Radiator leak - weld or recore?

[76PRROW]

There is fluid leaking from under, I believe it is the radiator. Can that be welded? should I replace the radiator or recore it?

[TerryH]

Fluid leak - determine where it originates before pulling the rad for welding/recoring/replacing. All of the above are very pricey and labor intensive. Check for the leak origin with the engine warm - higher pressure than when cold. May be a hose leak or bad clamp. Far cheaper.

[khantroll]

For your fluid leak, it's definitely best to find out what it is. I recently had something similar happen to me. I went out to work on my rig, and I found medium size puddle of green fluid under the front of my rig. I immediately thought the radiator had busted some how. I searched, and found out that I'd need to order a radiator as none of my local parts houses carried or could get one. With nothing to lose, I decided to crawl under and see if the break was something that could be soldered. It was then that I found out that the bottom radiator house had rotted and was leaking. I elected to put a universal metal radiator hose on there, and then refilled the fluid. Problem solved!

If it does wind up being your radiator, though, the answer to your question for me would depend on your area. I've never had a problem with a radiator I've had repaired, but in my area the cost of repairing a radiator (even one of ours) is the same or higher then a replacement. I apply the same rule of thumb to this that I do when deciding whether repair equipment at work: will it cost more then half the cost of a replacement? If the answer is yes, then I replace the part if possible.

Now, if there are some good quality but low-cost radiator shops in your area, then it'd be worth it try to repair it.

[TripleJ]

I was not able to find a direct replacement for my radiator, no idea why.  Every one I ordered ended up wrong in some way.  A recore would have cost close to $500.  The guy even showed me his book where the replacement core was something like $360, then add his labor.  Besides that, the old radiator looked like it had been recored at least once already.

I was able to fit a replacement radiator, but it took more fab than I was prepared for and Im still not 100% satisfied... But I do have a nice new style radiator for less than $200...

[legomybago]

Copper/brass radiators and replacement cores are expensive now due to metal costs....Unfortunately we now have to use disposable radiators to save some money, but the Aluminum radiators are more efficient, they dissipate heat/cool more efficiently, and you don't need as many cores, cost. And they are lighter weight. I just had to replace my 1979 factory copper/brass ford truck radiator with a new style aluminum. It was weird to install a newer style radiator in the old beast, but it was a direct bolt in, and I didn't have to spend 700 for a new brass radiator.

[eXodus]

Yeah, I would also opt for new Aluminum Radiator.

Way cheaper, and most likely even more reliable than an old re-core one. 
I did put in every of my classic cars a new Aluminum radiator, more cooling capacity, a little bit of weight reduction.

At one car I did even go with an Plastic/Aluminum one, didn't thought it would last long, since only 1/4 of the price, 10 years later, still going strong.