Suggestions for a Quick Patch Up on a stock S13 Radiator

[wannawangan]

The Story

When my car was broken into, the thieves took my MAFS, cone filter and adapter. As they did this, they pulled the stock intake tube and broke the mount off of the stock radiator.

The Question

Is there a high heat compound I can use to patch/repair the broken mount on the stock S13 radiator? Keep in mind that the end tanks on the radiator are plastic, so welding is not an option. I will be getting a Koyo unit from Drift Factory soon but I want to be able to drive my car w/o the coolant leak from the broken mount.

The Solution

Stay tuned... (no pun intended!)

[InsanityInc]

JBWeld.

[wannawangan]

Thanks for the post. I will look into it!

**David

[wannawangan]

I know it's plastic, but what type of plastic. Obviously, it's a type of heat resistant plastic. Can anyone tell me this info? I need to determine whether I can use the JB Weld compound or not.

Thanks,

**David

[InsanityInc]

JBWeld works with just about anything. And if it doesn't, you're out like 3 bucks.

[eastcoastchaos]

i actually broke off the same piece your talking about when i installed an intake into my first 40. jb weld worked just fine. i drove it for over a year like that

[wannawangan]

That's some good news! I will pick some up later today and get my radiator patched up.

Thank you all for your help!

[wannawangan]

I did try the regular JBWeld stuff that requires at least 16 hours to cure. However, as impatient as I was to drive my car, about 1 hour after I applied the stuff, I decide that I would drive around the block. When I returned to my house, I realized that I had leaked coolant all over my driveway. Turns out that the pressure from the radiator had blown off the cold weld I had applied earlier. Lesson learned? Why yes....

As my dad used to tell me...

"Just wait damnit!!!"

BTW, the stuff is pretty good. It's just a bit messy when preparing it. For all of you who are new to this stuff and it's application, you may want to also pick up some fiberglass mesh to act as a patch matrix. You can find this stuff at your local WallyMart in the auto body repair section. This will prevent the cold weld from dripping through the hole.

On a positive note, my Koyo Racing radiator (all aluminum!) arrived the next day, courtesy of Drift Factory. The old unit was taken out and replace by the Koyo. Looking closely at the cold weld, it seemed to have cured fairly solidly. Too bad I was not able to further confirm this in a real time setting.