I will figure something out but in the meantime I'm going to do it for you. Either PM me or text me your address again. I'm glad to help anyone anytime but helping you is always a high point for my day.
That's awesome Dewey! The Kia will feel like its an honorary wagon or something? (S)NAPA Radiator tank repair kit linky: http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx?R=BK_7651544_0006383772
If I hadnt spent so much time and energy on it and didnt care about cars then that would be a possibility... My KIA, though it has been troublesome, has proven itself a trustworthy company. Its not its fault that it was designed to fail. It wont so long as I have it.
I was just pulling your leg. I hate to admit it but I kept a Pinto for a long time, just didn't have the hart to put it out of MY misery.
As dewey wrote, when they began making radiators out of plastic glued to aluminum they knew it was only a temporary thing. I've seen some copper/brass radiators in old cars still working after 100 years. A radiator shop could repair most for $25/$100 depending what was wrong. Now radiator shops are few and far between.
Few and far between and expensive! Here in NH I have found one, and it cost $360 to have mine recored.
Olds Weighty Eight... You are probably right. I probably do know more than him. Ford Nut... I knew you were joking around. As for radiators, I know from what I have read over the last year (Wow, I have been on the Forum for a year now! ) that radiators should have never had any plastic. Honestly, I used to think that it was just a plastic coating on metal and was shocked and made a little nervous when I learned otherwise. Ive known since I was a kid that there is a lot of pressure inside of a radiator. I expected for a long time to open my hood and my rad burst from the plastic being too weak. I guess it kind of did...
My wife's Durango is about to get its fourth radiator installed. The original failed after the engine replacement. The replacement failed when the water pump seized. That replacement is now leaking. It leaks right where the tank meets the core, driver's side, back side, lower half. You can't keep water in it, it's a leak at the bottom, exact same place it leaked the other two times. And it's not easy to see unless you unhook the fan shroud and lean it back and look straight down with a flashlight. I wish I could find an all aluminum radiator for the truck that still uses the stock brackets, overflow tank, shroud, and fans. The only drop-in replacements I can find require fabrication and don't use any other stock components other than the hoses and core support.
Aluminum is a better conductor of heat than steel, and is lighter too. Copper is better than aluminum, but corrodes horribly when in contact with road salt, and is more expensive. I've had both aluminum/plastic and copper/brass radiators (they were sold painted black) in the same cars and the aluminum/plastic ones definitely last longer. The cores on the copper/brass ones rot out externally after not too many years. Most of mine are on about their third or fourth copper/brass radiator (that's what the local store sells). The one in my wagon is missing core sections and will probably start leaking next winter. Will have to do some digging and maybe I can find an aluminum/plastic one for it. The aluminum/plastic one in my van still looks as clean as the day I got it 6 years ago and no telling how much older it is or if it is even original. I did have one problem it once, the petcock blew out and had to get one of those HELP kits. But I've had the copper/brass ones blow out a petcock once or twice too and those I had to solder back in with a torch. The heater cores (not exposed to the weather) in my cars and van are copper/brass and lasted about 15-20 years.
I've always had cars with brass/copper rads, and I'm out in any and every weather imaginable. The least amount of time I've had a rad last was in my last 79 Thunderbird. It was a recore, and it still went almost 6 years. The heavy duty 3 core in Nora was put in about 15 years ago and it is still working perfectly. The trick is to make sure you get one that is put together properly. I get mine from a place that gives a lifetime warranty, so they make sure they do it right to minimize the free replacements.
I just thought of Arthur, Ma's 90 Volvo 240 wagon. It is 22 years old, and touch wood, still the original radiator. I don't know what it is made of, and the car isn't here for me to check, but it still works like brand new. Then again, I don't know WHAT Volvo used when they built that car. No rust at all, and still one of the exhaust pipes is the original. I think Ma got one of the better built cars out there!
Dewey, thank you again. It came today. Excellent timing. I always wear a hat and I have been needing a new one. My brand new NAPA hat fits perfectly. I just finished using the patch kit. That stuff gets freaking HOT! Now we wait...