PhilVA
Bronze Member
Well, was cleaning out the woods behind one of our pastures using my brush cutter. All of a sudden I noticed the temperature gauge start climbing fast. I shut down the tractor and noticed coolant dripping from somewhere up from on the right (sitting in the seat). After a thorough inspection it appeared that I managed to jam something on the bottom side of the radiator, cracking the mounting spindle. Walked back to the garage (cursing my stupidity) for more antifreeze. I was able to get the tractor back to the shop and take it apart. I was suprised how fast I could get the radiator out.
The crack was only about an inch or so long, starting at the base of the spindle and spreading out a half-inch in opposite directions. I used a small mallet and a piece of wood to gently tap the plastic back into place. Next, I took out my trusty soldering iron and remelted the plastic along the entire length of the crack. Once that was done I mixed up a small batch of Permatex radiator repair goo and applied that all around the repaired crack and spindle (about the size of a 50 cent piece). Waited the recommended curing time for the permatex and re-installed the radiator. Put in fresh antifreeze and started the tractor. After noticing no leaks, I decided to make the tractor do a bit of work to see if the repair would hold. I went back to brush cutting for about an hour and kept a close eye on the temp gauge as well as the repaired area. I'm happy to say my repair is holding up so far. Don't know if it will continue to do so but I'll see.
Anyway, just passing my experience along in case someone else finds themselves in the same situation.
The crack was only about an inch or so long, starting at the base of the spindle and spreading out a half-inch in opposite directions. I used a small mallet and a piece of wood to gently tap the plastic back into place. Next, I took out my trusty soldering iron and remelted the plastic along the entire length of the crack. Once that was done I mixed up a small batch of Permatex radiator repair goo and applied that all around the repaired crack and spindle (about the size of a 50 cent piece). Waited the recommended curing time for the permatex and re-installed the radiator. Put in fresh antifreeze and started the tractor. After noticing no leaks, I decided to make the tractor do a bit of work to see if the repair would hold. I went back to brush cutting for about an hour and kept a close eye on the temp gauge as well as the repaired area. I'm happy to say my repair is holding up so far. Don't know if it will continue to do so but I'll see.
Anyway, just passing my experience along in case someone else finds themselves in the same situation.
