So yesterday made a trip to my dad's house to help him with a couple things. When I walked to my truck to leave I noticed some coolant on the driveway. Checked the levels before I left and it was still full so I'll check it hot when I get home. 

 I found a Crack in the plastic tank on the driver's side behind the intercooler. (See pic) Perfect timing right before Christmas and all. You know, when everyone is a little tight on funds because of gift buying and such.

 My question is: has anyone here used the JB weld radiator repair kit for plastic? I'm on the fence about doing a repair like that for now or just bite the bullet and buy new. RA has 1 for $163 plus shipping but they only have 1 left in stock. I haven't checked prices locally yet. Usually RA is cheaper so I look there first. 

Personally I wouldn't bother fixing plastic, if anything use some bars leaks tablets.

https://barsleaks.com/product/radiator-stop-leak-tablets-hdc/

Mishimoto 

I looked at the mishimoto radiators. They're REALLY proud of them aren't they?

Yeah I suggest getting the new one before it's gone but, be sure and read the reviews on it first, make sure it's an okay item. Some reviews are so glowing it too obvious. So be sure and read the most critical or the lower rated reviews and go by those if they seem logical enough. 

Edited December 6, 20213 yr by JAG1

There aren't reveiws on rock auto though. 

JB weld makes some good products. If you can't or don't want to swing a new radiator right now, I would rather chance a JB repair rather than the internal repair additives. I do have some of the additive in my glove box, but it would only be used if on the road far from home.

Cut the vacuum valve off the radiator cap. No pressure means less of a leak. Now maybe epoxy would hold up as a patch.

Edited December 6, 20213 yr by Mopar1973Man

 Thanks for the replies. I bit the bullet and ordered a new one. I didn't want to chance it blowing out the tank on me if I happen to be towing heavy one day. I don't expect to be but you never know what pops up some days. Besides, be a great time to do the cooling system flush, I have a new t-stat in the glove box already just haven't installed it yet. So now she will have fresh coolant, new t-stat, heater core was replaced a year or so ago. Should be all good after this.

 The radiator I ordered was from Amazon (took advantage of my prime free shipping). It's from Klimoto??? But offers a lifetime warranty against defects.

 Read all the reveiws, all good and most mentioned specifically that it was installed in a cummins truck.

3 hours ago, Mopar1973Man said:

Cut the vacuum valve off the radiator cap. No pressure means less of a leak. Now maybe epoxy would hold up as a patch.

Since we have raditators with plastic parts these days should we cut this valve off as a rule? 

As far as altering this valve permanently, this would not allow pressure to build in the cooling system.  It is the high limit of the of the pressure relief valve in the radiator cap that allows coolant to reach a boiling point of approximately 245°.

 

Cutting the valve for @Doubletrouble's situation is a good idea, especially since he wants to drive the truck while waiting for his new radiator. The coolant will pass back and forth to and from the overflow bottle without building pressure.  T

 

If he marks that cap and keeps it in the boonie box, then he will have a cap on hand in case it is needed again under a similar situation.

 

I edited my post because I didn't like what I wrote the first time.

 

- John

Edited December 6, 20213 yr by Tractorman

1 hour ago, JAG1 said:

Since we have raditators with plastic parts these days should we cut this valve off as a rule? 

 

No. Only as a band-aid fix for cracks or leaks. Even blown head gasket (coolant leaking out) as long as there is no pressure you could possibly get away with that band-aid for quite some time. 

23 hours ago, Doubletrouble said:

I looked at the mishimoto radiators. They're REALLY proud of them aren't they?

I actually called them and ask them if they were made in USA, they said they have few manufacturing places and some of them are overseas. Never got a straight answer. 

20 hours ago, Doubletrouble said:

Read all the reveiws, all good and most mentioned specifically that it was installed in a cummins truck.

You got a link ? I want to check it out.

34 minutes ago, Dieselfuture said:

I actually called them and ask them if they were made in USA, they said they have few manufacturing places and some of them are overseas. Never got a straight answer. 

You got a link ? I want to check it out.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0772YXGK1/ref=cm_cr_arp_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8

 

Link

Shouldn't have to alter the cap. Can't you just put it on to the first safety step? Don't push it down and tighten it all the way. The step is there to keep the cap from blowing off if someone opens the radiator while hot and pressurized.

31 minutes ago, Max Tune said:

Can't you just put it on to the first safety step?

 

Nope it will leak out. You'll need the second step to seal. Caps are cheap and if you just break off the vacuum valve it holds no pressure but loses no coolant being it just pushed into the coolant reservoir. 

1 hour ago, Max Tune said:

Can't you just put it on to the first safety step? Don't push it down and tighten it all the way.

 

Yes, you can do that.  I did it when my OEM radiator began leaking at the plastic seam.  You will lose coolant until the radiator seeks its own level - kind like old vertical flow radiators did before coolant overflow bottles.  The top two rows will not have coolant flowing through them, but that is okay for an emergency.    @Mopar1973Man's method is much better.  No loss of coolant and 100% capacity of the radiator.

 

- John

In a pinch, I have used the green bondo with fibers in it, some call it tiger hair. It sets in minutes and can be packed into the cores even.

 In the past to fix one in a car I was selling I used a woodburning iron with a wide flat tip to work over the Crack and melt it back together. It held til it sold. Lol

The Mishimoto is definetly MIC, as I said in my radiator thread before I cancelled my Summit order everything I read referred to MIUSA then straight after I cancelled it up pops a page on my summit account that I have never seen before with a direct reference to  you know where..... Glad I cancelled after seeing that, should have screen grabbed it though

 

Looking at the crack in the picture I'd have said that would have repaired with JB Weld or as @Doubletroublesays above with a hot iron

 

Just been notified that my refund is ongoing and will take a few more days then I'll be looking for a rad

 I would have considered a temporary fix but looking down from the top of the rad to where the Crack is the tank is actually bulging slightly. Time to get it out of there before it fails in a big way. Hoping the new one is here by this weekend. Need the truck to get to and from work the rest of the week.

 In doing my annual battery clean/check I found that the passenger side battery fails a load test. Time for new batteries too! There is a sticker on both that show they're from 2014 so it's not completely unexpected.

1 hour ago, Doubletrouble said:

 I would have considered a temporary fix but looking down from the top of the rad to where the Crack is the tank is actually bulging slightly. Time to get it out of there before it fails in a big way. 

Wondering if a more permanent way would be to remove the silly plastic and have a sheet metal shop make a copper piece to match! We have a talented sheet metal shop in town that makes anything with copper. Everything soldered, he guarantees not to leak. I just don't know about the attatchment point if that can also be soldered. Plastic on a radiator bugs the heck out of me.

      Soon we'll be able to pay 80/90 grand on a truck and have to redo everything if keeps going like this.

Edited December 8, 20213 yr by JAG1