Sigh, it never stops... cracked radiator tank.

[Gramps]

Thanks for the warning. Jb Weld was one of my thoughts on fixing it, at least temporarily.

Use JB plastic welder - it doesn’t just “stick to” it actually chemically melts into and creates a permanent bond with the plastic you are glueing. It comes in a epoxy type double syringe that you mix together and use.

 

[454cid]

Use JB plastic welder - it doesn’t just “stick to” it actually chemically melts into and creates a permanent bond with the plastic you are glueing. It comes in a epoxy type double syringe that you mix together and use.

It looks like they've got a kit specifically for plastic radiator tanks. I may get that.

 

[Supercharged111]

I tried to fix mine with some JB weld. Put a nice think kote on the tank where the split was.. lasted about a day..

I successfully JB Welded a plastic tank before. I first wrapped some zip ties around the tank for the JB Weld to push against once the pressure built. Worked like a champ and even matched the color of the tank. Used the same method on my watts box for my sprinklers years ago. Has been working for about 5 years, but he zip ties recently gave up the ghost so I may have to expend actual effort for a less redneck repair there.

 

[alpinecrick]

I'm wondering if that upper hose is bouncing too much and fatiguing the tank.

You nailed it. Not fastening the upper hose to the bracket it lays in seems to contribute to that type of failure on the driver's side tank.

I've used JB, Loctite, and Devcon plastic welder epoxies and like Devcon the best. Once the Devcon syringe tubes have been opened the remaining epoxy doesn't last long though.....

 

[454cid]

You nailed it. Not fastening the upper hose to the bracket it lays in seems to contribute to that type of failure on the driver's side tank.

I've used JB, Loctite, and Devcon plastic welder epoxies and like Devcon the best. Once the Devcon syringe tubes have been opened the remaining epoxy doesn't last long though.....

I checked the bracket today after getting home from work. It does not look to be adjustable, but does make contact with the hose, but only very lightly. The bracket is quite worn... no paint, so it's moving a lot. I'll have to figure something out... I'd like to pad it somehow, and probably secure the hose with zip-ties.

 

[smdk2500]

I checked the bracket today after getting home from work. It does not look to be adjustable, but does make contact with the hose, but only very lightly. The bracket is quite worn... no paint, so it's moving a lot. I'll have to figure something out... I'd like to pad it somehow, and probably secure the hose with zip-ties.

Can you post a pic of the bracket and hose. Its been a while since ive seen a pic of the vortec 454 set up. It might help giving points on how to suggest a fix for it.

 

[Racer X from MKE]

So I was under the hood checking the torque on my valve covers because they keep leaking. I haven't gotten around to doing the gaskets yet. I noticed some water under the upper radiator hose. I get the flash light out and see where it ends. I wiggled the hose and fitting and see movement, so it's cracked.

This Delphi radiator was purchased in 2010, almost 9 years ago. It replaced the original, which would have been 11 years old, but it had the tank replaced a few years prior. So it looks like about 9 years is the life span of the driver's side tank.

I bought a Champion radiator off of Ebay and it is holding up decent. The tanks and core are all aluminum and it's made in California. It ran around 200 bucks if I remember correctly.

 

[454cid]

I never got the radiator epoxied/JB-Welded. I strapped down the upper hose, and was just driving it, with the hopes of getting the Saturn on the road. My hours went up at work, so my time is short. The other day on the way home I noticed constant dripping when I stopped for coffee. I started the truck, and popped the hood, and there was a constant stream spraying from the tank, right near the upper oil cooler fitting. I jumped in the truck, and drove home, watching the gauge the whole way. It did not overheat. The level probably drops only so far before the leak slows down because it's so high on the radiator. I had heat too, which is a good sign the coolant wasn't super low.

I already had a TYC radiator in my Rockauto cart...so I ordered it. Earlier, I had decided on either the Spectra or the TYC. The last TYC product I bought was crappy (blower motor), but word online is that the radiators are good, and I do have a TYC heater core that seems to be fine. Also people here have reported issues with the Spectra at the transmission cooler fittings... although, I did have a little issue there too with my Delphi (NLA).

I got the new TYC radiator in a day. It looks pretty good. It's not installed yet. I actually got it so fast, that I'm not ready for it, yet... plus it stormed, yesterday (the day I got it).

If you keep items in your Rockauto cart, like I do, recheck prices before ordering. When prices changes, sometimes they hold prices on things in your cart, and sometimes they don't.... it can be in your favor or theirs. The radiator price went up in the catalog, but stayed the same in my cart, so I ordered the radiator for less than if I would have added it to my cart right then. It had been in my cart for a few weeks. On the other hand, I've had a caliper in another cart, that the price has jumped to match the catalog. When the catalog price went back down, the price in my cart did not. I deleted it, and re-added it to get the cheaper price...now it's jumped again, but this time a core charge was added to the catalog, and my cart doesn't include the core. I suspect that in the case of the caliper it could be that one supplier is out, but Rockauto can get the part from another supplier with another pricing structure.