Has anyone on here ran any other kind of radiator besides stock/replacement? I'm talking about rads from other cars. I'm in a money bind right now, and I'm looking into something that will just get me by until I'm out of my situation. Theres a crack all along the top of the rad, and it won't pressurize, and just spews antifreeze.

 

If it's only a small crack on the top (mine had the same problem, about an inch long but very thin) you can use some JB weld as a temporary solution.

 

i've tried already. it just bubbles out around it

 

did you sand it really rough around where you put the jbweld? try some of that permatex plastic weld,,, nomatter what you use make sure you sand it very rough first

 

hey quick question... which washington, pa are you from? mapquest shows two! one in washington county and one in cumberland county. also is your car an s4 or s5? i will be doing a rad swap over the winter with a koyo rad so my stock rad will either go into the trash or, if you have a s4, in your car!i plan on doing the swap in january so if you still need it then let me know!

 

Washington county, PA, and yea its an S4. Yea dude if you're gonna get rid of it I'll definitely take it off your hands. Just put me at the top of the list!

 

go have it repaired.

 

I have a s4 with a dent in the core you can have for free. Did not leak for me but I would not expect it to last forever.

 

Just find yourself a decent used one, way easier than trying to adapt something else.

 

Same here. I managed to get a free used aftermarket one.

However, I made the mistake of not checking that the aftermarket had all the plugs (was missing the drain plug). Spent hours hopping from store to store trying to find something that would fit (realized the plug was missing after I had removed my stock one).

 

I would, but there is absolutely no chance of finding one. Within 100 miles, one junkyard has a 7, and it is well raped, partially by me. My donor car's rad has a gaping hole in it as well.

 

If you look through the classified and/or post a WTB ad then you may find one close by, or they could always ship one to you if it's not close. There's bound to be at least one decent used S4 rad out there. It'll be a lot easier than adapting something else.

 

Fixing a cracked radiator is easy. You will need 3 things:

1.) propane torch
2.) plumbing solder (any hardware store like loews or home depot will carry this)
3.) solder paste (aka flux)

If the crack is easily accessible then you can leave the radiator in place. If the crack will be easier to work on with the radiator removed then remove the radiator. Drain the radiator. Use a wire brush to clean the metal around the crack. A wire wheel on an electric drill works nicely. Next, apply a tin layer of flux to the crack area. Use the propane tourch and move the flame in a slow circular motion around the crack to start heating the metal. When the flux bubbles and melts away, touch the solder to the crack. If the metal is hot enough the solder will melt and fill the crack. Do this to the entire crack. Make sure the solder fills the crack evenly. Let everything cool down then refill the coolant system and when you have everything back together start the car. Let it warm up while you watch for leaks. If it leaks you didn't fill the crack completely. If the repair is good, cover the repair with some matching spray paint. And you're done!

FYI radiators are held together with lead solder. If you make a good repair following the steps mentioned above, your repair will be as good as stock if not better. JB weld has its uses but the radiator is not one of them. Do it right the first time.

 

Just for the record, you can run an s5 radiator on an s4. You will just have two radiator caps.

 

S4's have plastic top and bottom tanks which do crack and leak sometimes so this is irrelevant for his situation I believe

 

woops, if thats the case then jb weld is a good choice...jb weld plastic and solder copper

 

i've done this to my s4. having two caps really confuses people and the s5 is all copper so it wont crack like the plastic s4

 

not oem stock its not
plastic top and bottom

 

they sell OEM metal radiators online. 100 bux. Check online man.