2 year-old Brassworks radiator leaking at top tank?

[Special Coupe Frank]

Hey guys,

Don't want to start any battles over who has the "best" radiator for the A, rather am wondering if anyone else has had this problem:

About two years ago, I purchased a "heavy-duty" Brassworks radiator for my '28 Coupe. It has performed very well for me.

Over the past month, I have noticed splatter on the fan blades and firewall, apparently from the vicinity of the inlet neck on the top tank, or one of the seams in that area.

There is no drip when the car is parked, or idling. It only appears to happen when the car is going down the road.

Hoses are newish and pliable, and the modern airplane clamps are tight.

I'm not losing much coolant, just enough to make a mess under the hood.

There's a good gasket in the stock cap ( correct radiator cap, not a vented gas-cap), and no signs of leakage around the neck / cap.

My radiator brace rods are secure and tight...

Anybody else been down this road with a B-W or other radiator ?




Thanks for any insights...

Special Coupe Frank

[feelsharp]

Had the same condition on a 15 T BW rad. Tank joints on front of rad began to weep. No apparent fix. Had a new rad made locally which works well. Understand BW quality is slipping.

[mkmskm]

Funny you should mention that, I spent this afternoon pulling my 4 year old 4 lb pressurized Brassworks out since it started leaking from the same seam at the middle top during the MAFCA Regional in Iowa last week. My car had suddenly started to overheat and lose coolant so I don't know yet if this was the cause or an effect. I pulled the head gasket today as well since I suspect after messing with the ignition stud that it started to leak. I plan to take the unit Tuesday to a local radiator shop to have fixed. Hey feelsharp, why couldn't yours be repaired?

[Special Coupe Frank]

More info... took a close look under the hood before my morning drive; the leak appears to be occurring at the bottom of the soldered flange of the inlet spout.

Again, no drippage when parked...

Hopefully this is something a local radiator shop can take care of..

Could there be some sort of chassis / engine issue that causes the upper radiator spout to tear-loose from the tank ? ( I am running stock motor mounts front and rear, new springs up-front, and new rubbers in the rears, everything has its nuts and cotters ...)




SC Frank

[1931 flamingo]

Brassworks
Paul in CT

[peters180a/170b]

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Another 180a owner had a hell of a time with BW top of the line radiator. Support rod bracket on top of tank was off some..

[Mike]

I have had 4 problems all with brass works radiator. 2 with bottom water neck leaking, 1 rad cap neck soder joint failed and 1 with the top water neck soder joint failed.
The fix was to pull radiators out of each car and silver soder the joints myself. the problem is they are butt sodered and they do not use enough soder.

MIKE

[Special Coupe Frank]

Mike,

Did you solder them-up with a torch or an iron ?

With the top-neck, did you have to use some sort of putty heat-sink "dam" to avoid running the solder out of adjacent joints ?

SC Frank

[Minn-Tex Lee]

I had similar problem with my Brassworks top tank when I first filled it up.
I talked to Lee at Brassworks he said they do not test them before shipping because he feared someone would think they were getting a used unit.
I soldered mine with a torch and it has been O.K. for 300 miles.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Having the worng water outlet on the cylinder head can cause undue stress on the top inlet to the radiator. 28-9 takes a SHORT outlet on the head, and the taller radiator used on 30-1 takes the taller outlet.

[Special Coupe Frank]

Good point Tom; I have the short outlet on my engine - the stub on the head-outlet and the inlet neck on the tank are in a straight line...

Frank

[Special Coupe Frank]

Originally Posted by Minn-Tex Lee

I had similar problem with my Brassworks top tank when I first filled it up.
I talked to Lee at Brassworks he said they do not test them before shipping because he feared someone would think they were getting a used unit.
I soldered mine with a torch and it has been O.K. for 300 miles.

That sounds like bunk... don't know why they couldn't dunk them in a tank and put a couple pounds of air on them and look for the bubbles...

Once a rad tests good, THEN you clean it up, paint it, and ship it...

I guess that would drive production costs beyond the point of profitability...

Minn-Tex Lee: did you re-attach your neck by tinning both surfaces, then sweating the two together, or did you place the parts, then run the solder along while applying the torch ? What type solder and flux ?


Thanks,

Frank

[Ice man]

I have used Walker for yrs and have never had a problem. I live in the Islands and dont need a fan on ether car I have built. They both have an electric fans with a manual switch and its never used unless traffic is really tied up. Walker has quality, and they work. Iceman

[The Brassworks]

Every Brassworks radiator is tested under 21 psi per Ford bluebrints

[1931 flamingo]

Mr Brassworks: How come there seem to be so many problems with your radiators??? This thread alone.
Paul in CT

[Mike]

I used a torch to soder the water neck, and when doing the top neck i was careful not to over do it with too much soder.

mike

[The Brassworks]

The test tank solution is a colored solution with a base pH to nuetralize and residual acid/flux and the pressure is significantly higher but the process described by Special Coupe Frank is essentially correct. Every radiator is tested this way.

The only thing which cannot be tested is a core with headers as it has no tanks.

[Mike V. Florida]

Brassworks are located in California. Are they allowed to use lead or do they need to use the tin stuff?

[Aerocraft]

If you look carefully at original Model A radiators, you will see that mechanical fasteners (small rivets) were used to secure and strengthen the attachment of the neck and both inlet and outlets. I have often wondered why the reproduction radiator manufacturers don't use rivets. I have seen some filler necks on repo radiators just "butt" soldered without any flange on the neck. That is just a leak waiting to happen. Gar Williams

[The Brassworks]

Originally Posted by Mike V. Florida

Brassworks are located in California. Are they allowed to use lead or do they need to use the tin stuff?

Yes. Even in the People's Republic of California you may used lead. The solder used is comprised of lead and tin.