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There a couple of tests you can do.

1. Mixing water in Glycol and Silicone brake fluids: Mix with water at 1:30

2. Mixing Glycol and Silicone brake fluids together: Mix together at 2:15

For testing the condition of Glycol based brake fluid, there are lots of electronic testers out there that will report on the amount of moisture in the fluid. You just stick a probe in the reservoir and read the result in lights (percent water range) or on a display (percent water).

I don't have a photo handy but on my 1956 Clipper, I had just had the radiator re-cored and drove it for the first and only time when it was in an accident that caused the radiator to get cut by the fan in a couple places. A radiator shop soldered the areas and, while visible, it's minor and hardly noticeable.

For my own education, I tried my hand at repairing one of my two radiators. Both are copper cores. The one that was in the car had developed a pinhole leak at the front and was spewing coolant all over the bumper when driving. The old radiator that came in the car was nearly impossible to repair due to the copper being super brittle.

I had to find a way to cover the inlet and outlets on the tanks so I could pressurize the rad. I ended up using 1.5" diameter rubber pipe connectors. They had the hose clamps preinstalled. They were a bit big on the inlet/outlet but tightened up just fine. I used 1.5" PVC end caps with the threads wrapped in electrical tape to plug the other end. To pressurize the radiator, I stuck a ball inflator through the rubber, then attached it to a bike pump. Worked great.



I found a large leak on the lower outlet. This may have been made worse when I removed it from the car. I took a bit of fumbling around but I was able to solder it and seal it up again. No more bubbles when pressurized.



Soldering the tubes in the core was an exercise in frustration. I used a propane torch as gently as I could, because that's what I've seen people do in videos. But the heat just made things worse. One of the leaks was on a tube that had a fold running lengthwise down the front. Every time I soldered a leak closed, the heat would open the seam in the fold further down. So after chasing it for a while I just decided to cut the tube where it was good, fold it over and solder it closed. That solved it finally.



I ended up switching out to my soldering iron and that worked much better and was easier to control. I soldered a couple other spots that had opened up from heat. I have one more to hit on the backside of the radiator, then I should be pretty much sealed.






I then cleaned up the tanks and gave them a quick coat of paint, because why not. I'll be getting a replacement rad from PGH, but hopefully this one will allow me to get back on the road in the meantime and do more test drives.

Looks good! Did you use radiator paint? It's made for the purpose and apparently doesn't hold in heat as regular enamel does.

In preparation for getting back "on the road in the meantime and do more test drives", what pressure were you using for the tests?
Did you or the radiator shop flow test the radiator? The spec is for 30 gallons per minute.

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I'm using 12-15 PSI for my testing. It's not going to be perfect because I may have a small leak on an inner tube that I can't reach. But should be better than it was (hopefully).

The radiator shop did not flow test. From what I gathered they tested for leaks only. I did not flow test either. The only way I know how is to fill the radiator up, unplug the outlet and see how fast water comes out.


Don - I did not use radiator paint. I only painted the tanks and mounting brackets. I did not touch the fins or tubes.

For small leaks, some of those Radiator Stop Leak tablets work great. I pre-crush them in a cup with some water to turn it into a slurry and then poor them into the radiator after the thermostat is already open. So, warm the motor up with the radiator cap off, then introduce. This allows the powder to circulate versus being a mass that has to dissolve down and then circulate. This stuff is almost like a wood pulp that circulates and plugs tiny holes where water leaks under pressure.

GM stocked their own version in their parts department for minor water leaks... even from new.

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I've avoided the leak stopping stuff because I was concerned that it would clog passages or cause other unwanted effects. Granted, the passages in these old engines are pretty big, so likely wouldn't be an issue. Good to hear that someone is okay with using it. As long as it's not going to cause other problems then I may consider dropping some in there if the need arises.