Aya,
In my younger years I worked as a radiator mechanic for one of the most honest people I have ever known. He had a very successful business built on a solid reputation. He did not allow his mechanics to take shortcuts and preferred that his mechanics were brought up by his senior mechanics. Any how to answer your question: You have different options depending on the type of radiator you have. If your radiator is of traditional design, copper and brass and your header plates are in good shape a simple "rod and repair" will do the job. If your header plates are in poor shape but your core is in good condition an "overhaul" is required. Inspect your header plate (the part of the radiator at both ends that the tubes are soldered to), if there is white, yellow or green deposits formed around a tube it means there is a leak there. Also if you can see stains or deposits on the tubes themselves your core may be shot. A reputable shop will boil and flush your radiator and pressure test it prior to doing any work to it. A good mechanic can usually tell you if your core is rotted or if your radiator will require an overhaul or a rod and repair. There are a lot of hack shops out there that will do a half ass job such as brushing in a tank(a method to repair a leak where the tank and header plate are joined), crimping tubes, and other shortcuts that are a temporary fix. Avoid them. Have the shop explain how they rebuild radiators. If they do it properly they will boil it, flush it, test it, remove all the old solder from one or both tanks, remove the fittings from the tank(s), remove one or both header plates, rod the tubes, clean the outer tube ends, clean the header plate(s), "run the header" (re-solder the header plate to the tubes), re-solder the tank(s) and fittings, boil and flush it again to dissolve any flux that may be around a tube and result in a leak, pressure test and finally repaint it. If your radiator is of plastic tanks and an aluminum core you may be better off ordering a new one. There are shops that will rebuild them and do a great job. These radiators can not be boiled the same as the copper and brass ones. The caustic solution dissolves the aluminum. But rebuilding them is very simple if you have the proper equipment.
Hope this helps!
Norkal
INVEST IN LEAD FOR THE TIMES AHEAD!
