As of last night, all systems are a go, and the wagon seems to be functioning well and normally. Thanks to all for your assistance and help.

Heya!

It's clear I'm going to have to do this as well. Still getting too hot at high speeds, and it's getting a little bit old. so my question is this: I want to take of my Freeze plugs but I don't necessarily want to replace them with the regular stock kind. But, when I talked to napa this morning, the guy said that the rubber freeze plugs are typically only for "temporary use".

Is this true? Should I just be going with the regular stock freeze plugs? Or will the rubber ones actually hold up and be better? I just like the idea that they can be removed a little easier if I want to remove them in the future.

Use the metal plugs. It took 30 plus years to gunk up the works, so expect another 30 years before major flushing as long as you use 50/50 antifreeze mix and perform regular changes. Today's antifreeze is much better at protecting cooling system components than what we had forty years ago.

Don’t forget to flush heater core as well, it should purge easily as tubing is ½ to 5/8th inch in diameter.

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

Ok, so I jumped the gun. All systems are not completely "a go". Checked under the hood post-trip today, and found one of the original pin-hole leaks in the top of the tank bubbling away. Darnit! So much for my $45 radiator rod-out and braze/clean up job.

Question: Is there a point to painting the radiator? I feel as though if a radiator guy is 'repairing' a radiator tank, the only reason he'd paint it is to cover up his spot brazing work and present a cleaner aesthetic. But seriously, unless yours is a show car, who cares if the radiator is painted? Is there any other reason to do it? I'm kinda going over in my mind what a $45 radiator job will get you, and now I feel, not like I was taken, but that I got what I paid for. If he hadn't painted the radiator, I could see his spot-brazing attempts, and with the paint job, I cannot see that he brazed what he was supposed to.

What should I do? Yank the rad again, and bring it back to the guy and tell him to re-do it? It's the rad round-top tank that's pin-hole leaking/bubbling. How long should a good repair last, if it's done right? I'm seriously not up for buying a new rad, but I don't know what to expect out of a braze/solder job.

The paint slows outside corrosion, the green stuff on brass. The pin holes are from inside corrosion, usually due to insufficient inhibitor in the coolant (too old, not enough, etc.), all too common in old brass tanks.

It's hard to get all the pin holes the first time. What typically happens is that one that was nearly ready to pop but hadn't yet finally does soon after being opened to fresh corrosion by being cleaned.

Decent round tanks are getting scarce, and patching new pin holes every so often's a hassle. Many shops won't even try, for exactly the reasons you're finding. I do my own soldering for that reason as well, it's not all that hard. I use O/A but even a propane or butane hand torch'll do the job. Thin brass sheet pieces "slab soldered" on make an even better job of it.

_________________
Sex, drags, and rock & roll.
Dick, 225% crazy.
Hobby (cars, that is) Photos link

Copper desoldering wick can be used as a fabric fill with solder as the resin......

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

I've only soldered small jobs, never anything like a radiator tank. I'm up to the challenge, if it will keep me from having to buy a new tank or radiator.

Do I need to drain the radiator again, in order to do it, or can I leave it in the car full of coolant and attempt a solder job on the bubbling hole when everything is cold? Where do I buy sheet brass and the propane/butane torch?

I have extras of both. You can have'em, but you'll need to come get'em as I'm swamped at the float this time of year.

You leave enough water in the tank to cool the big seam around the bottom lip, just let enough out to allow you to heat up the pin hole. Doesn't need to be cold.

I can do the first one & show you if you can get the car to the float barn.

_________________
Sex, drags, and rock & roll.
Dick, 225% crazy.
Hobby (cars, that is) Photos link

In order to solder, all moisture has to be removed, as metal won’t get above boiling point until it is dry. 50/50 solder melts around high 365* F to 420* F or so, no set point it just gets softer & softer than flows.

Also metal to be soldered has to be mechanically cleaned (brushed, sanded), as well as chemically cleaned (flux), and once repair is made soldered joint has to be cleaned of acidic flux residue to prevent future corrosion (green stuff – white stuff forming).

So to answer your question, yes pull radiator so it can be properly prepped, and easily maneuvered to perform the task.

_________________
67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

I'd just lower the water level and put wet towels around the top to protect the areas you don't want hot.

Use a plumbers torch.

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

When repairing pinholes or small cracks, I usually make a small "patch" out of brass or copper, tin the patch completly with solder and then solder it over the hole / crack.
DD

Radiator guys always repaint their work, it seals up the solder joints and slows external corrosion. And why would one want a nasty patched, multi colored mess bolted back into their car after spending a ton of dough on the job?

When I questioned my radiator guy about refurbishing the Dart’s original radiator he asked two questions; is there white stuff festering out around the tubes, and is it the original.

My reply was yes to both questions, where he said the problem with these old radiators is that they get thin, and no amount al soldering will make them last very much longer, and once the white stuff starts it is time for a recore which will cost twice as much as a new after market unit.

I punched up radiators dot com, and 165 bucks and five days later I had a new radiator to go with a new heater core, boiled out head, freshly flushed block with new freeze plugs.

_________________
67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

Thanks for the direction guys. Will need to re-solder it myself - Dick I may take you up on your offer.

So an additional question: How much would having a pinhole leak in the top of the tank affect the overall operating temp of the system? Just wondering how much difference it makes: obviously it makes some or quite a bit: I'd like to know to what degree.

I'm asking because I drove the wagon around today locally on a short trip, after I'd tightened up another leaking bolt on the thermostat housing neck. It's about 88 degrees outside. The wagon ran fine, and then on the way back, ran warm, not anywhere near overheating, but the temp gauge climbed (within the safety range of the gauge), more than I would expect a pin-hole leak to generate. I suppose there could be other reasons. Maybe the sock in the upper radiator hose is catching sediment and is becoming blocked. Maybe the new thermostat is not opening or malfunctioning. Maybe the newly rodded-out rad is still not operating with full, unrestricted flow. Who knows.

Can you guys give me ideas?

If there is a hole, pressure can’t be held, so boiling point of coolant is lower, and delta T smaller so not as much heat can be transferred from engine to radiator to air.

Delta T = difference of ambient air temperature and coolant temperature.

_________________
67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC