Repair crack in plastic

I'm hoping somebody camn help me with this. My 1992 Subaru SVX has a plastic top to the radiator which I cracked getting the alternator off. It runs left to righe and does not leat with the cap on loose but does when pressurized. A new one is $ 520.00 plus tax and shipping. Ouch... I have 2 thoughts, one is melt it back together with a sodering iron, and 2 is a chemical weld but what chemical? You cannot get just a new top. I want to sell this car but must find a fix to this problem. Thank much for any ideas.
Stan

 

That's aa tough break, Stan. I would find out what kind of plastic it is and have some sticks ready before I tried "welding" it with a hot iron, laying up some extra plastic to thicken the area as I "welded" it back together. You have to be careful not to drop hot plastic into the plumbing though or you will magnify your troubles.

 

What Hoyt said... or... just go to the junkyard and pull a used radiator.

 

CatBuilder probably has the better idea, assuming there is a 20 year old radiator to be found.

 

These cars have a following now they are unique and wreaked ones are not found in salvage yards. The value of parts for these is well known. I'm stuck needing a solution. http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2010/03/curbside-classic-1992-subaru-svx/

 

Plastic radiators ruined our perfectly fine 88,000 mile Camry. Go online and look for a radiator or http://www.google.com/search?q=weld...fficial&client=firefox-a&source=hp&channel=np

 

The plastic gets more brittle as the car ages, often they will crumble apart at about 20-25 years even when not struck.

But I understand your problem, your best and safest bet is to go to a self service wrecking yard (one where you bring your own tools) and get one. There should be one near you, call to see if they have a car like yours in inventory. That model of radiator might be common to other models of Subarus as well (usually with the same engine). The self service wrecking yards you have to bring your own tools, but they are cheap, radiators usually only about $35. Pick-and-Pull, U-pull-it and Pick-your-part and similar names.

I am pretty sure those plastic radiator tanks are made of ABS plastic, you could try using epoxy or ABS cement with a strip or patch of plastic over the crack. If all else fails I have actually seen the radiator stop leak work on cracked header tanks. I have even seen black pepper work too.

A friends VW jetta had a crack in his header tank that also leaked only when warm, he stopped by my placed and asked if I had any black pepper he could have. He showed me the leak, put the ground black pepper into the radiator, put the cap on it, and we watched as the leak got less and less, and than stopped. He drove it that way for another year, and than sold the car.

Good luck.

 

Heat treat the surface (oxidize) the surface, then epoxy it. Don't answer the phone for a week after you sell it . . .

 

Plastic weld it !!

Find some one that does hot air welding on plastics . usually bumpers and front grills etc they could can possibly hot air weld it like new again !!
Plastic can be welded much better than using some sort of sticky crap .

Some plstics nothing sticks to it so hot air is all there is . the rods they use are usually the same color so once its done you probably wont hardly see it !!

 

I want to thank all of you for your time and suggestions. tunnels, I'm going to try your method first. If that doesn't work I'll try the others. Par, I will take your suggestion and not answer my phone for a week. That is good practice when selling anything that is used. Again, thanks much to all of you. Stan

 

I Googled hotair welding and found this tool for only $54.95. There are others.
http://www.harborfreight.com/plastic-welding-kit-with-adjustable-temperature-96464.html

 

I've done some plastics welding and it's not as easy as buying a gun and some sticks, trust me. It's just as hard as laying a good, clean, tight bead on metal and requires lots of practice, if you expect it to hold pressure.

 

Fix it up with Plexus MA310. This is a very agressive plastic / aluminium / stainless / composite glue. Make sure the glue thickness is 1mm and you are fine. Can even answer the phone.