Radiator plastic repair

[LD1]

I agree with above that they just didnt want to repair it. Its NOT a kubota radiator or some kind of special kubota plastic.

Not sure I would trust them at this point, but can you call them back and tell them its a denso radiator??

Looking the bota part number up online can save a little over the dealer. ~$900-$1000 is what I see.

I wished I saved my old MX radiator. Probably the same and didnt realize they were so $$$$. But I had contacted a company to make me a custom 2-core all aluminum radiator and I was thinking it was ~$600 or so. Took some modification to make the thicker radiator work but I knew that going in.

Its likely a supply and demand thing is why they are so $$$. Not often a radiator on a tractor needs replaced, especially a plastic/aluminum core one. They dont see road salts and stuff that rot them out, and they usually arent in high speed collisions that mess them up

 

[tradosaurus]

I would try JB Weld before I bought a new radiator.

 

[arto98607]

I did a JB Weld repair on a Kubota F mower Diesel fuel tank and it's holding up after 4 months of use, but only time will tell.....
It's a small seam crack up on top so pretty easy case to repair, except the Diesel fuel.

If it fails later I will do a plastic weld repair.

New tank is around $600 which is not the end of the world but just trying to save a tank.

 

[BravoXray]

I repaired a crack in the upper tank of a radiator on a JD mower that had been damaged that I picked up for free at a shop. I ground out the crack a little and roughed up the surrounding area, them patched it with JB Weld. Bend holding leak free for 20 years.

 

[MHarryE]

If you view the Polyvance video, it shows making some major repairs, then testing at working temp afterward. What did concern me is that their process involves heating to a fairly tight range, melting and adding material like welding. The result is quite impressive but if I were to try, I’d like to try on a test sample first. Finding a junk radiator should not be hard as Denso supplies to Toyota, Honda, Ford, Caterpillar, and others.

 

[RCFlyer330]

I dont know if that can be repaired or not but what Ican tell you is the PA66 - GF25 tells you that the plastic is polyamide 66 (aka nylon 66) with glass fiber reinforcement at 25 percent its nothing special. If you were to do a repair you would need that same material and a plastic repair iron that can melt it together. You will need to melt the new material into the old material to get a strong bond. With how much a new radiator costs its worth a try even if it fails. Go on youtube and look at videos of plastic radiator repair and even just plastic welding repair videos the basic process will be the same. I believe harbor freight sells a plastic weld kit really cheap. Jb weld may work too but i think welding would be a better repair.

 

[areid]

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

I'm not surprised, that would be US but Kubota parts are like gold. Gouging!

 

[areid]

Wow, so much help! Thanks everyone. I used a butane soldering iron to melt the edges of the crack more or less back together and also pushed the small tip of the hot iron into unbroken material to about 50% of the material depth around 60° angle. This left a very rough surface with lots of digits for my JB Weld to flow into and grip. I applied a thin coat first then after a couple hours applied a second thicker coat. It looked like a solid repair so I put it back together and filled the rad. I run it for 15 minutes last night and it held with out a single drip. I'm pretty confident that it will work long term. If it fails I will likely reassess things and try another more robust repair. I will keep you all posted in case any of you need to do the same.
Thanks again.
Aulden

 

[areid]

I dont know if that can be repaired or not but what Ican tell you is the PA66 - GF25 tells you that the plastic is polyamide 66 (aka nylon 66) with glass fiber reinforcement at 25 percent its nothing special. If you were to do a repair you would need that same material and a plastic repair iron that can melt it together. You will need to melt the new material into the old material to get a strong bond. With how much a new radiator costs its worth a try even if it fails. Go on youtube and look at videos of plastic radiator repair and even just plastic welding repair videos the basic process will be the same. I believe harbor freight sells a plastic weld kit really cheap. Jb weld may work too but i think welding would be a better repair.

Someone locally told me tie straps are similar plastic but I don't know if that is true. Our local plastics company told me there is no way to plastic weld these which of course is by design.

 

[areid]

I'm not surprised, that would be US but Kubota parts are like gold. Gouging!

In case I do need to order new, what part number are you entering.