Radiator plastic repair

[areid]

My L5240 rad developed a leak this week. Took it out and found a 3/4" crack at the bottom pin where it seats into the frame. Looking online I see this is a very common place for the crack to develop. I called the dealer and a new rad is over $1200 with tax. My rad is almost perfect otherwise. I called a local plastics company that specializes in plastics welding and they said kubota has used a special plastic that cannot be repaired.
Have any of you made this sort of repair successfully.

 

[Roadworthy]

I'm sure it won't help to tell you it's a bad design. Do you have any warranty left of your tractor? If not you could try J B Weld and hope for the best or possibly attempt laying a fiberglass patch on the area. Clean it well and scuff it up first.

 

[BeezFun]

I've fixed a lot of plastic stuff with this UV welder. I've never used it on anything with the kind of mechanical forces your support will probably see, but if all else fails it might be worth a try.

Here's a youtube video of a product being used to weld a plastic Kubota radiator, looks like it might work for your application. It's sold on Amazon and has pretty good reviews.

 

[etpm]

My L5240 rad developed a leak this week. Took it out and found a 3/4" crack at the bottom pin where it seats into the frame. Looking online I see this is a very common place for the crack to develop. I called the dealer and a new rad is over $1200 with tax. My rad is almost perfect otherwise. I called a local plastics company that specializes in plastics welding and they said kubota has used a special plastic that cannot be repaired.
Have any of you made this sort of repair successfully.View attachment 719258View attachment 719259View attachment 719260

About 6 years ago the top of the radiator in my wife's Camry developed a crack about 3 inches long. It leaked badly. I ordered a new radiator but decided to see if I could repair the crack so the car could be driven while we waited for the new radiator. I found some two part plastic glue at the hardware store and gave it a try. Besides doing all the things needed to be done to prepare the plastic surface I also reinforced the repair by using some tightly woven fabric. I applied some glue then the glue saturated cloth, then a little more glue. I left the radiator in service for a couple months just to see if the repair would hold but finally couldn't stand the risk of having the repair fail and so put the new radiator in. The glue I used was rated for a max temp of 200 degrees or thereabouts and I was worried about that because of the hot radiator. Nevertheless the stuff held. Anyway, since I used the stuff I have seen more two part plastic glues show up at the hardware store, so I wouldn't be surprised if there are now even better options than the stuff I used.
Eric

 

[arto98607]

Are there any radiator shops around who could make you an old fashion brass radiator?

I wonder how much that would cost?

 

[Snobdds]

There are plenty of google hits when you enter that part number. Nowhere near 1200, more like 150.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

I have successfully repaired with auto supply two part epoxy. Sand the area good. Blow with a propane torch. Put epoxy on thick. Works on gas tanks too. If it handles gas, it's tough.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

My L5240 rad developed a leak this week. Took it out and found a 3/4" crack at the bottom pin where it seats into the frame. Looking online I see this is a very common place for the crack to develop. I called the dealer and a new rad is over $1200 with tax. My rad is almost perfect otherwise. I called a local plastics company that specializes in plastics welding and they said kubota has used a special plastic that cannot be repaired.
Have any of you made this sort of repair successfully.View attachment 719258View attachment 719259View attachment 719260

They just did not want to do it. They use a special steel that can't be welded. That don't make sense. Plastic is plastic, or don't call it plastic. I have a plastic welder. You may need to get some filler off another radiator to weld it with if you weld it.

 

[number two]

Also check out Rapid-Fix.
A super glue with welding powder.
Body shops fix all kinds of stuff with it.
Their video shows repairing a plastic radiator tank.
Good Luck!

 

[MHarryE]

There is a video showing repairing the plastic tank on a Kubota tractor using Polyvance radiator repair. Your picture identifies the supplier of the radiator as Denso, one of the world’s largest radiator manufacturers supplying product to nearly every manufacturer using this size radiator. If they can’t fix a Denso plastic tank, it’s unlikely they can fix any plastic tank.