UNCONVENTIONAL radiator repair that ACTUALLY WORKS (it’s ugly, but effective) 

This video saved my vacation. Two hours from Vancouver road debris hit the radiator and made a big hole. Everything nearby was closed since it's a Sunday, and we had (expensive) tickets to see an event in Vancouver. Some cheap dollar store tools and a jug of distilled water later, we were back on the road. If I didn't use your method we'd have missed the event, and paid a fortune for an emergency repair. Thank you!

This is an old school method of fixing a radiator. It's good to see that it is still being used.

The Army teaches that technique as a battle field recovery repair. I have done that several times through the years and it is the best repair.

No need to pressure test @ 50 psi. 20 psi is plenty, most cooling systems operate at 13-18 psi. I myself prefer to solder, to do so the metal must be very clean .

Well done. What you've got to remember is, that life is too short to worry about what other people think. If it works, just do it. In 100 years time no one that we know now will be around, so who cares?!

Ingenuity is one of the best traits. I love it when someone shows me what they came up with out of sheer will or necessity. Always inspiring!

For what it's worth here goes my 2 cents! Many years ago, one cracked brake pipe almost ended my vacation. Making me return earlier via tow truck. 😞 Suddenly, I completely lost the brakes and brake oil was copiously dripping on the ground. The sensation of having the brake pedal deep into the firewall. Is damn bad, any day of the week. Luckily I was able to stop the car safely via handbrake. While my wife questioned "why I was stopping" literally in the middle of no where! Short story, a couple of twists on the remaining brake pipe. Properly smashed with a locally sourced stone! 🙂And there we went for another week of vacation! On three wheels braking...

"I put the radiator in the bathtub" So hes either single or married to the coolest chick on earth....if it's the latter, keep her forever!

I'm cheap, but this mechanic can hold my 🍺

Relative to all of the comments about some product that was supposed to work for this and didn’t, my first thought was having to do with surface prep…It is very hard to get anything to stick to aluminum, because it oxidizes, and a layer of oxidation will cause any patch to adhere to the oxidation, which will pop right off, not the raw aluminum. Napa has a product called Aluminum Brightener, it is mostly phosphoric acid and sulfuric acid, but clearly, it is an ‘etchant’; so don’t spray it on polished aluminum, as it will leave a mark immediately. Otherwise, it foams up when you spray it on. you don’t have to scrub it, but you can... when you rinse it off, the aluminum will be much closer to a white color, this is because aluminum oxide is basically black, and if you’ve ever tried to polish aluminum then you already know it can be very frustrating as you realize most of what you do actually turns it blacker, and when you’re done it looks worse than it did. This aluminum brightener is in no way a polish, but it will be a more uniform color, and free from contaminants, so once this stuff has turned the aluminum white, it is about as corrosion free as it’s ever going to get and that would be the moment to rinse it , dry it, and be ready with whichever repair method you intend to try. In the past I have used marine grade 2-part epoxy putty as a plug,, and try to push some of it actually through the crack or hole, hoping it will penetrate to the inside of the tubing and cure in such a way that it can’t get out, then I would use another two-part epoxy and possibly some kind of patch material over all that and I have had good luck with it. My limited experience with the superglue and baking soda method has been very positive and next time I have something like that I might try that first… Hint: I put some baking soda in an old blender, and ran it until the baking soda was the consistency of powdered sugar. The resulting increase in surface area caused the reaction to be even more intense, And the smaller size particles cause the patch to be much denser than it was with straight out of the box baking soda… For whatever that’s worth… Good luck!

Great tip for an emergency situation. I'm often 50 km or more in a secluded part of bush, for hunting and fishing. Two thumbs up!

AWESOME! FREAKIN AWESOME idea! Love how you think outa the box with the wallet in mind. Hey, if it works it works. And who cares how it looks! Screw the rad shops who only want to empty your wallet. Thanks for your thorough step by step troubleshooting and repair videos that help us shade tree mechanics keep feeling satisfaction with ourselves and saving some money for other projects.

I did this an it worked like a champ who cares what it looks like it's an old truck it don't get hot and didn't cost a dime glad I found this video.... FIXED IS FIXED

Found your video and I fixed my 93 chevy G20 van! Saved my life man! I cant belive it worked Lol thanks so much for this video !🥳🤟🙏

I've done that before out in the woods had a stick go through my radiator. Worked good. Kept riding

Well said and done, the most genious solutions are simple solutions 😋

Had to get towed today after my civic blew a hole in the radiator. Tow guy was an old school mechanic and told me this method is extremely reliable. Had to see what he was talking about, now I'm definitely going to give this a shot tomorrow! Thanks!

Genius is short for the word that describes ERROR CODE GUY! Great job AGAIN!

Lot of work! JB weld was and year later still good! I used all of both tubes. Swished on the spot, left overnight. It’s fine

Congratulations bro!!! You just saved yourself about 200 bucks. 👍🏻

You're the man, I already know epoxy and J-B weld doesn't work, I've gone to the junkyard two times, the radiator I grabbed this time is a lot better but has the smallest hurt spot. You've saved the day

I had to do something similar on my 1972 dodge power wagon. I put high temperature silicone in the tube before folding it a couple times.

Glad i found the channel. Right up my alley. Im a farmer.

