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How to fix dented radiator outlet?

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Member
610
13
18
Location
boston
So it seems my M1010's radiator outlet took a shot at some point in its life. Photo of the dent is below. I have to position the hose clamp hard up against the radiator to get a good seal. That works OK, but seems less than ideal.

photo 2 (5).jpg
How do I fix this without causing collateral damage? Is this something that takes more skill than a newbie like me can likely muster?
 

armytruck63

Active member
1,663
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38
Location
Redlands, CA
A radiator shop could fix this easily by soldering on a new outlet. They could also do a great job of flushing or rodding-out your radiator. This is a job I would farm out.

The damage might have been caused by someone being over-zealous with their hose clamp tightening technique in the past.
 

dmetalmiki

Well-known member
5,523
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Location
London England
I had one that was not quite so kinked as that one, and leveled it out ok with a softish wooden taper as a drift. If it is a bunch of work or time limit. you could allways fill it in and smooth it with a good "metel mender" filler. My 1/2 penne'th
 

Keith_J

Well-known member
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1,315
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Location
Schertz TX
The hose clamp was over-tightened and not in the right spot, behind the barb. What I do in such cases is use a socket wrench as a dolly on the inside and carefully massage the metal to its original design with auto body hammers. Done it before, and on a former military vehicle..an M561 Gamma Goat.

You can try to pull it out to rough shape using needle nose pliers or similar. Then use the socket. To get the barb straight, use a smaller socket on an extension and angle it into the recess from the inside. Light hits on the socket will bring out the barb.

To finish it out, clean it off to bare metal, then use 50/50 solder to tin the area. Then using lead wire and CAREFUL heating, apply the lead as body filler using tallow as flux. Wooden spatulas cut from oak are great at shaping the soft lead while it is cooling. It goes on a bit mushy when at the right temperature so watch the heat. A large soldering iron can also be used to smooth it out. Then careful filing will get it smooth as glass.

Sorry, this method of body filling is a lost art. It was the norm before body filler and the origin of the term "lead sled". It still is useful for this repair. I've also done it on battery terminals.
 

cucvrus

Well-known member
11,297
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113
Location
Jonestown Pennsylvania
Take it to a radiator shop. It could probably use a good core cleaning. And they have the tools to do the repairs. You will thank yourself in the end.
 

fitz

Member
268
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18
Location
Mass
I spent the last 10 minutes sitting at a pizza shop eating & drawing plans on scrap paper on how you could make a spreader tool to fix it.
Now I just read the post from Cucvrus, and he is right, its probably a cheap fix at a radiator shop.
I'm posting my tool drawing anyways (its already done), but I'd follow Cucvrus's advice (as usual).
Homade spreader tool using:
2 sections of angle iron.
1 piece if threaded rod with 2 nuts & washers.
1 nut & bolt.
1 piece of PVC pipe to surround & support radiator outlet.
Most of us have this stuff under the work bench. Its an easy tool to make that might help someone later on.
 

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