Plugging Hole in Radiator for an H

I managed to poke a hole in the radiator of my H probably by haphazardly running into a sturdy stick. It produced a hole at least 1/16" in diameter in one of the tubes in the radiator. I am planning to plug (or cover) the hole, possibly with solder. And then possibly running some radiator stop-leak through. What's everyones feeling about this approach? Any words of advice other than not to run into things!

If there still is material around the hole a good radiator shop can pull that metal back over the hole and solder it so you don't loose that part of the core. The shop I use always tries to save the core before they plug it off.

Stop leak will probably not do anything on a hole that big.

I'm kinda with Jeff. If you have an experienced radiator shop around, they'll have seen a lot of punctures the size of yours and likely be able to close it right up. If you've got experience in that kind of soldering, there's no reason you couldn't do it yourself. A lot of the trick on radiators (or my take on it anyway) is to focus a lot of heat quickly in a small area so that you're not loosening up some solder somewhere else, like the joint between the upper or lower tank and the core.

Another plus to having the shop do it is that they should pressure test afterwards and fix any pinhole that might be left.

As far as Stop-Leak or something like it, can't hurt might help as long as you have a pressurized system with a pump -- the stuff that does the work needs to stay suspended and it takes pressure from a hot/warm run to force the little flakes into the pinholes. In the non-pressurized thermosiphon systems on the smaller tractors, about all it does is settle and either plug the drain or make a layer of sediment in the bottom, reducing your cooling efficiency. If there's no leak, I wouldn't use it. If there is I'd try to fix it right before using the stuff.

A hole that small is able to be fixed on the tractor. Carefully pull enough fins away in the area of the hole so that you can get in with a piece of clean fine emery cloth. Work with the cloth enough to see clean, bare brass around the puncture. I use Kester acid core solder & a hot soldering copper for the repair. If the tube is VERY solid, you might be able to use a propane torch for heat. This is all done with liquid out of the radiator of course. Rinse with soda water mix after the repair.

A good fix for the moment is Liquid Nails. Dry the area, apply it with caulking gun. It will last a long time.