Kubota MX5100: Broken radiator hose port (plastic)

[Ford tractor]

Out of curiosity, did you try to have a radiator shop replace the broken bottom tank with a metal one? I would have tried that.

 

[jcliburn]

Out of curiosity, did you try to have a radiator shop replace the broken bottom tank with a metal one? I would have tried that.

No, I didn't. The nearest one is about an hour's drive away.

 

[moored4]

No, I didn't. The nearest one is about an hour's drive away.

And I bet they don't have a phone either!

 

[EE_Bota]

I have to disagree with that. 10 to 20% of the resin is iron powder. I found that out when I was trying to attach a Neodymium magnet to an aluminum plate with JB weld. I put a big blob on the plate and when I set the magnet down the JB weld started moving toward the magnet.

It's listed in section 15 of the MSDS.

http://jbweld.net/techinfo/MSDS Weld Resin Jan-11.pdf

Section 15 didn't say the amount of iron, nor did it say by weight or by volume, and that would matter.

From their site:

"Use J-B WELD as an adhesive, laminate, plug, filler, sealant, and electrical insulator." That is from their website here:

J-B Weld Company - J-B WELD Product Information

Companies may change their formulation at any time, and I certainly wouldn't want to encourage you to do something you know is wrong or that you are against, or that you have a better option to accomplish.

But last time I checked, the dielectric strength was quite high. I put out a memo last year about using it to patch / repair defects in brush bar insulators on a 2000HP DC machine which has seen more of the world than I in it's former job as a locomotive generator. But it is quite old, and those brush bars are no longer available. Since we only mean to run the machine for production, not produce the machine commercially, I'd prefer not the have to cast new insulators.

YMMV.

If you search this page for JB, you will see that this fellow claims he tested it's dielectric strength at 450V/mil after 240hrs at 100% humidity.

Optical Flow and New IMU board - DIY Drones

Your point is worth keeping in mind...and I wouldn't suggest anything too high of voltage without contacting the manufacturer, and testing it quite thoroughly with appropriate equipment.

But I have seen many an old generator or alternator for tractor or automotive use with a cracked bushing, and frequently at home, the only flowable epoxy I have around is JB weld, and that is what I am suggesting. I personally have used it for repairing a voltage regulator on an ST1100 motorcycle.

As for the iron:
On one page, it was interesting that a fellow used it as a filler / potting compound and a wound machine magnetic structure, and got noticeably higher voltages, quite possibly due the the small amount of iron in the epoxy. It would be nice if the manufacturer published the information freely, and now I would like the add the magnetic permeability to the list of things I would like to know.

 

[crazyal]

Out of curiosity, did you try to have a radiator shop replace the broken bottom tank with a metal one? I would have tried that.

On the new style radiators the core is aluminum with a seal between the plastic tank and the core. They crimp them together, usually with "fingers" on the aluminum core bent over. You would need to straighten them and recrimp them after replacing the lower tank. Most Aluminums doesn't like to be straightened out then bent a second time.

I have heard there are some special glues designed for plastic radiator tanks but I don't know of any specifically. Now that it has JB weld on it I doubt that any other glue will work. The JB weld may work great, never tried it.

Like I said before, we're a throw away society. The idea of going to a radiator shop to sweat on a new tank or replace a plugged core is a thing of the past. Now it's easier and more profitable to make a radiator that can't be fixed.

 

[Ford tractor]

On the new style radiators the core is aluminum with a seal between the plastic tank and the core. They crimp them together, usually with "fingers" on the aluminum core bent over. You would need to straighten them and recrimp them after replacing the lower tank. Most Aluminums doesn't like to be straightened out then bent a second time.

I have heard there are some special glues designed for plastic radiator tanks but I don't know of any specifically. Now that it has JB weld on it I doubt that any other glue will work. The JB weld may work great, never tried it.

Like I said before, we're a throw away society. The idea of going to a radiator shop to sweat on a new tank or replace a plugged core is a thing of the past. Now it's easier and more profitable to make a radiator that can't be fixed.

Now that just makes me feel old! And lucky that there is a decent rad repair shop just a couple miles down the road.

 

[silvertramp]

There's a small old school rad shop near me. He fixed the rad on my '79 Goldwing hotrod. It has a copper core. He said the newer aluminum core units tend to melt when you try to solder them up.

 

[deere5105]

No, I didn't. The nearest one is about an hour's drive away.

Little late getting in on this, but was going to mention we have atleast one radiator shop still operating in Hattiesburg. Used to be more, but I know of one for sure. Sounds like you have repaired it yourself though. :thumbsup:

 

[orezok]

You could consider a custom radiator. We used to use them in racing. They are 100% aluminum including tanks, can be made to any dimension and inlet/outlet placement and any custom bracket configuration. Pick the number or rows you think you need. They are less costly than you would believe and probably less than the OEM. Google custom radiator.

 

[MHarryE]

Like I said before, we're a throw away society. The idea of going to a radiator shop to sweat on a new tank or replace a plugged core is a thing of the past. Now it's easier and more profitable to make a radiator that can't be fixed.

I see tons of posts about getting the best deal for your money. Manufacturers therefore need to meet the customer cost pressure. Back when I was designing machines and selecting components, I could replace the fabricated radiator I had in my machine with a Denso plastic tank radiator. The challenge was to fit something for which Denso already had tooling because at my moderate volume, the tooling cost was too high to amatorize. I had data showing in the years my company had already used this radiator type the failure rate and parts sales rate was much lower than for fabricated tank radiators. So we redesigned to fit the plastic tank radiator which tested to better cooling performance at half the cost. The question - would you as a customer be willing to pay an additional $200 - $500 for your machine over a competitor's machine if it had a metal tank radiator instead of a plastic tank?