Subject: Alfetta radiator repair

[Jay Negrin <jmnegrin@domain.elided>]

When I worked at a radiator repair shop in my formative years, I
remember that most of the radiator repairs on brass/copper radiators was
done with solder and a natural gas torch.  If I was going to fix
something like your "spare", with the cracked hose connection, myself
(which I don't think I would - more on that later), I would de-solder
the tank with the offending fitting.  If you are VERY good with a torch,
you may not need to, but if you try to solder it together while the
whole thing is together, the heat may de-solder more than you are
prepared to fix, such as the tubes connected to the bottom of the tank.
With the tank off the body of the radiator, solder the connection back
together.  Now comes the hard part.  Testing the critter.  Radiator
shops "cork" up the inlet and outlet, pressurize to 20 plus psi, and
submerge in a large tank of water.  This is worth the price of
admission, all by itself.  If the work has not sealed the leak, the shop
is assuming the responsibility for making it right before you even see
it.

To fix the leak created by a rock is actually easier.  If you can
guarantee which tubes are leaking, and where, solder them shut.  Yes,
you will lose a certain percentage of coolant flow through the offending
tubes, but most cars have excess cooling capaicity anyway.  Obvioiusly,
you can do this only so many times before a new core is called for.

In the shop I worked in, EVERY radiator which came into the shop was
hot-tanked and backflushed before any work was done.  Then it was flow
tested.  If backflushing was all that was needed, in addition to any
repairs, it was pressure checked and then painted with a very thin black
paint so it looked OK.  If the radiator needed rodding out, or if the
metal was too rotten to be successfully solder-repaired, the customer
was called and options were discussed.

IMO, the pressure testing is a key component in making sure that what
goes back in the car is what you want and need.

$50, btw, isn't that much more than we used to charge oh those many
years ago.

Jay Negrin
AROSo Cal
76 Alfetta GT

Reading the Digest further, Scott Fisher (?) makes a serious note of
grease fires.  I will also mention that soldering with a torch, make
sure that all of the glycol is gone.  It makes for some interesting
sonic interjections when it gets hot.  I don't know if it's flammable,
but it sure goes Snap, Crackle and POP when heated with the likes of a torch.

I will disagree on the need for MAPP gas or silver solder.  We used
regular old tin/lead solder, with no core of flux, acid or resin.  We
used silver solder for oil coolers, as they run much higher pressures. 
In the shop, if this was done, we added oxygen to the naturall gas.  Hot
enough.  Not practical for home use.  MAPP gas is hot enough for silver
solder, should you go that route.

jn


Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2002 11:57:32 -0700
From: "Zacharey Cox (Siemens Business Services Inc)"
<v-ntxzco@domain.elided>
Subject: Alfetta radiator repair

Hi folks, well the Alfetta has been down for about a month now, a hole
in the radiator.  I think rock went through it after a very high speed
run down Snoqualmie Pass.  So, I have a spare radiator but it has a
crack at the upper hose connection.  I called a nearby radiator shop &
they want about $50 to fix & test i, I could buy 3 cases of Castrol for
that!!  I'd rather try & fix it myself.  What's the best method of
attempting to fix this correctly?  Offline replies are welcome.

Thanks,
Zach
Redmond, WA

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