I would concur. Once a wall is too thin to carry the solder, it is structurally
unsound, and should simply be discarded.
Cheers.
"Michael D. Porter" wrote:
> Don Marshall wrote:
> >
> > At 04:51 PM 12/2/00 -0500, James A. Ruffner wrote:
> > >
> > >Take it to a radiator shop, and have it cleaned, rodded, and resoldered.
>You
> > >could never do the correct work yourself. Besides, although I don't know
> > what it
> > >would cost today, the last one I had done, cost $42, and it looked and
> > worked like
> > >new.
> >
> > I had a TR6 radiator rodded out last month for about $37.00. Pretty
> > reasonable for what you get...
>
> I agree with the general wisdom that having a radiator shop clean out
> the radiator is both economical and efficient. I will pass on, though,
> this experience. I had three radiators available and only one running
> GT6, so I picked the best of the bunch, took it down to the shop and
> told them to boil it out and let me know if it flowed well enough for
> general use. They called me a day later and said it was partially
> plugged and would have to be rodded out (for those not familiar with
> that term, it simply means that one header tank is desoldered and
> removed, and the obstructions are broken loose with a long, skinny rod,
> the radiator cleaned again and the header tank soldered on again).
>
> When they tried to resolder the header, however, the tubes were so thin
> and rotten that they said it was impossible to resolder the header. It
> would have to be epoxied. I doubted this would work, because of heat
> expansion, but let them do it, because they guaranteed it would seal. It
> didn't and began to weep after three days or so.
>
> I'm not sure if I have any firm recommendations based on this, except
> that if epoxying is said to be the only way to secure the header to the
> tubes, I would pass on that procedure and start looking for another shop
> or another radiator. Simply, if the radiator's shot, it's shot, and the
> only other cure is to have it recored. If there is any doubt as to the
> integrity of the tubes, I would suggest that the radiator not be rodded
> out, but rather boiled, cleaned and repainted only. If it won't cool,
> it's probably time for another one, either new, or one in better shape.
>
> It's impossible to determine the condition of the inside of the tubes
> from looking at the outside, but there are indications. If there's a lot
> of dirt (and possibly salt) packed in at the bottom of the tubes, it's
> possible the tubes are corroding from the outside in and the inside out.
> If the radiator has more or less been subject recently to a more than
> one or two pinhole leaks, that's another indication that the tubes are
> on the way out.
>
> Cheers, all.
>
> --
>
> Michael D. Porter
> Roswell, NM
> [mailto: mporter@zianet.com]
>
> `70 GT6+ (being refurbished, slowly)
> `71 GT6 Mk. III (organ donor)
> `72 GT6 Mk. III (daily driver)
> `64 TR4 (awaiting intensive care)
> `80 TR7 (3.8 liter Buick-powered)
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