Leaky Rad

[Hoogah]

I'm writing this as I sit next to my A as it goes for a drive in my garage. Well, kind of. Trying to fix an annoying leak in my radiator, which I pulled a few months ago and took to a repair man who soldered it up for me. Didn't last - which he did suggest was a strong possibility given the state of play.
Played my final card with a container of Silver Seal flakes, hence the need to run the car for half an hour or so. Can't go for a real drive due to my driveway being full of building materials for our house Reno!
Things are looking positive, with the drip (was about every 2 seconds) seeming to take up - but it did take about half an hour for this to happen. Fingers crossed.
If I find that this is ultimately unsuccessful, I'm looking at a major bill for a re-core - maybe around $1000. Radiator Repair Man tells me it's pretty much impossible to get an original honeycomb core these days (I'm in Oz).
Who runs a modern style radiator and what do you think of its appearance? I'd be reluctant to go down this path. My car is a survivor, not a trailer queen.
Sitting in the garage and running in the mid rev range, the radiator is doing a good job. Can just see the red in my motometer, about 3/4" up from the bottom, so that's a plus, I guess.

[Synchro909]

Hoogah,
I have a pretty good '28/'29 radiator here that is superfluous to needs. Maybe of interest?
It is about 5 1/2 fins per inch. I also have a honeycomb one but have no idea how well it cools.

[Hoogah]

Originally Posted by Synchro909

Hoogah,
I have a pretty good '28/'29 radiator here that is superfluous to needs. Maybe of interest?
It is about 5 1/2 fins per inch. I also have a honeycomb one but have no idea how well it cools.

Great to know..thanks! Wouldn't mind a look when I come to/through Melb next. Won't be for a couple of months though - got a trip north coming up for several weeks. I'll give you a hoy. Cheers.

[Jacksonlll]

If the StopLeak won't work, I would give the shop another chance. StopLeak works pretty good, unless it is a big hole. Have faith. jack

[pooch]

Hoogah, you say you have silver seal flakes ?

I use the red seal up brand from supercheap.

It is for copper/brass.

I had a radiator leaking in many places like a sieve and would also occasionally get hydraulic lock by a bad head gasket.

One bottle of this snake oil 3 years ago and no probs since.

Seal up also comes in sliver but this is for aluminium radiators.

Hope your silver stuff does not say for aluminium too.

What does it say on the bottle?

[Hoogah]

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Originally Posted by pooch

Hoogah, you say you have silver seal flakes ?

I use the red seal up brand from supercheap.

It is for copper/brass.

I had a radiator leaking in many places like a sieve and would also occasionally get hydraulic lock by a bad head gasket.

One bottle of this snake oil 3 years ago and no probs since.

Seal up also comes in sliver but this is for aluminium radiators.

Hope your silver stuff does not say for aluminium too.

What does it say on the bottle?

It doesn't specify, but I did ask the question and was assured that it is not specifically for aluminium radiators. It comes in a small tube not much bigger than your index finger. Touch wood!

[WestCoast]

sodium silicate (water Glass) is the best stuff for sealing cracked blocks, heads, head gaskets and radiators, BUT FOLLOW THE DIRECTIOND EXACTLY, it works by the sealer coming into contact with air and heat, MAKE SURE ALL RADIATOR TUBES ARE COVERED WITH WATER, this stuff has been used for 50 years or more to seal cracks in the flat head blocks, it really works, most parts stores carry it in a glass jar and it contains ground copper to help seal bigger leaks

[Hoogah]

Update on my attempted Silver Seal radiator repair. The leak initially appeared to take up but has started dripping again. Perhaps of more concern is that the engine overheated on a couple of short drives since doing this, suggesting that I may have unintentionally managed to plug some internal waterways by using this product? It was not hot weather or hilly, and the car has no recent history of overheating, even on longer runs (60 miles).

So, where to now? I'm thinking that I should just swap the core out for a new one, and be done with it? The current core was a replacement manufactured by Newcell (name may be familiar to Aussies on the forum), the point being that I haven't found any evidence of this company's existence since the late '40s, making this core maybe 60+ years old. I know that flow rate isn't the ultimate test, but when I've performed this test the radiator took way longer to drain than the 4-5 sec benchmarks I found on YouTube for a good radiator (I didn't measure the volume of water in my radiator either).


