Buster Radiator

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endlesszeal

Senior Member
Driving to the movies and my friggin started smoking. I looked at it and the top part of the radiator is busted. Its a hair line crack about 5-6 inches long right under the cap on the front side of the car. Can I just replace that part or do I need a whole new radiator? And does anyone know where I can get one for cheap? Im on a really tight budget and I called my dad and he said in the 300 range :eek: . And one last thing, someone in the Sacramento area can give a hand if I do need to replace it? I remember someone from here was, Blanco maybe? I forgot who.

Thanks a lot guys.
 
OR go buy some JB weld, rough up the cracked area with sandpaper, clean it with rubbing alcohol, and mix an equal amount of hardener and the other one (it comes with gray and black). Spread that on the crack and let it sit over night and the next day since its pretty cold out right now. Normally its a 24 hour curing period. This will cost you less than $10. EASY fix.
 
OR go buy some JB weld, rough up the cracked area with sandpaper, clean it with rubbing alcohol, and mix an equal amount of hardener and the other one (it comes with gray and black). Spread that on the crack and let it sit over night and the next day since its pretty cold out right now. Normally its a 24 hour curing period. This will cost you less than $10. EASY fix.
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if you're REALLY broke you can try this, i've done it in the past, but its really got a permanent solution, and if your luck is anything like mine it will start leaking again at the most inopportune time...

only thing blanco left out was removing the upper and lower hoses before attempting to pull the radiator out...

what kind of car do you have?
a lot of d series don't have the bleeder valve...

and you should check junkyards, prob get a radiator for 40 bucks
sometimes the hoses are a bitch to get off, just take pliers and turn the hose where it connects to the radiator to break it loose
 
Blanco @ Feb 9 2006 said:
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Yeah, I might be able to give you a hand with that. It's actually really easy, man.

Jack the car up
Unhook the battery ground
Drain the radiator
Unhook the plugs from the fans
Remove the top radiator mounts
Pull the radiator out (yep, it just pulls right out)
HondaSwap the fans onto the new radiator
Put everything back together
Open the bleeder valve a little (the little nipple thingy where the top rad. hose connects to the head) and fill with coolant until the coolant stops foaming out and starts steaming...you shouldn't have the valve open very far or lose much coolant.

Go to Radiator.com and it should only be in the $100 range for a brand new one.
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Hey thanks a lot man. Anyway, I have an Accord, its a 96 EX. Thats a 2.2L SOHC right? Never checked and never cared. And I was also looking at that from ebay; how are they? I was thinking about getting the Koyo ones since theyre the same price and Ive had a Koyo and it works great.

Again, thanks ya'll.

P.S. My automotive skills are limited to installing stereo, changing oil, changing batteries and bolting on intakes and headers.

Oh yeah and its just the top part of the radiator? The plastic part and like I said, its a hard line crack, but then again I don't know how extensive it is. The water was pretty much all gone in the resevior tank and the radiator itself. It was slowly steaming out of the top only, maining where the crack is.

Should I try ghetto riggin it with JB Weld? Right now it has crazy glue, 4 layers of duck tape and a cloth on it :laugh: . It got me home.
 
Personally, I don't like patching problems, but I did help out a friend that didn't have a bunch of cash. O'Reiley's (I'm sure all the discount parts houses do too.) sells a kit made specifically for radiators. It has some kind of epoxy that you mix together and then put this fabric mesh over it then another layer of epoxy that works well. It has been several months and no leaks to date. I believe the important thing is to follow the directions on preparing the surface to be repaired. Also, that stuff dries VERY fast, so don't BS around once mixed.
 
the specialized radiator patch kids DO work if you are tight on cash or have no technical skill.

but regardless, a newer radiator is still the way to go. if you plan to keep the car for awhile, why not a nice koyo dualcore or something?
 
Where would I buy the radiator patch? Again its only on plastic surface of the radiator. Which brand should I get?

I am just patching it and probably going to order a new radiator once I get home (away for college).
 
Well I tried the JB Weld and that was a big waste of time. Sanded the plastic part down with a 100 grit sandpaper and let the glue cured for 24 hours. After about 10 minutes of driving around, the glue started to MELT! Its supposed to be good for 500degrees F.

The Home Depot guy said there is a radiator filler where you pour it in and it sets? But I said fuck it and went ahead and called the Radiator Doctor. Got a "OEM-style" Koyo radiator with "lifetime warranty" for 130 with tax with free shipping. Came in out 3 hrs! Not only that they gave be a bag of candy. :laugh:

So im about to perform a mechanical endeavor after 2 years of installing a cold air intake :ph34r: Hopefully all goes well. More tips would help too.

Thanks again Blanco for the help. Expect a PM if i break something :p
 
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