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Since Randy has made his choice, I figure it is only fair for everyone to have the full picture. I have worked on 35 of these CRDs doing exactly the same process, dealing with the bad design as best as possible. My own CRD was delivered back to me by a professional shop with about 8 locations of JB weld on the back of the radiator where obvious damage had taken place during an engine swap - I don't know exactly what transpired, but this was how a professional shop repaired the leaks - and what follows is a transcript of Randy's messages to me and my replies.
I stand by the repair method, with the understanding that it doesn't always work perfectly. Perhaps more cleaning needed to be done. It was cleaned with brake cleaner, but it is certainly possible that some contamination still happened. Maybe a different JB product should or could have been selected - I did not purchase the JB weld, but the quick-cure was selected. I also did not refill the radiator, so I do not know if the JB was fully cured when it was refilled. Instead, I was accused of not "being a man" and just blithely paying out a demanded number, with 6 weeks of unknown treatment of the vehicle transpiring between the repair and the complaint of the leak. Even a professional shop would only offer to split the cost, this has been my experience with other shops, so it was my offer here. The take-it-or-leave-it was only after and amid continued verbal abuse from a supposed heavy-diesel mechanic.
June 23, 6:35pm:
Jim,
The radiator is leaking again where it was nicked. Added coolant a few weeks ago, figured the level dropped some. Had to add some again, looked & saw it running down the core on the inside.
If I have to get it fixed, how is this going to worked out?
Randy
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June 24, 7:28pm:
Jim,
I'm going to ask you again. I'm down a vehicle now, I'm going to have to pull this radiator to get it fixed right.
How is this going to be worked out for the damage done to it & the repairs?
Randy
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My reply, June 24, 8:24pm:
Forgive me for two things first: Not replying while driving when you sent the message yesterday as I was traveling down from Atlanta and arriving after 2am, and honestly forgetting about the message or the internet entirely while working to empty and unpack after another 5 weeks on the road trying to help people.
Now, about your request. I'm sorry that the initial repair seems to have failed. There are a great deal of products that are designed to solve exactly this type of situation, for very low cost. As I have done precisely the same procedure on every CRD and have only experienced this issue on yours, I am at a loss to explain how the fan could have so perfectly nicked that one place to cause the leak. I am having to trust you that there wasn't a leak before, but you haven't asked me a question that I can answer yet.
Your messages to me seems summed up:
"I think you caused this damage. You made an attempt to repair it, and in the ensuing 6 weeks since, where you have no knowledge of any operational conditions of the vehicle, the repair seems to not have held. I want you to agree to compensate me in some completely unknown amount for this, from $5 for another package of JB Weld all the way to potentially $1200 for a completely new radiator and a dealership to spend the labor to install it, plus towing fees, shop fees, loss of vehicle time, rental car replacement, for a grand total of who the hell knows how much. Tell me that you are willing to agree with this, or I will wait 24 hours and then start to get angry and demand the same thing."
Now, taking a deep breath, I am choosing to not see it that way. If that is truly how you are wanting to present this question, then I will be happy to write this entire situation up, and present it to the board for their judgement and we can both be unhappy with the results. Or we can simply look at this as the reasonable amount of effort it will require and go from there. I feel like you are unhappy overall, that I did not choose to completely replace the radiator at the time, for something that I know honestly has been repaired in the exact same way on my own personal CRD by a shop mechanic. The second solution I would have presented, had it not been a Sunday, would have been a local trailer or welding shop that could simply touch it with their TIG welder and close the hole without a second thought.
I am still presenting that solution, because there is no reason why even a moderately-skilled TIG welder couldn't spot-weld that without much effort at all. They might even be able to do it where it sits. If this were my vehicle, that would be the next solution, since for whatever reason, the JB seems to not have bonded with the aluminum.
Now, back to your question. You have not specified whether the JB has come completely off, or if you have been poking at it (causing more damage?) with tools to get the JB off. You also have not specified any path of repair for me to even CONSIDER reimbursement, which leads to the range of $5-$5000 above. Sorry, but I cannot agree to anything without knowing even a basic price point. I'm happy to discuss options based on the opinion of a third party repair (such as any decent radiator shop that probably could TIG it, if they didn't use the JB weld themselves) and I doubt the repair bill would be more than an hour of shop time.
