Cracked radiator can I fix?

shiftmx731 · Dec 26, 2004

Today I was riding my 2003 cr250 and looked back to see if a buddy was behing me..turned around only to see a giant rock infront of me and I hit it and went over the bars..I got up and was ok but when I picked up my bike green radiator fluid started coming out of it. The bike didnt look damaged so I thought the cap popped off..I took a closer look and noticed that the right side of my bike hit the ground hard and it pushed and twisted the right radiator about 30 degrees and the large black hose near the cap was bent outward instead of sticking straight out. I noticed that where the black hose mount with the metal tube there is a small hairline break in the metal. My question is..is it really bad to have a moderately bent radiator? and how can I fix this small hairline fracture about 1cm long and barely open but enought to ooze a good amount of radiator fluid out? Do i have to weld it or can I put some jbweld in there. I already know about Mylers but if I dont have to send it in I would prefer not to. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

KC10Chief · Dec 26, 2004

I did the same thing to my KX a couple weeks ago. Mine wasn't leaking, but it was twisted about 45 degrees. If you twist it back, it WILL leak from other places. I looked in the yellow pages and called around to various radiator shops. I just took it to one down the street from me. The place was a real hell hole and the guy smelled and sounded like he was never without a lit cigarette. He said he'd fixed a lot worse. So, I left it with him and a couple days later, it was all straightened out and no leaks! All for $30. You don't want to have to buy a new radiator. They are VERY expensive. Almost $300 for a KX. Don't try to fix it yourself either. I have about 15 hours of riding on mine since I had it fixed and there are no problems. My plastic was all jacked up so I took a heat gun to the back of it and straightened it out. You can't even tell anything happened to it. I also added the Works Connection radiator braces. They're pretty stout. I took a real good spill on the left side today and didn't have any problems. Anyways, take it to a local radiator shop that fixes aluminum radiators. They can fix cracks and all kinds of stuff. I'm sure Mylars would do a great job, but you have to ship it and wait and wait. Shipping this time of year sucks and the post office would probably just lose the damn thing anyways. Matt

Mike R. · Dec 27, 2004

Radiators arent to bad

You can get new Factory Honda ones for around $125 each side.
Just another reason Red is the color to ride :nener:

Rcannon · Dec 27, 2004

The Honda parts are usually a lot less than for the other brands. I noticed a huge price difference in brake parts between the various bikes.

Mylars in Utah is a good radiator place. He does decent work.

Someone · Dec 27, 2004

It's because Hondas are repaired so often that the price of parts are much lower. :)

KC10Chief · Dec 27, 2004

Someone said:
It's because Hondas are repaired so often that the price of parts are much lower. :)

BWAAAAA HA HA HA HA HAAAA!! True. I'm SURE it was a coincidence, but a few weeks ago, there were 7 of us out riding the trails. My KX, another guys KDX, and 5 various hondas. By the end of the day, none of the Honda's were running right. Two of them had given it up a couple hours early due to problems, two barely made it back to the parking lot, and I had to go get my truck so I could go back and pick up a guy and his broke CR. But the KX and KDX were running strong! Just a coincidence though I'm sure! :nener:

shiftmx731 · Dec 27, 2004

wow..didnt know I would stir up the never ending debate over whos bike is better..So what do you guys think..should I spend the 50 bucks to get it repaired or is a slightly twisted radiator not that bad..the crack is so small and im sure a drop of jbweld would seal it up..Im going to buy radiator guards too. I have an RM as well and I noticed that on the RM the radiators are more protected by the frame of the motorcycle than the CRs..the CR radiators pretty much take the force of a side impact.

Mike R. · Dec 27, 2004

Was only kinda joking

I would send it to:
http://www.motorcycleradiators.com/
Being the cost is so high for a new one.
Your talking $50 max compared to $300.
Now if it was $50 fixed versus $100 new I would get new :cool:

shiftmx731 · Dec 27, 2004

What about Radiator Guards..Ive heard the WC are good for side impact and Ive heard the Devol are good as well. The crash I had yesterday didnt even break the plastic on my 2003 CR250R but it twisted the radiator and bent the radiator hose mount which resulted in the small leak. I dont do any woods riding so I'm mostly worried about laying my bike over and smashing the rads again. Whats the best brace to prevent this kind of damage?

nickyd · Dec 29, 2004

is it leaking? or just bent? if just bent go riding!!

shiftmx731 · Dec 29, 2004

its slightly bent but the radiator got pushed against the side of the frame and that bent the metal hose next to the filler cap, and as the hose got bent to the right(if facing it) it tore a small hairline crack where the metal hose meets the radiator. I was sure a drop of JBweld would do the trick, but this motorcycle only has 3 tanks of gas through it so its pretty much brand new and I wanted to make sure I got it fixed right and not jimmy rigged so that it would guarantee it to last long. I'm also installing the Works Connection braces on it and they might not have fit on the radiator that was bent so I figured Id just send it in. I could have taken it locally, but I figured I'd spend 20 more bucks and have it fixed by Mylers who does a million of these a year.

nickyd · Dec 29, 2004

yeah - sounds like you are on the right track....I'd do the same thing if it was new - get it straightened and sealed...

Mike R. · Dec 29, 2004

Same boat

I am still decidingthough send both to Mylers for straightening at a cost of about $80??
Or just buy 2 OEM Honda new ones for $230. then sell the others.

nickyd · Dec 29, 2004

tough call. I sent one to mylers that had about 8 leaks in it...came back with the 8 fixed and 2 new ones...what the??!?!?

Cracked radiator can I fix?

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