[TheOtherLeft]

Hiya fellas,

I'm having another problem but this time with the radiator. During the spate of hot weather (30+ degree days) and long driving the fluid in my overflow bottle seems to be dissappearing. There are no other signs of anything wrong:
- Temp gauge normal
- With rad cap off, engine running and warm there are no air bubbles in the rad.
- No brown residue in the rad fluid - it's still fluro green
- No milky residue in the oil cap
- No sweet smell from the exhaust.
- No smells in the engine bay.
- No sign of overflowing from the overflow bottle - no white residue near the outlet tube coming from the overflow bottle or anywhere for that matter

Does anyone know what this could be from?

[steak_knife]

2lt or 1.6??

It could be the cap, but it should still show sign's of leaking..
Bu the fan may be blowing in all direction's making it hard to see..

[TheOtherLeft]

steak_knife wrote:

2lt or 1.6??

J20A - 2lt

[steak_knife]

I'd be getting it pressure tested....

[TheOtherLeft]

Yeah thought so.


I'll add it to the list of things to fix when I take it in.

[steak_knife]

How much are you loosing??

One of the good thing's about coolant is it should leave a stain, but fan shroud's can hide the leak behind em for a while before you can see it, most have foam on the contact point's of shroud/radiator & they can soak up the coolant if it's only a seep..

[TheOtherLeft]

Hard to say how much I'm loosing... maybe 1 overflow bottle every couple of months or so. It's only been a problem in really hot weather and long drives.

[steak_knife]

TheOtherLeft wrote:

Hard to say how much I'm loosing... maybe 1 overflow bottle every couple of months or so. It's only been a problem in really hot weather and long drives.

I think it will be ok...

Still get a pressure test tho.., cap may be giving out before it's designated pressure..

[jonno_racing]

id smash a new cap on her!

[Fatzook]

jonno_racing wrote:

id smash her!

you're a rough bastard!!

[steak_knife]

Fatzook wrote:

jonno_racing wrote:

id smash her!

you're a rough bastard!!

Dang!!!

[alien]

i had a similar issue - was 2 things - a small crack in the rad where the hose joined, and a loose-ish hose clamp at the other end... new radiator and new pipes fixed it... hasnt dropped any coolant at all in 6 months.

[TheOtherLeft]

alien wrote:

i had a similar issue - was 2 things - a small crack in the rad where the hose joined, and a loose-ish hose clamp at the other end... new radiator and new pipes fixed it... hasnt dropped any coolant at all in 6 months.

Did you see any evidence of dried fluid at the crack, loose clamp - the white crusty residue stuff???

[alien]

nope... it was under the loose clamp once removed though. It only leaked under super high pressure, and came out as a fine mist, not dripping - can only assume the mist was blown away and never settled around the leaks.

leaks were found doing a pressure test though... the pressure test actually made the cracked rad solder worse.

[whincup]

yeah i had the same issue, but i was losing half a bottle every few weeks... always had water in the radiator, no overheating, oil looked fine. found a VERY minor leak on the underside of the top hose where it joined the radiator. replaced the hose and clamp, no issues. didnt even notice the stains until i removed the radiator to flush it out.

odd thing was, i cant see any holes, cracks, splits, etc, and the clamp was tight... just an old hose...

id say start with replacing the hoses and clamps if it hasnt been done for a while, as it probably should get done anyway.

[TheOtherLeft]

whincup wrote:

yeah i had the same issue, but i was losing half a bottle every few weeks... always had water in the radiator, no overheating, oil looked fine. found a VERY minor leak on the underside of the top hose where it joined the radiator. replaced the hose and clamp, no issues. didnt even notice the stains until i removed the radiator to flush it out.

odd thing was, i cant see any holes, cracks, splits, etc, and the clamp was tight... just an old hose...

id say start with replacing the hoses and clamps if it hasnt been done for a while, as it probably should get done anyway.

Hmm yes, replacing the hoses. One of things I was going to do.

[TheOtherLeft]

Seems I have a small crack in the radiator, where the core meets the top part. The radiator needs to be replaced... unless what about that radiator stop leak stuff. Would that work too?

[atari4x4]

it would work, if you don't care about your car.....

[jonno_racing]

i managed to repair a cracked radiator in a mates l200 in the car the other day, droped the coolent, cleaned up round the crack with emery paper and silver solderd over it with my map torch... i was impressed considering it was a side of track fix!

[atari4x4]

jonno_racing wrote:

i managed to repair a cracked radiator in a mates l200 in the car the other day, droped the coolent, cleaned up round the crack with emery paper and silver solderd over it with my map torch... i was impressed considering it was a side of track fix!

i'm guessing it didn't have plastic tanks?

[TheOtherLeft]

atari4x4 wrote:

it would work, if you don't care about your car.....

Care to explain why? I've heard it can block galleries etc.

[royce]

A crack is usually a mechanical thing, you might block the current hole but vibration will just make it open up more

if its in the plastic its likely going to fall to bits shortly

[bohuler]

easy fix for a small hole is egg white works a treat but definatly needed a flush after!

[whincup]

TheOtherLeft wrote:

Seems I have a small crack in the radiator, where the core meets the top part. The radiator needs to be replaced... unless what about that radiator stop leak stuff. Would that work too?

band-aid fix. covers the problem temporarily, doesnt actually fix it... no idea what it does to the rest of the engine, but if it blocks small holes what does it do to all the pipes it travels through?

[TheOtherLeft]

Can the aluminium core be seperated from the plastic top tank and repaired seperately or are they considered a single unit? Ie do I have to buy an entire new rad?

[whincup]

radiator reconditioning place said they remove the tanks and replace the seals or something when they rebuild it, not sure about the tanks. but even that worked out almost as much as a new radiator...

[alien]

whats interesting in my case - i went from the standard sierra rad to a new maruti one with plastic top tank, as its about 30mm or so wider - so i assumed better cooling - however it seems to not cool as well as the standard one.

Ended up throwing on a thermo fan - works a treat... engine temp didnt go above 1/3rd last weekend crawling in 38degrees in full sun.

[TheOtherLeft]

With regards to changing my radiator, as I have an auto transmission there is a transmission cooler attached to the bottom of the rad. Since I have to drain a bit of the transmission fluid are there any special procedures to note when refilling the transmission etc? I have the factory service manual and it looks straightforward there might be tricks somewhere????

Also, is it worth installing a proper transmission cooler/radiator since I have it all disconnected? So far the only time I've really needed one was when on Stockton Beach and the transmission fluid did actually overheat and come out of the filler tube.

[royce]

yeah a cooler is a good idea, the manual will tell you how to check the level and refill

if your oil got hot enough to come out the filler, have you had the auto serviced since?

[TheOtherLeft]

When I drove on the beach it must've looked a lot worse then it really was as it still looks and smells normal (unburnt) and the level is OK.

I'm thinking about this cooler kit Suzistore cooler kit. Are these a common size and what size is it? Where are they meant to be mounted?

Are they plumbed into the existing cooler at the bottom of the radiator?