Beware the leaking manifold and crap machine shops

The engine was running but the radiator wouldn't hold any water. Even getting out of the house was going to be problem because within minutes the radiator would run dry. The reason? Take a look at this: Here's a closer look at the intake manifold. Anybody who says that aluminum doesn't corrode, well, doesn't know his stuff. It can happen, and this is proof: Imagine flipping this part over and mounting it on the "intake" side of the engine. The carburetor then sits right above the intake manifold. It is in this component that the air and fuel mixture (from the carb) flows into the cylinders for combustion to occur. The reason for water being there is to keep things cool, or at least, that's what I'm told. Guys, do correct me if I'm wrong! The reason for the hole is because water was sitting in there for a long time I think, or that's just how old manifolds were like. The household solution is to use steel epoxy to patch the leak. Trust me, this won't last a long time. The proper solution is to go to a machine shop that does aluminum welding. Of course, finding a fresh manifold is best. I had the aluminum welding done at the "best" machine shop in Baguio along Magsaysay Road: [caption id="attachment_145" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="It should have been a proper job."][/caption] Looks good, right? But the hole was only "cosmetically" fixed. The damn thing still leaks! Take this as a warning: Even if the people who work on your car assure you that everything is all good, don't ever take their word for it. My mistake was that I didn't have the part pressure tested. I believe a back job is in order, but at least the wagon doesn't lose as much water as it used to. The job "looks" good, but there are tiny holes that weren't patched up. I also learned that if you get bad vibes from proprietors of these repair shops, don't trust them. I should have known that something was going to go wrong when the people behind the counter were extremely rude to me. And to think that these people are supposedly the "best" at what they do. Ang yabang nila, sobra! And I was a first-time customer! Had they been much friendlier I wouldn't even be writing about them, even if the job they did was substandard. I feel really disappointed with the quality of work done on my manifold, but I had no choice. Dad's wagon had to get to Manila as soon as possible. Next thing to do was fix the brakes.