H36214

Best way to repair a hole in a 1967 aluminum radiator?

Nowhere Man

Throw it away and buy a new Dewitt’s.

H36214

That was plan B
thanks

cbernhardt

Where are you located?
Tapp Inc., located in Sophia, NC, builds custom aluminum radiators.
They may be able to repair yours.
Charles

Nowhere Man

By doing so you are decreasing it’s capacity to cool and just waisting time.

jim lockwood

It needs to be plan A. You won't regret it.

MikeM

Plan A.

Drain the coolant out. Clean the leak area with white vinegar. Apply a two part epoxy to the leak area.

Plan B. Add Barr's Stop Leak pellets if the leak isn't too big..

You have nothing to lose but a few bucks and a few hours of time.

If your radiator is original (I doubt it), just throw it away and get another.

morly1963

I worked at a radiator shop in the 90's and they tried with glue sticks/glue guns. It didint last. A few years ago I needed a new rad in my 63 bought a date coded Dewitts.
Best money I ever spent-good luck.

R66

Repair depends a lot on where the hole is and what caused it. A puncture thru sound metal may be repairable, but corrosion caused holes thinning the metal are just a warning that other areas are thin also. Just a thought.

H36214

Much appreciated input from all. Radiator was original to the car thus the reason for trying to repair,

H36214

Located in Connecticut,

Nowhere Man

A new Dewitt’s may be expensive but it’s 100% like originals and cools a little better then originals. Pay more now and save a headache later

MikeM

???????

65hihp

A new original would cool slightly better than the modern DeWitt reproduction. See posts 27, 28, and 29.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...y-choices.html

Tom DeWitt

I know what you meant, but I think others would find #12-14 a little confusing. Let me try to clear this up....

DeWitts makes two (2) completely different radiators for the same application and they are both aluminum.
A. Original plate type, GM 3155316, best performer at 4600 Btu. (Some refer to this as the original)
B. Replacement two row tube style with end tanks. This line is called "Direct Fit" and that is exactly what it is, a direct fit replacement radiator. Heat rejection depends on which model you choose.

OC-1

JB weld on aluminum radiator for 20 years with no issues. did purchase a new dewitts to replace it,

RJMerc

At the beginning of summer I had a pin hole leak in an area that was easily accessible so I decided to try an epoxy. I used Alum Bond H-450 Aluminum Repair Kit. It's not leaked since. I can't speak for the longevity of the fix, but time will tell. Can be found on Amazon here:


Good luck.

KC John

Let me add a crazy story to this post. My brother who happened to work for a bus company in Yonkers NY, told me how they fixed radiator leaks on city buses . They would take a fresh banana and push it into the fins where the leak was. He told me the heat would cook the banana and stop the leak permanently. I never tried it, but I thought it was an interesting fix. One I never would have thought of.