If your intention is to request me to reimburse you for the cost of a fully-new radiator or labor or lost vehicle (because I have no information otherwise) then I will have to say no. But again, I cannot and will not simply agree to something open-ended. Tell me the actual cost of fixing it, and we can talk. I'd like to think I present myself as a reasonable individual, but if that is not the case, then I apologize for that.
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June 24th, 8:43pm:
Jim,
I'm fine with the job done, have no problems with it other than the radiator leaking. Never had a leak on it before, hasn't been picked at or fooled with. I didn't look to see if it came off or not.
Like I said, my son said the low coolant light was a few weeks ago, figured the level might settled down some, topped it off. The other night he said it was on again, topped it off & started it. Saw it running down the inside of the core & dripping down the bottom support.
I plan on pulling it & having it fixed. I just want to get compensated for whatever the cost is to fix it, that's it.
Randy
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My reply, June 24th, 8:58PM:
This is my advice then: The CRD is drivable in the current condition. It is also repairable with the radiator IN PLACE by any decent radiator or regular welding shop. I would advise to just leave everything in place except for the shroud and the fan, and drive it to a local radiator shop. Leave the radiator cap half-loose to minimize the pressure buildup, but I doubt it will leak much at all if it took weeks to leak down.
Let the radiator shop repair it, they will most likely be able to repair it in-place, and as I said before, I doubt it will be more than an hour of shop time, IF they even charge for it. I had an oil pan repaired in the same way (TIG welded) and the guy did it in about 5 minutes for $10. That was a much larger repair even, this is just a pinhole. The JB is annoying, but they should be able to scrape through it fairly quick with a soft grinder wheel, and not mess the aluminum any. These are the skills a decent radiator shop would need to have for normal repairs.
Pulling the radiator, risks damage on the weak plastic end tubs, and also possibly damage to the intercooler or AC condenser. I don't want to see any further damage anywhere, when I know they can fix it in place. The only reason I can think of that the JB didn't hold, is that the brake cleaner didn't properly clean the aluminum OR was the wrong cleaner and antifreeze contaminated the bond at the leak point. My own radiator was fixed in about 8 places with the stuff (or something very similar) and I never had a problem, but I also didn't see what they used and how they cleaned it when it was fixed.
We can talk about the specifics of the cost when you have some to present. I hope you understand that I can't just say "sure!" to an open-ended question like that.
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June 25th, 6:28pm:
I just checked it, it's leaking where the tube was hit. Looks like the JB melted some & ran down the core a bit. Dripping pretty bad as soon as it's started.
Talked with a radiator shop we deal with at work, it's got to be pulled out. Said he won't do an on vehicle repair, especially it being aluminum. So it's getting pulled & sent out.
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My reply, June 25th, 6:30pm:
JB weld isn't supposed to "melt" at all, so that would seem to be the source of the problem. That should also mean that removing it would be easier.
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June 28th, 9:38am:
Got the radiator back, it was $110 for repairing.
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My reply, June 28th, 12:04pm:
I'm willing to split that with you.
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June 28th, 1:34pm:
I'm not splitting anything. It wasn't leaking before you worked on it, I wasn't the one who damaged it.
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My reply, June 28th, 2:28pm:
I wasn't the one who drove around with it not leaking for 6 weeks, and then chose the second most expensive option to fix the leak. You have a strange way of approaching the situation, with the curt reply, when you want something from me. When I left, the JB weld was curing and appeared solid - it was not "running down the radiator" at all. I made a good faith offer based on the facts that yes, I may have been the reason for the repair need, but I was also not present in the ensuing 6 weeks to know how the repair cured (or if it was left alone to fully cure before testing) and if anything else was done to it. This is my offer, take it or leave it. I doubt that you would get more of an offer from a regular shop, 30 days is typically the cut off if there isn't a mileage warranty. I'm sorry there was an issue, but this is what I can do with these circumstances.
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Final message from Randy, June 28th, 4:03pm:
What you don't know is that it hadn't been driven for a few since the belt was changed, maybe a week total & that's it.
Fine if you want to handle it that way, karma is a witch sometimes. Figure you'd be more of a man, admit you made a mistake & make good on it. If that was your vehicle & took it somewhere or in my shoes, you'd want the same thing.
If I wanted to be jerk, on top of the $110 for the repair, 18.55 for a gallon of lost coolant, 4 hours labor to R&R @ 100 hour standard rate up here...110, you're getting off easy.
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