how to repair old plastic coolant reservoir?

[tommygunn]

I got an 88 Dodge aries, and yea, with age, my overflow coolant reservoir is cracked...now i wouldn't be asking this, if I could find a replacement...the biggest issue is this thing is such an odd shape, It would be hard to re position or "rig" an aftermarket Dorman reservoir up...

This is what my tank looks like:

and I suspect it's leaking from the bottom...since I tried a "patch" with some JB "WaterWeld" when I first got the car, it worked for a good 3 years...well now it's leaking

Anyone got any suggestions? How necessary is the overflow bottle? :X LOL...I've heard of people rigging up water bottles even, with bungee cords or zip ties...but would really like to just fix it properly

 

[ram_man]

Couldn't you make this kinda a fun engineering project. Make an overflow resevoir from a radiator bottle. Easy enough.

 

[Rock_Hudstone]

Any good junkyards nearby?

I bet an overflow tank from another vehicle could be adapted reasonably well and better than bungee cords or water bottles.

 

[spasm3]

Is it a hole worn through or a crack?

 

[901Memphis]

More water weld.

 

[vwthingman]

I would go to a local plumbing or pipe fitting/oil well company and get some Mastic Tape by 3M. It will remain solid but flexible enough to mold to the contour and keep the water in. It is used to keep water/moisture out/off of natural gas pipes as a coating. It comes in various widths/lengths.

 

[JimPghPA]

1) Call Stoystown auto junkyard in Stoystown Pennsylvania. They are a huge junkyard that is very well organized, and they do ship parts by UPS. They have a web site.

2) If you can not get the part at Stoystown, then go to "McMaster-Carr" and purchase some Loctite epoxy glue E20HP (that is E twenty HP) and also get the required dispensing gun. Be sure to mark the removable tip of the glue cartridge with a black sharpie so you know the orientation of the tip when you put it back on, so you do not contaminate each side by placing the tip back on wrong. You will not require the mix nozzles because with the gun you can dispense the proper ratios of each part of the epoxy onto a piece of cardboard and then mix it with something like a pop-sickle stick or a screw-driver blade. This glue will grip plastic very well, but you still should clean and then rough up the surface of the plastic.

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Another way to fix it if the plastic is still in good shape is to get some similar plastic and make some plastic welding sticks and melt them into the fix.

 

[brnmw]

Saw a guy once had an old truck used a Jack Daniel's bottle to replace his... said it worked just fine.

Personally I like "Rebecca Creek" Texas Whisky but that’s just me.

 

[artificialist]

I have seen some people take their old reservoir to a metal fab shop and get someone to weld stainless steel into the shape of the old reservoir.

However, this is expensive and I only see it on show cars and race cars.

 

[BubbaFL]

Go to your local hardware store and ask them for two-part epoxy that can stick and cure underwater - stuff that's used to fix boat hulls.

 

[partspro]

Check out your local AAP store. They sell a patch 'kit', it's a two part epoxy, with a piece of fiberglass matte. The epoxy mixes together in the bag, it gets really hot. Follow the directions, I've patched plastic radiator end pieces and they worked great. Makes sure that everything is clean and dry before you start.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: partspro
Check out your local AAP store. They sell a patch 'kit', it's a two part epoxy, with a piece of fiberglass matte. The epoxy mixes together in the bag, it gets really hot. Follow the directions, I've patched plastic radiator end pieces and they worked great. Makes sure that everything is clean and dry before you start.


This stuff is capable of amazingly effective repairs if used carefully and correctly. It's the reinforcement of the fiber mat that makes the difference.

 

[default]

Zip tie a Gatorade bottle in, drill the cap slightly larger than the hose.

 

[another Todd]

I just repaired my coolant overflow bottle with a plastic welder (harbor freight) and polyethelene strips that came from a cut up PE container. The filler must be fairly thin to melt quickly; heat up the base material until it starts to melt then add in the filler. I used several layers to build it up and it works great. There are some good videos on you tube. The bottles are generally made out of PE and not much sticks to it because of the waxieness, so most if not all epoxies and tapes won't work.