wtnhunt Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 Squirrels been loading up my little kubota with hickory nuts. Cleared the deck off before I started mowing yesterday and greased all the fittings and got going. Did not realize freaking tree rats must have had some hidden nuts between my radiator and the shroud for the fan.:no: About half way through mowing the yard I heard a ting and a few minutes later started smelling that smell that smelled like warm antifreeze. Sure enough when I stopped antifreeze was pouring out the radiator. Could not pinpoint the problem, gonna have to pull it out I guess to get a better look at it. Looked online and new replacement is like $400, so question is if it is not too bad could a good radiator repair man fix it well enough that it would last? How much is fair for radiator repairs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun_300 Posted April 11, 2011 Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 Man that sucks William! Rodents can be such a pain when it comes to vehicles. We get a lot of mouse nests under the hoods of vehicles up here. They like to chew the air filters apart and all the insulation out from under the hood and make a nest. For some reason their favourite meal is wires. They sure can cause some headaches! I've repaired countless wiring problems due to the little beggers. Even came across a few families of mice while repairing the problems they caused! We've seen lots of critters under the hood in the shop. Cats, groundhogs, mice, squirrels, the odd snake. Sure wakes you up when you open the hood and see one of the above looking at you as surprised as you're looking at him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hungry hunter Posted April 11, 2011 Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 Dang things chewed through the 4x4 vacume lines on the truck this year, got lucky the fix was only 25 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted April 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 Gonna call a few radiator repair shops this morning. Crossing my fingers it can be repaired. Still curious whether or not repairs would hold with the little tractor, anyone have any insight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted April 11, 2011 Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 I guess it depends on how big the hole is William. I don't think those things run under too much pressure, they might be able to braze the hole. I hate those rodents getting into crap. For me it's mice. Last year they built a nest on the block, which I found before I started up the tractor last spring, but the problem I quickly found out was the crap and urine they put on the block. I had to smell burning mouse pee all summer last year. They usually get into the air cleaners and chew those things up. I've replaced more than a few of those over the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted April 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 Radiator shop about 45 minutes away said he thinks he could fix it for around $85 and said it should hold without any problems. Our yard is pretty rough in spots, concerns about jarring loose a brazed or soldered repair. Cannot tell how bad the damage is until I get the radiator out, cannot see behind the fan shroud. Caught about a dozen mice in the garage back over the winter and thought I had them for the most part gone, but noticed the other day they are back to getting into everything. I got to get my bucket trap back going. Tractors are both in the open sided shed. Guess I need to inspect my bigger tractor too. As for the squirrels, spring season does not open until May, I think maybe we might need to get a couple rat traps for between now and then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin R10 man Posted April 11, 2011 Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 William..try some JB radiator stop leak...its worth a try rather than take it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted April 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 William..try some JB radiator stop leak...its worth a try rather than take it out. Thanks for the tip Martin, might have to give that a try. That stuff is not like rabbit turds(bars leak) is it? Always been a little skeptical of using additives in cooling systems that might clog up or constrict flow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin R10 man Posted April 11, 2011 Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 nope it's a liquid..or a fine powder..not like bars if the leak is small it should save alot of work for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LETMGROW Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 William, I'd pull it out and have it done right the first time. $ 85 isn't too bad as the rad. has to be clean for the solder to stick well enough to be a permanent fix. I personally have no use for chemical fixes for mechanical problems. Get some mothballs and toss them around under the tractor. You are lucky this is all the damage the critters have done Lynn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun_300 Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 I'm not a big fan of fixes in a can either. I've seen stuff like that clog water jackets and cause much bigger problems than a leaking rad. I'd spend the $85 to get it fixed properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 Hey William, I would NOT use any radiator stop leak addatives. I had a buddy that had a radaitor repair place here in town for years and that fix in a can stuff is bad for your cooling systems. It makes it really difficult to repair after you put it in also, doesnt clean out. Take it to the repair guy, if he is anything like my buddy was you will have no problems with it later, you won't jar loose a good repair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted April 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 Thanks for the replies. Get some mothballs and toss them around under the tractor. You are lucky this is all the damage the critters have done Lynn Used to keep moth balls around the shed for snakes and got me thinking I don't recall having the issues with squirrels then. Gonna have to get a box of them and put them out. Think I will pull the tractor over to the garage this weekend and go ahead and pull the radiator and take it to the shop. Don't know if I have any other damage or not, hoping the fan blade is ok, looked like it was ok as best as I could tell. I was kinda concerned about the mower deck belt when I was clearing all the nuts out, bet there was enough nutshells there to halfway fill a 5 gallon bucket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LETMGROW Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 All isn't lost Save those nuts and put them out this fall in front of your treestand. The deer will love them! Lynn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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