860 Radiator Repair

[Homerville]

I have a leak in the radiator holding tank, on top of the radiator. The leak is in the seam of the tank. Is it possible to solder it, or is it best to buy a new radiator?

 

[old]

If you have the right equipment yes you can solder it up. Or you can take it to a repair shop. A new one will cost you around $200 give or take a little but a shop would probably fix it for around $50 or maybe less

 

[souNdguy]

Ditto what old said.

If you got a plumbers propane torch, some paste flux, and some large gauge rolled solder.. try it.. just like sweating a pipe together... drain water down past tank seam..

flux the bajeebers out of it.. then add some more for good measure... put the heat to it heating a wide area of the seam evenly.. about the time the flux sizzles, wipe a tad more on, and then get ready to start feeding it the solder.. it should flow in and wet and tin.

soundguy

 

[souNdguy]

Forgot to mention.. these old things are real tolerant of home-repair.

My 850, at some time in it's life had the fan get into the radiator.. ate 3 tubes nearly in half.. someone soldered the heck out of that radiator.. it still passes water and don't overheat.. but i'm quite sure it has more lead and tin in it than aluminum or brass/copper!

soundguy

 

[Dean]

HV:

By all means try to repair your original Ford radiator. It is built much better than the available replacements.

If you do not feel capable of repairing it yourself, take it to a good radiator shop (if you can find one).

A good shop should be able to clean repair and pressure test it for less than $100.

Dean

 

[GlenIdaho]

If you choose to repair it yourself, use silver solder and a good flux. It seems to flow much better. I repaired my radiator using silver solder and it worked better than regular solder.

 

[souNdguy]

I agree with Dean.. since you skipped a diagnostic observation and stripped her down, you are left with the more expensive 'shotgun' parts replacement approach.. don't worry.. that sort of thing keeps the dealer in business.. and we need dealers.

good luck on the lift.

soundguy