Aluminium Soldering?

[cheesegrater 43 1 Cars]

Hi my radiator has sprung a leak and realistically the only way I can see it being repaired effectively is by soldering the hole. Does anyone know anyone who does this kind if thing? It seems to be a lost art round my way.

Thanks

[Tom Fenton 1,548]

Is aluminium soldering not the same as aluminium TIG welding?

[welshpug 1,666]

Tig uses an arc, soldering does not.

[cheesegrater 43 1 Cars]

This ^

[Tom Fenton 1,548]

I know the difference, the point I was making was the end result is the same if you TIG weld it, which shouldn't be hard to find someone to do.

[cheesegrater 43 1 Cars]

Not really because of the thickness of the material it can't be tig'd

[petert 601]

A good TIG operator can join aluminium foil......

 

You can get aluminium solder however. Do a search. There's always a lad doing the the camping/caravan shows over here, demonstrating the process with a butane torch. On a recent downhill bike I built, I was going to solder the cable guides onto the top tube, but ran out of time and did some ugly TIG fillets instead.

[Dizzee stuff 33 1 Cars]

Durafix alloy brazing rods, easy to use you just need a good blow tourch as a heat source. Plenty of demo videos on youtube.

[Tom Fenton 1,548]

Trouble is that soldering or brazing only really works well on close fitting joints as it works by capillary action for molten solder or brass to seek its way inside the joint. My experience is that trying to fill a hole with solder isn't ideal. If you can get access to get it properly clean and dry I would probably try one of the 2-pack chemical metal type compounds.

[Dizzee stuff 33 1 Cars]

I thought the same thing tom but this stuff will bridge big gaps no problem to my surprise and stronger than the parent metal.

[cheesegrater 43 1 Cars]

But equally if they're not as good as they think they're just going to blow a whacking great hole in my radiator. Thanks tom, the glue option was going to be my second choice I'm glad you reckon it would work aswell.

[Dizzee stuff 33 1 Cars]

The durafix is a easy diy fix, I have used this stuff to repair the thin rear exhaust heat shield no problems.

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

We repair(tig weld) a lot of rads. Radiators are dirty and can be a real pain to do as you just can't get them clean enough. Often the only thing you can do is cut the end tanks off and weld both ends of the leaking passage.

If it's a standard rad I really wouldn't bother, just replace it.

[Uberderv 6]

Another thumbs up for durafix easyweld, I've used it quite a few times without any failures. MAPP gas and a couple of stainless brushes is all you need.

[harryskid 193]

Been there and had the t shirt ,its ok but not so keen now!

http://forum.205gtidrivers.com/index.php?showtopic=140254

[cheesegrater 43 1 Cars]

It's not Allan. How much do you charge for such jobs?

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

It's not Allan. How much do you charge for such jobs?

Post a picture up of the problem if you can.

[cheesegrater 43 1 Cars]

I dont have it with me right now, but one of the tubes has worn through where the fan cowling (SPAL type) has been chaffing on it. Idealy I'd like a weld on the tube but failing that if removing the tanks isnt too much money then I'm happy with that. IIRC the rad has two cores so one tube blocked off shouldnt be too much of a problem.

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

i'll pm you buddy