JD 4100 Radiator repair

[RitchElbe]

details: 4100 was overheating.. which was odd since I had it flushed back in DEC. I look inside with a endoscope and see the tops of the corp tubes were clogged up. Thus took it out
and that was it for the night.. let it drain over night and check the bottom. However a family member thought they would help out in a big way and use muriatic acid to clean it out.
It can work.. as long as it is super deluted. They didn't do that and the radiator is an aluminum model. See what they had done when I got to the barn I flushed it out with water as fast
as I could.. IT cleaned it out..but the 10 cores nearest the lower return, well check out the pics. Every shop I have called as said toss it.. and I don't see paying nearly a $1000 for a
radiator just because it is a model used by John Deere ( already paid out $4000 last year for parts I should have been able to purchase 1 at time for less than $500..but that stupid you gotta
buy a entire kit BS has burned me of John Deere ) . My thoughts are this from my Radiator repair days back in the MIL and the 90s. Free those tubes up, clog them up and and roll them back
on themselves.. however I am unsure what to use to seal the are where they go into the lower housing ( see images ) any suggestions of repairs? A used one's location or a place that makes
custom radiators or one near this size??

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Go custom radiator. When I lived in AZ, and was heavily into racing, etc, I had a local custom shop fab me up 2 separate aluminum radiators with fan shrouds. Has to be a shop in NC that does this. Take yours in for them to use as a template.

 

[RitchElbe]

Will be checking into that tomorrow

 

[David_Kb7uns]

Sent somebody else on the Kubota forums to these guys, needed a new heater core for a Kubota cab tractor and they were cheaper then the Kubota one.

We're Here to Help You! - Radiator Supply House

David

 

[RitchElbe]

ok 3rd attempt to show what I have done to repair the radiator

 

[bspeedy]

Bad radiator=ruined motor. Is it worth the risk? I'm all for saving money, but this seems like a good way to turn a problem that will cost hundreds into one that will cost thousands.

 

[RitchElbe]

apology for the delayed reply.. I didnt get the email alert that someone had replied.. so to sum up what has transpired. the compound used that was suppose to be water resistant and usable up to 1000F..well some water got splashed on it
about an hr before we re-installed it and the stuff just came off...turned back to a puddy. ( see image ) Which exposed the bad cores. Thus on to plan b which is a radiator out of a ford festiva?/spelling?? I believe it was. I know it to be good I watched them drain and remove it. All I needed to do was secure with a mount and after market hoses tomorrow. All this rain has kept me from working on it which is a good thing in my book, that ran being blown into the work bench and showing us that the compound was Chit!! was worth the wait and bad weather, the good thing the radiator did not go bad while in use, just started to over heat at which point I shut it down and checked inside see original post. It was the help of the family member that screwed the radiator up..