Radiator Repair, Recore & Replacement
Rod it out, re-core it, or replace it — and we’ll be straight with you about which one your radiator actually needs. Recoring is a trade most shops dropped years ago. We never did.
First we find out why it’s hot
A radiator rarely fails for no reason. It gets clogged with forty years of casting sand and stop-leak, or a fan clutch quits so it never gets airflow at idle, or a head gasket is pushing combustion gas into the coolant and no radiator on earth will keep up with that. So before anyone touches your wallet, we pressure-test the system, check the pump and fans, and watch how it behaves coming up to temperature.
That diagnosis is $45, and it rolls straight into the repair if you have us do the work. We would rather spend twenty minutes being sure than sell you a shiny new radiator that does not fix the problem.
Recore vs. replace — the honest version
Two broad families of radiator come across our bench, and they get handled differently:
- Copper-brass cores — the heavy old-school units on classics, farm equipment and older trucks. These we can usually re-core: we unsolder the tanks, drop in a fresh core, and solder it back up. Often cheaper than a new unit, and for a lot of this iron there is no new unit to buy anyway.
- Aluminum-plastic cores — what came in almost everything built since the ’90s. The plastic tanks go brittle and crack at the seam, especially the ones from certain recall-era batches. These are usually not worth repairing; a quality replacement installed and pressure-tested is the smarter spend, and we will tell you so.
What a radiator job here includes
- Full system pressure test, before and after
- Flush of the block and heater core so the new core does not inherit the old gunk
- Fresh coolant mixed to the correct ratio for your vehicle
- New hoses and clamps if yours are soft, swollen or cracked — quoted first, never surprise-billed
- A road-test to temperature in our lot before we call it done
- Our 12-month workmanship warranty, and your old parts back if you want them
Classics, hot rods & the stuff nobody else will touch
If you restore cars, you already know the radiator is where a lot of shops tap out. We are the opposite — a hand-soldered copper-brass recore for a ’60s or ’70s project is some of our favorite work, and we can usually match the original core thickness and row count so it looks right under the hood at a show. Bring the car or bring just the radiator; either works.
Got a heavy unit — tractor, dump truck, generator? That lives on its own page over here. Ready to go? Get an estimate or call (513) 752-4190.