Last Thursday when I parked Meanie at the dog park I saw steam emitting from under the hood. I lifted it and there was coolant everywhere. It turns out the solder at the tank seam broke. The split is about 4 or 5 inches long. The question(s)is/are: can the radiator be saved? What could've caused this to happen? The radiator was from BadWaterBob's wagon-turned-Pinchero project. Could the thermostat have anything to do with this? Thank you. I'm hoping Meanie didn't blow a head gasket or something equally disturbing. Her oil (so far) is water-free.
Well, if it flowed ok before the break, I'm sure a radiator guy could fix it right up!! If you lived closer to me, we could take it to my friend that owns a radiator shop!! You need to move! LOL
I hope it is fixable for you! Good luck!
Kim ,
Beaches, SoCal ocean air, trade that for Sac Smog & triple digits? Nah ! Otherwise a good Idea!
Pintosopher
I messed with 3 old pinto radiators before i finally forked over the dough to get a new one.
The old ones are simply that. Old. They generally arent worth messing with.
I've had no problems whatsoever once I finally put a NEW radiator in my 76.
Kragen sells a new 2.0 Pinto radiator for $170+. I'd rather replace it myself but financially that's out of my reach. Naturally I filled her gas tank just before this happened. According to the brass tag affixed to the top of it the radiator has been repaired before. A faulty (old) thermostat wouldn't be the culprit here could it?
I think i'd PM someone parting out one of these cars and see if you can find one in decent shape. Id clean it out real good and use it for now. But id be setting aside some money for a new one soon, as old as they are they could go any time.
Ive had several radiators "repaired" before and alot of them still leak, or didnt last long before leaking.
If it is a seam, you may be able to get some pipe solder, some flux and a torch and see if you can fix it yourself. My 79 had a pin hole in it about 15 years ago in one of the tanks. I fixed it myself and have not had a problem with it since.
I don't think it has anything to do with the thermostat.
Sorry to hear about the blown rad...
The only way a bad t-stat could have caused that, is that if it stuck closed and overheated the coolant.
However, a good radiator should not have split, especially if the right radiator cap was intalled and working (it should have then vented any excess pressure.)
If the cap is good, it sounds like maybe the radiator was just made with weak seams (too little solder, bad solder, poor prep before solder or something)
That makes the rest of the radiator questionable. If the car is a daily driver, i might spring for a new one. If a weekend cruiser, i might try repairing it.
My car will soon be getting its 3rd radiator. it is developing pin holes in several places, but does not leak enough to drip.
I need to check for electrosis (sp?), where a bad ground cable can cause the coolant to act as an electrical ground and corrode the radiator faster.
Thank you guys. In the end I'll probably spring for a new one, but times are real tough at this time so I wanted to see my options from those who are veterans of this kind of thing. C'mon settlement money! Obama money (tax money in disguise) isn't forthcoming...
I think I might've found the culprit, and it isn't a good prognosis I think. I'll post my findings in the Project section. Pray for me. :'(