Repairing Heater Core

Rubber stoppers, bicycle pump. Just enough pressure so you can see a bubble stream when you dunk it in water.

What kind of torch do you have? What I've seen at radiator shops, they use an air-acetylene torch. I suspect a butane torch won't be enough to separate the ends.

What is the core out of? Maybe a junkyard core would be a more practical route?

 

I would NOT do that. A radiator shop would perhaps but don't try it at home.

Locate the leaks precisely. If they are not accessible, it is permissible to destroy a few fins, or even cut and "dead-end" a tube or two if necessary to get working room or isolate a leak.

From there it is just soldering skills, especially extreme preparation cleaning. I use muriatic acid, as well as dremel tools. Then good heat management while soldering. Sometimes I'll have a torch in one hand for pre-heating, and a powerful electric solder gun in the other for precision touches.

Often I've found it quite easy and very worthwhile to repair a core. The older cores are substantial enough to work on and to last a long time.

I learned a lot from reading 1920's "Dykes" shop manuals on radiator repair. Those guys would do almost anything.

 

It almost looks as if one of the large inlet/outlet tubes has been worked on before. Maybe your leak is there, if you are lucky.

 

Possible.

 

Try hotter water just to be sure while its out. With heat things expand.

 

Take a bicycle inner tube and cut in the middle. Clamp each end to inlet/ outlet. Use the valve to inflate to 15psi or so. You will find the leak.

 

Cap off one end and fill it with water then use a air compressor with a blower nozzle and pressure test it. I did this on a Tropic Aire heater core, M38A1 radiator and a radiator for a 1946 Chevrolet truck and it worked great.

 

I suspect any aftermarket core will be far less durable than an OEM.

 

When I went thru this, the aftermarket did not fit. Trust me, I got one sitting on a shelf. My core was too far gone, so I just had them recore it. Cost almost $100 but it fits in the original with the proper nipples. One of my nipples is at 90* on my 58.

 

Difficult to find any place that sells heater or radiator cores, at least I haven't found them. Please post if you need and find a source. My pressure testers consist of 2 bicycle inner tubes , like 3ba runnin suggests, one "English race" style for heater cores, and one regular tube for radiators. Total investment about $7. Good Luck!

 

These people are highly recommended by me I have no stake in the game other than being a satisfied customer many times.

 

I just put a new core in mine this week, purchased at Oreillys auto parts. Part number#94478 (Murray Heater core), $40.00. IT worked just fine, I had to adjust the holding brackets around the core but no problem to do this and also adjust the outlet holes of air box just a bit. . Pretty much same all round measurements.