, well they are a nice beefy radiator with some meat to solder too. Looks like doghead had some great advice for that style of repair.

I may be a blasphemer here, but JB weld or PC7 (or PC11) have always worked great for me for radiator repair. It's not entirely aesthetic, but it's also not really that noticeable.

And it takes about 5 minutes.

The thing with radiators, is that they are put together with solder! You have to solder the repair spot, with out get things so hot that you unsolder adjacent areas! Where are the PICTURES? Sure, antifreeze can give you trouble with the repair.

If residue from antifreeze, oozes out while you solder, it will be a problem.

It's best if the hole can be positioned straight up, but as you said, you want to avoid removal. If you have access to the hole, I think you can do it with the radiator in place.

At any point in the solder attempt, if needed , you can simply rinse off any residue that may ooze out from the heat.

The weekend we did the motor swap in the wrecker, we tested and fixed multiple radiators. From watching DH and Stretch, I think you should be able to complete this task Ty!

Get it good and clean, and very dry. If you are near other seams which could let go, you can use a heat sink (LG chunk of metal with a damp cloth on the other side of it). I always use a propane torch, with a soldering tip. If needed, I can post a picture. The key is to get the heat to the desired spot, but not everywhere else. You will need a bunch of Flux, and be prepared to test after assembly.

PS, for solving small leaks in the field, black pepper (Fom KFC or McDognuts), will probably get you home, and is easy to flush out. I learned that trick while running Demolition Derby. The hamburger stand hated us, but we won the heat, and saved the engine!

BTW, if you skin your knuckles on those screwyt gear clamps (rad hose), Black Pepper staunches the blood flow amazingly well, and does not sting!

i was going to suggest black pepper and egg whites. worked for 3 years before I sold the pickup, chances are it still is.