My '87 S/R GL Wagon was running warm, so I swapped the radiator with a spare and it runs damn cool now. So what to do with the old radiator? There are no radiator repair shops nearby (they are becoming extinct).

 

I figured what do I have to lose? Here is what I did: Removed the 10mm bolts that hold the top and bottom rails on and removed the center straps. Next, gently bent the tabs up on the inlet side (one with the thermo switch and drain), removed the tank. I made a tool out of .032" aluminum sheet metal 33 inches long and 1/4 inch wide. Plugged the lower hose connection on the remaining tank and stuck a water hose in the fill opening. (There were only 3 flues with good flow!) Used the tool to gently push through each flue (you should have seen what came out!). They flowed like new then. Installed the tank and gently bent the tabs back over then cinched them carefully with vice grips. Plugged all openings and plumbed in a fitting to hook up a test fixture (simple air regulator). Filled the radiator with water and applied 12 psi and locked down the air source. 5 min. later it still showed 12 psi. Now for some paint and it's like new. cost: $0.00.

 

Give it a shot if you have a plugged radiator laying around....it's worthless like it is, right?

 

That one was for an auto. Subie. Next, I'm going to do a std. radiator, I'll get some pictures and a tool list and put it in the repair section.

hmm... I still have the old stock one I replaced kicking around somewhere... I'll have to try this later this summer. It's always nice to have a working one lying around, 'just in case'

 

thanks for the idea.

Awesome!! I did the same thing but used a piece of wire, and it was tedious. I'm going to scrounge a piece of flat stock right now, for future use. Thanks for the info.

vinegar will dissolve most of the sediment, but the best thing is proper matinence.

Be very, very careful using vinegar though. It's primarily an acid, acetic acid if I recall correctly. At any rate, it's very reactive to aluminum, you wouldn't want to leave it in long and would want to rinse very, very, very well.