Repairing a plastic radiator

"FJ80WaitinForaLSV8" (fj80waitinforalsv8)
10/17/2013 at 11:13 • Filed to: car repair

While installing a new alternator in my 80 this weekend, I was sitting up on the radiator and heard a loud crack. I discovered to my horror that I had snapped the plastic barb that connects the top of the radiator to the throttle body. Needless to say I cursed my unfortunate posterior placement and went about finishing the alternator. ALSO WHY ON EARTH DO THEY MAKE RADIATORS OUT OF PLASTIC???

Now that I need to fix this I have some questions. Everyone on the land cruiser forum keeps telling me to just replace the radiator - but my combination of stubbornness, frugality, and general infatuation with clever shade tree mechanical fixes are all conspiring to prevent me from taking the easy (and reliable) way out.

I'm down to two options. The first is to insert ad brass tube into the broken off barb and the radiator and JB weld the hell out of it. Someone has done this before on the internet and had !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

Other options include sealing up the throttle body and plugging the radiator hole with a bolt and JB weld. Apparently running coolant through the TB isn't necessary unless you live in Antarctica and creating a cold air intake might net me a horse or two. Can anyone confirm this?

What say you Oppo?

DISCUSSION (16)

CalzoneGolem > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8
10/17/2013 at 11:15

Time to upgrade the rad

ddavidn > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8
10/17/2013 at 11:17

I don't have anything useful. But really, why plastic? I have to replace the subie's radiator because of this plastic garbaggio.

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > CalzoneGolem
10/17/2013 at 11:20

See here's the thing (and also part of why I'm being so cheap) I'm planning an engine swap in about 12 months. I'll only probably put 10,000 miles on the truck between now and then. And then I will be upgrading the radiator...

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8
10/17/2013 at 11:21

Where do you live? If you live in the southern USA you should be fine with out the throttle body heater. If you live in the Midwest/North East keep it, the reason it's there is if say you are going up a hill under heavy load and its a cold day with high humidity you run the very real risk of your TB freezing in the open position. When you start going down hill you will be proper fucked.

Nibbles > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8
10/17/2013 at 11:21

Bypass it.

CalzoneGolem > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8
10/17/2013 at 11:22

Ah well seal it up and be done then.

EL_ULY > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8
10/17/2013 at 11:23

I say......well done sir :] if it works, fuckit. Never on a customer car but i'd do it mine

Casper > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8
10/17/2013 at 11:24

I have never had anything with a plastic radiator... I don't even understand how that would work. Plastic is piss poor at heat transfer. I would just replace it with a better aluminum one (or steel if you feel cheap, probably still miles better than plastic) and while at it, reroute things to be more efficient for working on it.

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > ddavidn
10/17/2013 at 11:24

Yeah I guess mine has lasted 260,000 miles and it was my fat ass that did it in - so I cant complain too much. But still if it were some sort of metal this could easily be fixed with some welding or brazing. My guess is that moving forward they will all have plastic uppers and lowers to save weight for fuel economy regs.

OtherBarry > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8
10/17/2013 at 11:24

New rad time. They make them out of plastic to keep the cost down.

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > Casper
10/17/2013 at 11:25

The radiator core is made of metal. Its just the upper and lower portions that are plastic. They get crimped onto the metal core with an O ring.

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
10/17/2013 at 11:27

I live in the Baltimore DC area. not the warmest winter but not the coldest either. I don't drive this truck in the winter much because of road salt though.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8
10/17/2013 at 11:28

Ah, well then screw it you should be alright.

Casper > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8
10/17/2013 at 11:40

I would still replace it with an entire metal unit, but I guess you could tap into it and add a new bung... but I don't like quick fixing things on the cooling system. It could be very expensive if it goes wrong.

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > Casper
10/17/2013 at 11:44

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Casper > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8
10/17/2013 at 11:49

Well in that case I would just tap a new fitting, seal the hell out of it, and figure if you over heat or get something sucked into a coolant channel that kills the engine, it decided when to do the swap for you.