Radiator pin hole leak after doing head gasket job...

[fishv12]

Good day guys!

Well I put my truck back together finally and well filled the coolant back up and next thing I know is that I have a constant stream of coolant flowing under the truck. I initially thought I hadn't screwed something back up right but I then noticed it was coming from the front and looking at the rad then made it obvious. Right smack in the middle I hit it and put a hole in it the size of a small needle. So I call around for a new one and it's 325$ and some. I pull it out expecting that since it wasn't so new I would see some use but it looks great. I then looked into my local auto parts shop and they had a product called solder-it which is an aluminum soldering paste. I tried it but sadly my rad was still leaking a slight bit. I probably didn't put enough of it or it just didn't adhere properly who knows. Now I am thinking should I bother repairing it or getting a new one? Or even getting a local rad shop a try so they could weld it. I bought some brazing rod I could also try but since I have never done this before the paste was super easy to use but obviously didn't work.

If I do try to fix it myself again I would like to make sure it won't leak again too. I really don't feel like pulling my rad out again lol. So is there any way I can pressure test it?

 

[TheBac]

I'd think a radiator shop could fix that rather cheaply.

 

[04D_MAX]

try alumiseal works great for stuff like that, on a side note hows it running now that u got it back together?

 

[fishv12]

Hehe well I didn't take it for a drive but it seemed to idle so much smoother! It was incredible I was so happy it hear it purr... It idled so smooth I have a hard time believing it and throttle response was awesome maybe because I cleaned those injectors good or it's just a figment of my imagination. I kept it started for a good five minutes then shut her down but I was very happy. I hope there is no other surprises but so far the rad is very minor in comparison to not having set an injector cup right for example which I hope didn't happen!

For the rad well I think I will try to pull it off again tomorrow morning and grinding my repair off and giving my brazing rod a try. It really seems easy after viewing so many you tube vids.... My question is tho would shop be able to pressure test it to make sure their repair would hold. If so I think I will just try the shop otherwise if they are going to do the same thing I would do then I see no reason for me not to give it another shot. I think the paste stuff didn't quite as promising as it didn't flow as well and would require very little heat so the actual rad wasn't quite at the right temperature so they could properly fuse together but I could be wrong...

 

[fishv12]

Tried welding it with absolutely no success. It leaked again. I just bit the bullet and got a new one for 280$ locally. At least I won't have to worry about it failing on me in the middle of nowhere.

 

[04D_MAX]

Tried welding it with absolutely no success. It leaked again. I just bit the bullet and got a new one for 280$ locally. At least I won't have to worry about it failing on me in the middle of nowhere.

true, new is always good:thumb:

 

[fishv12]

Well I got a new rad but guess what! It wasn't the coolant that was leaking now but the tranny fluid. Quite frustrating frankly... The rad seemed of very high quality made in Canada! Within it came two types of transmission connectors for 01-02 and 03 and above. I made sure I had the right ones installed before I put the rad in. I connected everything but the transmission fluid lines connections didn't seem to snap in as they should and the line wouldn't be held like the stock unit. I thought little of it I guess since I assumed that it's just the way it was. Sure enough started the truck and I had a nice constant drip of ATF coming out of it. Pissed and tired I thought I would need to take that darn thing off for the 4th time trying to save my coolant once again such a pain. Then I just said screw it... I walked over to my old rad which was outside in the trailer and took the two connections from the rad off. I looked and the threads and depth and the threads were not exactly the same but it was the same size. I basically took a chance and unbolted my new ATF female fittings to put my old ones on my new rad. I probably screwed the threads a little but with a little bit of resistance and coolant gushing out since the fittings also seal the inner reservoir on that rad I managed to bolt them on. If I wasn't so impatient to have my truck back I would of taken it out and asked for my money back on a poor design.

What I find very frustrating is that this part had made in canada written on it. I automatically told myself NICE! Good price rad made in north america everything should be good. Nope! I expect this stuff with China made parts but not USA/Canada made stuff.