Soldering a tractor radiator (disaster story)

Christopher Tidy · 2008-07-17T23:48:29+00:00

Hi folks,Some of you may remember that about a year ago you gave me some advice about repairing a leak in my Fordson Super Major tractor radiator. It's a long story, but I only just got round to having a go.The filler cap isn't on top of the radiator. It's on the end of a horizontal pipe about six inches long which protrudes from the back of the radiator. Where the horizontal pipe is joined to the radiator there was a leak on the underside. It had been badly repaired by dumping lots of soft solder on the joint in the past.I drained the radiator, took it out and laid it flat on the workbench. I put some wet rags around the top of the tubes to protect them from the heat. I used a medium sized burner on my Sievert propane torch, and began to gently heat the joint. I applied some Fry's "Powerflo" flux with a brush. The solder started to melt, and I flicked it off with the brush.All very well and good, but there was a lot of solder there. I kept flicking it off. The gap got larger. After a minute or so it looked like I'd cleaned it all out, so I started wiggling the pipe. I wanted to disassemble the joint, as it was filthy. It wouldn't come out. More heat, more wiggling. At this point disaster struck. I hadn't realised that the pipe was in fact made from two pieces of pressed brass sheet soldered together. The melting point of this solder must have been the same, as it popped open along the side seams.I switched off the torch and starting thinking about what to do next. At this point I noticed that the pool of excess solder on the bench had turned into the shape of Pac-Man, who appeared to be laughing at me. You can see the solder Pac-Man here: you cheeky blob, I am going get revenge for this!I looked at the joint for the few minutes. I noticed something which I had not seen earlier. There were two rivets under the grime on the top surface of the radiator holding the joint together, which was why it wouldn't come apart. I should have seen those earlier. I should probably...

Jul 17, 2008 40 Replies

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Christopher Tidy 18 years ago

The point I was making is that someone who is competent with a grinder might totally suck with the air-arc on their first attempt.

Best wishes,

Chris

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Soldering a tractor radiator (disaster story)

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