The most common cause of boiling and overheating of an automobile engine is an insufficient amount of antifreeze - coolant. The cause of this may be a hole formed in the radiator. If you find that the radiator has been depressurized, it must certainly be replaced. However, to temporarily fix the problem, you can use more affordable and cheaper methods, such as soldering a radiator.
Thanks to such welding, it is possible not only to calmly get to the house by car (if this happened on the way), but also to ride with the antifreeze topped for some time further along the road.
So, let's look at how to solder a car radiator.
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It often happens that a leak can not form a hole (hole) in the device, but various microcracks that gradually expand with the heating of the metal and form a larger and larger hole. Under normal conditions, it is almost impossible to find the pass point on such a radiator, therefore, in this case, it is necessary to remove the part and muffle all outputs (except one). Attach a compressor to the latter (for example, which is used to pump tires) and, as shown in the photo below, lower the element into the bathroom with water.
The compressor will pump air, and it will subsequently exit through microcracks in the metal, forming small bubbles. Most often this happens in the place where the radiator bank is crimped with a tube block. Coolant leakage may also occur due to mechanical damage to these parts. Visually, such places are very clearly visible, you can identify them with the naked eye.
How to solder copper radiators?
If this element is made of copper, then it can be very quickly soldered. Soldering is the process of performing work with fusible solders, which takes place at a temperature of 300 to 550 degrees Celsius. The main tool for this is a special copper soldering iron with a capacity of 250 watts. It is worth noting that those analogues that are used in everyday life do not have the necessary power to eliminate holes in automobile radiators.
Often, a special copper soldering iron has a copper tip with a high heat capacity, which can be heated using a blowtorch. Using household analogues, it is almost impossible to repair the radiator, because the quality of the connections will not be too reliable.
How to repair a radiator at home using a 250 W soldering iron
To begin with, you will need to select materials. In addition to a powerful soldering iron, you will need tin, soldering acid (crushed rosin, for example), sandpaper and a metal brush. With this simple set of tools, the radiator is soldered at home.
All work to restore the tightness of an element can be divided into several stages:
- First, the damaged area of the radiator is cleaned with a wire brush and sandpaper.
- Further, the repair of radiators is accompanied by the application of several milliliters of acid to the surface.
- Using a soldering iron, the crack warms up and is filled with tin.
Everything, after a few seconds, the hole in the radiator will be successfully eliminated. Copper on the radiator is perfectly soldered, so you should not have any difficulties with welding.
It is worth noting that if the place of the coolant pass was found in the tubes, then the most reasonable solution to this problem would be to clamp the element to the leak point with its further sealing. Thus, the antifreeze flow is completely eliminated. At the same time, do not forget that this tube will be impassable, and this will be displayed on the heat dissipation by the radiator. Soldering the radiator in this place is used only for elements of a small diameter, as well as for parts that do not carry any mechanical loads.
Where can I not use soldering?
This repair method will not solve the leakage problem if a pass was found in the fittings, as well as the massive power parts of the device. Such a soldering of the radiator will be simply powerless. In this case, the only solution is to purchase and install a new copper device. However, there is a method by which it is possible to restore the factory parameters (tightness) of the fitting by applying a layer of copper on its surface.
Braising - an alternative to buying new radiators
Professional service stations provide motorists with a service such as brazing radiator repair. This method of soldering involves the use of special carbide solders of copper on specialized equipment. The repair process is carried out at a temperature of from 500 to 1000 degrees Celsius. As for reliability, the quality of the connections here practically does not differ from the factory ones.
Brazing is performed by feeding copper solder to the damaged area in the environment of the borax. The last element protects the metal from oxidation, which guarantees a high-quality and tight connection of parts.
How to solder aluminum radiators?
If a hole was detected in the device’s tube, then in this case only soldering can restore the tightness of the part. It is best to work with aluminum parts using specialized solders (for example, those that are used to repair refrigeration units).
Cold Welding Repair
If there is plastic in your radiator, then during its repair you just can not do without cold welding. The essence of this process is to restore the tightness of the device using a two-component epoxy-based adhesive . How to apply cold welding? First of all, you need to treat the damaged area with alcohol or gasoline to degrease it. Then you can not wait until the radiator cools down (if the engine is hot), but immediately start welding.
In the course of the work, it is important to observe the correct application of glue. Unlike in previous cases, the radiator cannot be operated immediately after such repairs. The instruction states that after applying
cold welding, it is necessary to wait until the material has completely dried and hardened. Such repair technology is not used very often, but all because this type of welding gives only temporary results, that is, after a few weeks the machine will again drive the antifreeze. Although on the road, this method helps out very well.
Argon welding
Such soldering of car radiators allows you to repair only tanks on a radiator with a rather thick layer of walls. And if you have broken a honeycomb, then it will be almost impossible to brew it with argon. As a result, an arc will pierce it, and the hole will only expand slightly under the influence of high temperatures. Welding of aluminum occurs at a temperature of the order of 1000 or more degrees Celsius in a shielding gas - argon (this is why its name is argon welding).
Why is this method not widely used by motorists? The whole point is not that argon welding repairs only holes surrounded by thick aluminum walls, but that working with argon requires high experience and skill. This gives reason to classify such repairs as professional.
So, we found out how to solder the radiator with your own hands, and what welding methods are best used.