Man, I need help with my radiator. I have a 64 Dart, 225. The radiator has a leak near the top of the radiator, right where it begins curving (like the shoulder). Is it possible, or even wise, to try to weld the leak (it's like a 5-inch long hairline fracture). No one will touch it, so I've considered doing it myself. Otherwise, I'm very happy to replace the radiator, but I have no idea where to find a good replacement that won't require tons of modifications, which I'm not prepared to make. Any thoughts?

New direct-fit radiators are not available; yours will need to be repaired. The correct repair procedure is soldering or, for large repairs, brazing. Not welding (the radiator tank is brass). Where have you checked? Metal radiator tank repair is a very standard operation that a competent radiator repair shop ought to be able to handle. It is getting tougher to find such shops, though; they're rapidly being replaced by "swap shops" that don't repair radiators, just swap them out for new ones. That works for recent-model cars, but not for our oldies.

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Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I put in a new radiator intended for a '76 Aspen in my '64 Valiant. The only modifications required were to the radiator - drilling a couple of holes to mount it, and using a non-lever radiator cap. Take your time planning and double checking the position, with the hood open and closed.

http://www.slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic ... highlight=

Hoses for the Aspen worked. I do need to clean up the hose routing for the aftermarket coolant catch-can, but that's mostly aesthetic. The radiator works well, as far as I can tell without a calibrated gauge. It had no problems with a recent 500+ mile round trip cruising at 65-75 MPH in 70F-85F weather.

The original and a same-year spare were replaced because of chronic leaks and cracks in the tanks that radiator shops and I could not repair.

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"When you find a big kettle of crazy, it's best not to stir it." - Pointy-haired Boss

1964 Valiant V200, 225/Pushbutton 904
BBD, CAI, HEI, LBP, AC, AM/FM/USB, EIEIO

I soldered a crack in my radiator, using a propane torch and acid-core solder. It took several tries, but I finally got a good seal and it's held for over a year now.

Be sure the area being soldered is very clean and dry. Hopefully your crack is easily accessible; mine wasn't, so I had a hard time getting the solder to adhere.

Steve

1966 Dodge Dart

i once had some success soldering a cracked rad as well. slafolle is right on about the area being clean and dry. the inside needs to be dry as well as the outside.
if you do solder it, go ahead and look very closely to find the ends of the crack and drill each end with a small drill bit. this will stop the crack from growing after it's soldered. be very careful if it's near the core.

-james

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Thanks so much for the tips. Very encouraging. I'll give the soldering a go soon.

Too much heat when soldering will cause the solder to just run off, rather than adhere to the brass. Also, apply some plumber's rosin (available at any hardware store) to the area you want the solder to go before applying the solder.

You can do it!

-Mac