2015 Caravan radiator leak

[KrisZ]

This is for my 2015 Grand Caravan.
I noticed coolant smell and the ovreflow bottle was at the minimum mark.

I see coolant just below the upper radiator hose plastic connection, the hose connection definitely is not leaking. Seems to be the plastic mount and it all drips down the side.
I don’t yet know how fast I’m loosing coolant, so I’m going to keep an eye on it.

In the meantime I’m looking at radiators. RA shows these. Mopar would be a no-brainer provided it’s shipped without damage, should I consider others?

 

[RooflessVW]

I would think the Nissens would be fine

 

[dishdude]

Why does the Mopar say it's for right hand drive? I thought TYC was decent.

 

[MadAmos]

I have had good performance from Denso radiators

 

[MrkofXcellence]

I had luck with Denso for my sister’s Highlander about 5 years ago. There were some obvious differences between that and OEM, i think some fin count or whatnot. Did the job though quality wise.

 

[Rand]

I would probably get the nissens

 

[ClutchDisc]

I would go Denso and not even consider any of the others in this case.

 

[The_Jeff]

You should consider others.

TYC isn't no-name and is what I'd go with. But if you want to spend more and feel fuzzy get the Denso.

When you see how they're made, they've got the process down. Mopar won't be better.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Denso or TYC.

Nothing wrong with Nissens, but it's not worth the extra money.

 

[Chris142]

Never heard of agility. The others are fine. Probably all from the same building

 

[Chris Meutsch]

Denso for sure. I’ve used one.

 

[jsean]

I’ve had good luck with TYC and Denso. Coin toss between the 2 imo. If it were my car, I’d get the TYC.

 

[Wilbur289]

What type of coolant was being used? Have you tried a pressure test? Have you looked for a pinhole in a hose or maybe the coolant reservoir?

 

[KrisZ]

What type of coolant was being used? Have you tried a pressure test? Have you looked for a pinhole in a hose or maybe the coolant reservoir?

I’m using Prestone AMAM, although I’m not sure how that would be relevant.

I didn’t do a pressure test, but now that I’ve driven it and paid attention, there is a small trail of coolant coming right from under the coolant hose neck, once the system is a full operating temp.

It’s not a huge leak though, I’ve driven about 120 miles so far and lost about an inch from the overflow bottle, witch has about 12 inches between min and max marks.

 

[Wilbur289]

The Prestone is probably ok but you might want to use OEM when you do the next flush.

You might try replacing the cap before you replace the radiator. A pressure test would give a clear idea of where it's coming from.

 

[nwjones18]

The Prestone is probably ok but you might want to use OEM when you do the next flush.

You might try replacing the cap before you replace the radiator. A pressure test would give a clear idea of where it's coming from.

If he's doing a full flush and swapping over to Prestone AMAM he'll be fine IMO. I've done it in everything I own with no long term ill effects. Just swapped over my 08 CRV yesterday.

To the OP I'd pick Denso off that list.

 

[Wilbur289]

If you are planning to do another flush in a year then the Prestone will be fine on a 2015 Chrysler product. If you would rather not flush that soon then you would want to use an OEM spec purple Mopar coolant.

 

[KrisZ]

I’ve been using Prestone for 5-6 years now after fully flushing out the Mopar OEM coolant. It’s a non issue with most Chryslers products after 2013-2014, as that’s when they switched from HOAT to OAT formula.

I ordered the Denso radiator as well as transmission cooler lines, as one is seeping, and I will have easy access when changing the radiator. Parts should arrive this week, so hopefully I can get the work done this weekend.

 

[KrisZ]

I changed the radiator, as well as the cooler lines and a transmission mount, while I was at it.

The radiator plastic end caps had micro-cracks. These were really tiny and look much bigger due to camera zoom. But it was enough to leak coolant quite significantly. The look like fatigue stress cracks due to heat cycles to me. Overall the job is quite simple, but there is a bit of fiddling around trying to separate the radiator from the AC condenser and not cause any damage to it.

The Denso radiator looked well made and I didn't see any dirt or manufacturing junk when I flushed it with water before installation. It didn't click in properly into the OEM mounting points, but it should not be an issue as it's secure enough in there. I also had to change the bottom mount grommets to the OEM ones from the old radiator, as the ones from Denso were thicker and didn't want to go in easily into the mounting holes in the bottom radiator support.

On the left is the OEM grommet, and on the right is the Denso one.

The cooler lines before and after. This is a super easy job, even with the radiator in there, you just need to remove the top radiator support, which is also very easy.

New radiator before I installed the radiator fan. Let's hope it lasts me a few years, at which point I will have my two eldest will be out of the house and in university, so the plan is to retire this minivan and get something else, wife wants an SUV of course lol.