Great clip!! Autoparts are getting costly and their quality cheap. Thanks for sharing!!!

I think this is worth a shot at trying. Nothing to lose. Thanks

Awesome. Something that could be done on the side of the road in a pinch, or when money is tight. If it works it ain't stupid!

Great idea! Especially if you are in the back country and just need to get home.

Might have to try this. We got an old D8 cat with a hole in its rad, and its like minimum of $8K to recore it and almost double that for a reman, which is not necessarily even available due to the machines age. Thanks for sharing the knowledge!

Good knowledge to have in a pinch and for the long run. who doesn't have needle nose in the car. 👍

Thank you. Out of sight, out of mind.

Love it! Well done!

As Long as it works.. not a Beauty Pageant. 👍👍Gr8 Job!

Nice job

very practicle. Thank you.

Perfect fix. Good to know for the future. Thanks

Great fix

...by the way, do you have any vids that could help us repair where the aluminum meets the plastic top of the radiator? I've had some success with the 2 part plastic epoxys but only sometimes.

That was a very clever move lol

Git r done, great job..👏👏👏👏👍👍👍👍👍

Awesome stuff

good job👍

When you stuck in the boondies with nothing perfect solution. But honestly id do it cause it seems more time an labor efficient. I dont think i would of even taken it off, most vehicles front clips come off pretty easy an if the radiators shot you really aren't loosing. Thanks for the tip

i saw a video like this one before.. i did the same to my radiator..and it did work and sill no leak

Hey man that's brilliant! Got you back on the road and saved money < isn't that the name of the game?

About to try this

My dad told me about this decades ago. Old school fix.

You are realistic.. Nothing less! Good job

I'm going to try this wish me luck guys I'll keep ya updated

Still better than a pour-in "repair".

$100 is worth it..just added needle nose pliers to my trucks toolkit. 👍

Novel fix. I thought about eliminating my entire fin thats leaking, and welding holes, but this is a potential solution! Thank You SO MUCH for Teaching! ~C< 3)>>-Z->}

Yes , it does work i did it on my rad. a few days before i saw this video .

Jb weld would work if you took the time prepping the area for adhesives... but for the time it would take, I’d do what you did

I wish I had thought of that when I broke down on the road in the middle of nowhere.

One fin/pipe is fine good idea 💡

How long did it hold up?

Brilliant

wow great as long as it works.

I would not be embarrassed about this at all ..and I would do this to keep the trip going ..not even think twice about it ..

You are awesome

Did you have to do anything to the ends you cut to prevent them from leaking, or was it enough just to tightly roll them up?

genius!

Never tried that with a radiator, but have done that with steel and copper tubing and heater hose. If the radiator core is aluminum, I hope the tube didn't crack when bending it as aluminum is a soft non ferous metal. Now if someone has a fix for a broken (small) hose port like the one on my wife's 06 Kia Sorento. Ya it's on it's 3rd radiator thanks to that stupid small port!

good job, you are something like a mexican or dora the explorer that with scotch tape fix everything.

Sitting in the bathtub watching for bubbles.

never would have thought of this and yes in secluded places great solution cheers.

Arkansas fix, good deal

50psi 😲 It a wonder the one of the tanks didn't blow off 😄

50 psi? Well no wonder nothing sticks . that is far too much pressure. Most radiator caps are somewhere around 16. They make them as low as 2 to 4 psi. As radiators get older they cant hold as much pressure as when new. Then add a damaged spot.

Cool

I'm about to do it, tired with the leak never stop.. Let my radiator be the 2nd ugly after yours

I rolled up much less and tried to get it real tight and I had pin holes and I had like 4 or 5 rows but some aluminum stop leak did its job I have a new one ordered I don't really trust it and it's my mom's car

If its stupid and it works, it ain’t stupid…..

Ace

Did he say 50psi? Isn't that too high

I wish you've uploaded this a year back, I got a new one then ... Sigh

👍

Nothing wrong with it if it works , I would do it in a heart beat ! I don’t care if you call me cheap !! Imagine your out on the road and you have a leak in the middle of nowhere or at night.. shit call,it done if I had to , and I’m sure anyone would also ...

Whatever works is fine mjy friend.. Good looking girls don't necessary make a good mistress..

Anything is better than walking

I'm guilty of this one an A/C condenser. Held gas for another year.

I know this works cus I had do this once long time ago hahahahahahahaha

I'd spend the 100 dollars 💸

auto mechanics call it a joke bc they do not like backyard mechanics. this is good

50 PSI. BRO WHAT type of cooling system operates at 50 PSI?!?

Anything that works for u at home.

This is genius. But if you have the money for a radiator, with all the work involved it seems silly to not buy a new one. Unless if was a fairly new radiator and the cause of the leak was something weird, it seems almost (but not entirely) predictable that an older rad would get another leak soon anyway. Maybe not, but if that happened in a few weeks or months, it wouldn't seem so genius anymore.

Bitchin!

Nothing is wrong with using your brain to solve a problem. I believe all a mechanic would say is this guy was smart enough to try something different instead of just fishing money out!

kiss ............keep it simple stupid......... great simple road fix

Dude...you lost all cred by admitting that you own and use a cooling-system pressure-test kit... 🙃

Presumably you could cut the offending tube right on the leak and roll both sections a smaller distance than you have shown.