Heater Core Repair Recommendations?

[lizmcl527]

My Mopar Deluxe No. 36 heater has finally begun to drool and dribble along the inlet side -- not a lot, but enough to trickle down the floor mat after the engine's warm -- and I'm resigned to the idea of pulling it out and sending the core out to be repaired. Does anyone have a recommendation for a good shop to perform this kind of work -- I don't mind mailing it off somewhere, since it's about time to lay up the car for the winter anyway, but I'm wary of just using the first place that shows up in the search results. Any thoughts would be appreciated! Thanx!

[DrDoctor]

   Why not do what I’ve done – check with your local auto parts store, particularly one you do business with. They’ll most likely know of a reputable radiator repair shop in your vicinity that could handle the repair for you, and you wouldn’t have to ship it off to an unknown repair facility. Thx.

[Flatie46]

We had our local  radiator  shop close up a couple years  ago. Old guy had been in business since before I was born. Said it was a dying business, was going to pass it on to his son but due to plastic radiators in newer cars just wasn't enough work to keep afloat. He also cleaned, repaired and sealed gas tanks. Hated to see him go out. I'm sure there are still a few around but it's a business that's thinning down. Good luck

[DrDoctor]

   As much as I hate to say it, radiator repair shops are like chrome plating shops – a dying industry. Between the EPA, and other factors, the ones left are either on top of their game, or struggling. The same scenario happened here awhile ago. But, there are still shops around, you’ll just have to dig a little deeper. Oh, by the way, did you know that some heater cores for new cars, or some generic cores, will fit older cars? Why not take your core to the local auto parts store you do business with, and see if they can match it with one in their catalogue. I’ve done that. The outlet pipes on the new core weren’t exactly as the ones on the old core, but close enough. I simply cut them off where they made a bend (the old ones were straight), and problem solved. The unit fit perfectly, altho’ not a “numbers matching” unit. I was more interesting in not freezing than I was about that, and besides, no one could see inside of the heater box, and since I was the only one who would know, I made no difference. Think about it – it may be an option.  Thx.

[captden29]

try bill at cap-a-radiator. he has a website. located on long island, in NY.   capt den

[lizmcl527]

Thanx all for the suggestions -- the nearest radiator shop to me is fifty miles away, but he may be an option. The leak seems to be right at the inlet tube, so possibly a good solder job is all it'll take. In the meantime, I'm going to just bypass the heater for the time being.

When I tried to start the car the other day to back it out of the garage to do that, the accelerator return spring chose that moment to break.  That's going to be more of a pain that it should be to fix -- the arrangement on my car in no way matches what the parts book diagram says it should be. When a previous owner installed a spin-on oil filter arrangement, they removed the bracket where the stock return spring went, and bolted that bracket onto the starter pedal lever in place of the throttle pickup pin, and then replaced the stock spring with a spring about 7 1/2 inches long, with three coils stretched out to make it fit, winding it thru the maze of tubing that feeds the oil filter. Finding a similar  spring has proven a lot more difficult than it ought to be -- I've been reduced to pawing thru old bins in the back of hardware stores. Maybe it's time to just lay the car up for the winter and come back to it in the spring....

[Pete]

Here's a guy local to me that is old school and has done great radiator/heater core work on my '39 Dodge Brothers truck and '39 Plymouth sedan. He's charged me fair prices. I've watched him work and he is a craftsman who takes his time. I know his business is hurting too due to plastic/aluminum radiators in newer cars. Good news is he's in the next state over -- New Hampshire. Bad news is he's all the way over next to Vermont on the Connecticut River:

B & R's Radiator Service
45 Spencer St.
Lebanon, NH 03766
603-448-1666
http://www.bandrsgaragelebanon.com/

 

[austinsailor]

Radiator repair is a hit and miss deal. We had a shop that was there since before I was driving, he did a great job, fair prices. He got old and died. Two young guys now have it and their work is crap. Took me a couple repairs that didn't last long to learn this. (I'm sometimes a bit slow)  The last one I had them do held for a day. I did it myself and it lasted for a year. My repair still did fine, it just had half a dozen new bad spots. (It became wall decoration - see below) Just because they have a sign that says radiator repair doesn't mean you're going to get your radiator repaired. Ask guys who have used them lately. More than one. They could get lucky sometimes. It's really sad that we don't know how to fix anything. Generators are the next on that list. Oh, well.

[Plymouthy Adams]

IF a radiator repair shop does not have a flow tester and can tell you the GPM requirement.....walk away.....the last shop I knew was as yours...the elderly man passed on...the tradition did not...

today's radiators are plastic and aluminum with a rubber sandwich seal these days...cheaper to replace than to ever consider a repair job...the repair business is all but dead....a few places do recore older units yet today but the cost is well beyond what I call feasible for a daily driver.  An advanced apology to those that think these old cars are all museum pieces but a step forward into the right century is sometimes the better approach.

Edited November 30, 2016 by Plymouthy Adams

[sser2]

Just buy another heater. There were many aftermarket models from different manufacturers. They go on e-Bay for $80-100.

[Plymouthy Adams]

for the same footprint you can get an AC evaporator and heater combination...get the heater...add the AC components later...