If so, what specs should I be looking for in a new core, if I'm wishing to preserve an "original" appearance as far as possible for my 28-29 car?
- 3 row?
- what row spacing?
- what fin spacing (it will be horizontal fins)? Did 28-29 models have 10 fins per inch like the 30-31 (I think)?

Do the judging standards provide guidance? I don't own a copy.

Also, if I go down this path, should I do a "vinegar" clean of the cooling system before removing the radiator to ensure that I remove any rust and/or grease etc from the engine water jacket and therefore ensure that my new core is not immediately fouled with this residual?

So many questions! Thanks for your input.

[WestCoast]

dont get to excited, you really wont know what is happening till you can get the car out on the road for a good drive, give the sealler a chance to work, but if needed to have rad flushed, put a air jet nozzle along with a water hose sealed in the top rad hose with the bottom hose off, turn air and water on full blast to create a lot of turbulance to knock loose any thing that might be plugging engine water passages and rad cores, they sell a tool at parts stores that is rubber and plugs into the engine water neck to mace back flushing the engine easier

[pooch]

Hoogah, get in touch with Synchro, if the offer of the rad is still on, I can drop in and pick it up in a couple of weeks and see you at Bendigo .

Will be around Synchro's way on nov 2.

Also, don't get confused with suspected overheating by water getting thrown out filler neck. you have probably filled the level right up when using the snake oil additive, and it is the normal leveling out at just covering the core where they like to run.

[Hoogah]

Originally Posted by pooch

Hoogah, get in touch with Synchro, if the offer of the rad is still on, I can drop in and pick it up in a couple of weeks and see you at Bendigo .

Will be around Synchro's way on nov 2.

Also, don't get confused with suspected overheating by water getting thrown out filler neck. you have probably filled the level right up when using the snake oil additive, and it is the normal leveling out at just covering the core where they like to run.

Thanks for the offer Pooch. I'm still weighing my options but will be in touch.

[Hoogah]

Originally Posted by WestCoast

dont get to excited, you really wont know what is happening till you can get the car out on the road for a good drive, give the sealler a chance to work. . . .

Thanks West Coast. How long should I give the sealer before I decide that it hasn't worked? The instructions say that sealing occurs within 10 minutes.

[Mitch//pa]

i am sure you read some of the posts about the possible consequences of vinegaring then installing a new rad

[WestCoast]

i had to drive my p/u about an hour before it quit leaking

[pooch]

Without driving the car to get good heat and circulation and the gunk maybe in paste form, maybe it has not done the job properly.

A car does not usually get hot in the right places when just idlng away.

The red seal up is liquid in a bottle, so is already dissolved,

I just flush the rad out good, fill it with clean water, add the snake oil and go for a good drive.

[Hoogah]

Silver seal comes in a little tube and is in the form of very small flakes. I'll go for a big drive on the weekend to see if I can get this sucker to stop leaking.

And thanks for the vinegar reminder, Mitch!

[updraught]

You could try contacting Greg at FTRS

http://www.ftrs.com.au

they probably have the original equipment for making honeycomb radiators.
He will probably tell you just to buy a new one instead of using old tanks.

I thought with a honeycomb radiator you just plug the hex hole like the bees do and carry on?

There's Aussie Desert Coolers for re-coring. They said theirs cool 30% better than original. Don't know how they turn out.

Mine was re-cored years ago, bought second hand, doesn't fit the shell too well.

A new core with lots of fins should block the view of the tubes ...

[pooch]

What is a honeycomb radiator re model A ?

( I know what they are , just what is not applicable to an A )

I think chevs/ plymouths had them, but never seen anything but a round tube finned one for a 28 A .

[tinkirk]

Moroso 35500 Ceramic Engine Seal - 1 Pint ...
best i ever used just be sure to follow directions
had to use every year after freshening race motor to seal the head studs

[CT AV8]

Hoogah, is it just one tube that's leaking?