Radiator hose "snapped"

[ROUSTABOUT]

It's a plastic world today. I have a 1976 truck here that runs on the original radiator. I have several pre 1979 trucks that I have never even thought of buying a radiator for. But they are metal.

Plastic welders work good. Used my first one in 1986. I've welded high pressure gas lines going to gas meters.

 

[Omnipotent]

Ugh...not much cheaper for used...still $800, granted cheaper than new, but not much.

 

[Cougsfan]

Normally I would have said that gluing it is a horrible idea. My son has a Toyota pickup that had a similar break on its plastic radiator. He decided to use JB weld to fix it temporarily until he could find a used radiator to replace it. That has been over a year ago and he has yet to replace the radiator. I still wouldn't recommend gluing but I would no longer say it is a horrible idea.

 

[sd455dan]

I glued the one in my 9c1 caprice and It went almost a year before it started dripping. Then checked and a new radiator wasn't bad at all so put a new one in.

Replaced a couple other car and Jeep radiators and they were under a hundred bucks aftermarket new.

Needed a bunch of cooling on my warmed over 455 I put in the RX7 and was able to find an ALL Aluminum TIG welded one from Summit that could be made to fit for $160.

It seems some tractor manufacturers are sticking it to the customer on these prices because they can. Being out of warranty , it would make sense to get some measurements and do some searching on line.

 

[ruffdog]

The acrylic epoxy is expensive but is great for composites.

McMaster-Carr

 

[shooterdon]

One last comment wrt to trying a repair. Almost all my tractor work is done on my property and the tractor is stored inside. The chance of a catastrophic failure is low and I would be at home anyway. If there is a slow leak, it will be apparent when I go to use the tractor and I can deal with it in the garage.

My vote is to try to fix it or cobble up an aftermarket radiator to replace it. $1000 is nuts for what you are getting.

 

[Williy]

You can poke fun at this idea but I have
used it and it works on some stuff!
PVC cleaner and PVC cement try cleaning
it with the PVC cleaner and then use the
cement if it works on your project its cheaper
the $1,000 bucks
Some times it works and some times it don't
but its a hit and miss and even if it don't work
it didn't cost very much to find out!

willy

 

[Omnipotent]

Thanks all...I agree with everything that has been said with regards to repairs....the reality is I would need to make sure it holds day in and day out. It is simple enough to put a rubber pan or something underneath the radiator when not in use and monitor while it's sitting, I'm more concerned with it acting up while in use. The other issue I'm having is the temp sensor seems to be iffy lately, so my temp gauge stays on cold even after hours of use. So this might turn into a two-fold fix...never really worried about the temp gauge as everything else was always working correctly.

Think I'll go with the plastic welder or the PVC cement idea....I'll report back once I've done something and let you know how it went.

 

[Jstpssng]

The other issue I'm having is the temp sensor seems to be iffy lately, so my temp gauge stays on cold even after hours of use.

If your coolant is low that will happen.

 

[etpm]

The acrylic epoxy is expensive but is great for composites.

McMaster-Carr

I have used a couple acrylic based two part adhesives that were made for especially hard to bond plastics. The results were in one case fantastic and in the other case very good.
Eric