Many thanks to all the people who replied on and off list to my radiator
repair post. The consensus was "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Well my
radiator ain't broke: last spring I flushed it and it ran clear, it never
even approaches the 1/2 way mark on the temp gage (I have an aux fan) and it
doesn't leak. Many people pointed out that rodding a radiator is an
"intrusive: procedure that could cause problems that didn't exist before. Do
it as a last resort. Therefore I dropped it off to have it flow tested,
"boiled out" (?) and pressure tested. $55 and good as new.
Thanks again
Bob Danielson
75 TR6 - status at
http://pages.cthome.net/BobD
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-triumphs@autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-triumphs@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of Gary & Priscilla
Klein
Sent: Wednesday, February 16, 2000 7:04 PM
To: TR Newsgroup; Bob Danielson
Subject: RE: Radiator Repair Advice
Bob,
Here's another consideration you might want to try.
Last Summer as I was nearing completion of my restoration and the
radiator was nearing its time to go back in, I wondered what to do about
it before installation. I have a workmate, owner of a TVR, and member
of the National TVR club. In a newsletter from last year, an
advertisement appeared for a radiator shop, in nearby Gaithersburg MD.
My friend stated that the owner was a TVR owner, too, so I decided to
give him a ring to see what he suggested.
The owner, Glen Gonzales, Custom Radiators (NFI just glad to have gotten
some good advice. Read on.) talked about LBC's for quite a bit. He
stated that he'd modified some TR6 radiators for customers in Arizona
with a 5 tube cores that reportedly worked just fine. I asked him about
"rodding" my radiator and he said that he had to ask me a question
first. "Was it overheating before I tore the car apart?" I said no and
then he stated that all he would really do is to do a flo test but that
since it was so simple, I could do it myself. Here's how.
Holding your hand over the lower pipe, fill the radiator full with
water. Then take your hand off the lower pipe and observe how the water
drains out of the radiator. If it gushes out in a solid, fast flowing
stream approximately the same diameter as the lower pipe then it flows
just fine. Anything less and it needs service.
Mine flowed like it was in a rush to get the water out of it.
For what it's worth,
Gary
Digest
'75 TR6
Mon, 14 Feb 2000 16:45:20 -0500
Bob Danielson wrote;
> I pulled the radiator over the weekend and want to have it
professionally
> "cleaned". There's 2 shops in town that have been here for as long as
I can
> remember....... back to the 50's. One shop is a small garage, one man
> operation, does nothing but radiators who removes the top/bottom and
runs a
> brush through every rod, seals it back up and pressure tests it for
$50. The
> other larger shop does radiator repair and general maintenance but
only
> recommends "rodding" as a last resort, especially on older radiators.
> They'll flow test it, then some kind of "bath" and then flow &
pressure test
> it - $55. I've heard good and bad about "rodding" a radiator. One
lister had
> a bad experience due to rusty parts that couldn't be repaired. A
visual
> inspection shows my radiator to be in good shape. A flushed it last
spring
> and it ran clear and I don't have an overheating problem. So why am I
doing
> this??? It's winter and I need to do something plus I'll get to paint
it
> before putting it back in. Any recommendations on rodding vs. not
rodding?
> Thanks
> Bob Danielson 1975 TR6 Status at
> http://pages.cthome.net/BobD
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