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RV-12iS Radiator Leak

aobrien5

I'm New Here
Our flying club's RV-12iS with a 912iS engine recently got a coolant radiator leak in an unrepairable area between the fins of the radiator which has grounded one of our two airplanes. A replacement is on order but is backordered until late December, early January and I wanted to reach out to the group and see if there are any builders out there with their engine on hand but still a couple months away from needing to run it that might be willing to swap their radiator for the one we have on order to allow us to continue flying into the holiday season. We are located in southern California. Any help anyone could provide would result in many happy pilots currently unable to fly our Vans airplane.
 
My RV-12iS also has a leaking radiator in an unrepairable spot. On the lower, port side frame inside where the fins contact the lower surface. The leak was preceded by lifting paint in the same area. I contacted Vans and got the same response. Back ordered. I’m hoping this isn’t a “bad batch” situation.
 
I have fixed minor leaks using Marine Tex epoxy. I had removed the radiator flushed out coolant and dried it out, cleaned the area and applied the epoxy. It has been 2 years and no leakage. The leak was from contacting the mounting frame. I understand some may be reluctant to do this but I've been using this epoxy for 50 years and it had always worked well for me in any application.
 
Just guessing... if RV-12iS uses a standard Rotax radiator, perhaps Lockwood, LEAF, or Aircraft Spruce might stock.
 
Our flying club's RV-12iS with a 912iS engine recently got a coolant radiator leak in an unrepairable area between the fins of the radiator which has grounded one of our two airplanes. A replacement is on order but is backordered until late December, early January and I wanted to reach out to the group and see if there are any builders out there with their engine on hand but still a couple months away from needing to run it that might be willing to swap their radiator for the one we have on order to allow us to continue flying into the holiday season. We are located in southern California. Any help anyone could provide would result in many happy pilots currently unable to fly our Vans airplane.

Please contact me via reply to DM. I'm in the Central Valley. We may have a mutually beneficial situation.
 
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