timtiminy
10-08-2008, 09:45 PM
Hey guys i thought i would throw up a little diy write up on fixing a busted coolant reservoir. This will only work with a reservoir that isnt completely disinigrated. My reservoir had a hole in the top corner as you can see in picture 1 (sorry for the not so great quality photos, all i have is my camera phone.)
First things first... pull the reservoir out of the car and clean it up good on the outside.
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e273/timtiminy/1008081817a.jpg
Sand around the opening of the hole on the outside to prep the plastic to be bonded by the plastic epoxy.
here is all the stuff i used...
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e273/timtiminy/1008081817b.jpg
find an empty juice container that has a similar bend corner, this is what you will use to cut and cover the hole. I cut one of the bottom corners out of the juice container and trimmed it to fit over the hole with overlap. I also used a heat gun to get it soft to conform it a little better and let it cool down while holding it over the hole to keep that shape. be careful here cause when the plastic gets soft it will be really hot.
Here is the epoxy i used:
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e273/timtiminy/1008081818a.jpg
here is the corner of the plastic juice container i cut to fit over the hole:
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e273/timtiminy/1008081818b.jpg
Sand the inside edges of this piece to promote adhesion of the epoxy. mix the epoxy and put an ample amount around the hole on the reservoir and around the inside edge of the plastic piece you cut. place and hold in place till the epoxy bonds... this should only take a few minutes. I used some extra epoxy around the edges as if it were caulk and also sanded down all the excess once it dried... this didnt cost me anything as i had everything i needed laying around, all you might need is the plastic epoxy which is only $5 at your local hardware store.
Here is the finished, repaired coolant reservoir :):
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e273/timtiminy/1008081941a.jpg
First things first... pull the reservoir out of the car and clean it up good on the outside.
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e273/timtiminy/1008081817a.jpg
Sand around the opening of the hole on the outside to prep the plastic to be bonded by the plastic epoxy.
here is all the stuff i used...
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e273/timtiminy/1008081817b.jpg
find an empty juice container that has a similar bend corner, this is what you will use to cut and cover the hole. I cut one of the bottom corners out of the juice container and trimmed it to fit over the hole with overlap. I also used a heat gun to get it soft to conform it a little better and let it cool down while holding it over the hole to keep that shape. be careful here cause when the plastic gets soft it will be really hot.
Here is the epoxy i used:
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e273/timtiminy/1008081818a.jpg
here is the corner of the plastic juice container i cut to fit over the hole:
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e273/timtiminy/1008081818b.jpg
Sand the inside edges of this piece to promote adhesion of the epoxy. mix the epoxy and put an ample amount around the hole on the reservoir and around the inside edge of the plastic piece you cut. place and hold in place till the epoxy bonds... this should only take a few minutes. I used some extra epoxy around the edges as if it were caulk and also sanded down all the excess once it dried... this didnt cost me anything as i had everything i needed laying around, all you might need is the plastic epoxy which is only $5 at your local hardware store.
Here is the finished, repaired coolant reservoir :):
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e273/timtiminy/1008081941a.jpg