Repair original radiator or replace with new?

[robfg67]

I've got a '90 MJ with only 30k original miles but there is a new pinhole leak in the radiator.

 

It's the original brass radiator, so should I get it repaired at the local radiator repair shop or get a new non brass one?

 

It's still a closed system and I want to keep it that way.

 

It did have some episodes of slight overheating this summer under only the most extreme conditions. I flushed it and the old coolant was fairly clean.

 

I'm afraid that the inside of the radiator might be corroded up. Can a shop do a more thorough flush (to get the crud out) with the radiator outside the vehicle?

[jdog]

Yes they can do a better clean out, best bet is to see what the radiator shop says about the radiator.

[robfg67]

Thanks jdog...

 

I found a local radiator shop that will flush it out, repair the pinhole, test it, and respray it black.

 

That's what I'm going to do!

[pizzaman09]

Having chased many leaks in the brass radiator of my Austin Healey, I finally broke down and replaced it with a cheap Chinese aluminum replacement.  It works so much better, doesn't leak and runs a solid 10-20 degrees cooler all of the time.  Only issue with fitment wasn't great, though that car is notorious for being more challenging to change the 4 mounting bolts on the radiator than it is to pull an engine.

 

Good luck on the repair, a radiator repair shop is hard to come by now a days.