Leaking radiator, how long can I push it?

[wrcsixeight]

A while back I started noticing drips under my 18 month old Silla All aluminum radiator.

They only make it to the ground if the Vehicle sits for 12+ hours, and rarely make it above the 2.5 inch diameter mark on asphalt.

I've only added about a half gallon of distilled H20 to the expansion tank since I noticed the leak about 1 k miles ago.

I do smell evaporating coolant if the wind blows right and my windows are open when at a traffic light.

I am mainly an around town driver these days and most trips do not even get the coolant up to full temp before I reach my Destination though I do weekly make sure to do a 20 minute highway run.

Obviously I would like to replace it, but money is tight and work sparse. I'm never doing another internet radiator, and everything local is a plastic tanked aluminum radiator in the 200$ range, or copper brass in the 300$ range.

All my previous copper brass radiators had the leading row of copper fins disintegrate within 2 years due to my salt air environment, while my aluminum transmission cooler showed no issues, which is why I tried aluminum this time.

The rate at which it is seeping does not seem to be increasing. I did go from a 16 PSI cap to a 13PSI.

Is the radiator likely to go all at once, or can I just keep monitoring it and adding Coolant it to it until I can afford a replacement?

It has required a good amount of effort not to just put some aluminaseal or similar product in it. I did replace all the other cooling system components at the same time as the radiator and would rather not add this stuff unless it were an emergency.

Thanks for your experienced opinions on this matter.

 

[bullwinkle]

Got any AutoZones out there in CA? They have a cooling system pressure tester in their loan-a-tool program that would enable seeing exactly where the leak is. Maybe a good TIG welder could repair it? This is why I paid a few $$ more to get my new (pretty big) all-aluminum F-Super Duty radiator from AutoZone with a lifetime warranty-it starts leaking, they order me a new one!

 

[bullwinkle]

I would add that a 7 PSI radiator cap and prodigious amounts of Stop-Leak have stopped (for now) the leaky freeze plugs on my old 350 Suburban (they're between the engine and transmission on the back of the block).

 

[wrcsixeight]

My Silla has a Lifetime warranty too, but no doubt it will be denied because of my Salt air environment, which is listed on every limited lifetime radiator warranty I have found.

Besides it would be a huge process to get the warranty denied anyway with shipping companies being the only ones to profit.

AZ only Sells plastic tanked aluminum radiators for my van.

My landlord has a pressure tester but I have not bothered with it. I am pretty sure it is leaking where the tubes enter the bottom tank as that is where the salt accumulates and where every other radiator I have had has begun to leak. And this is my 4th in 10 years.

 

[Brons2]

take it to a local radiator shop and see if they can fix the leak economically.

 

[morris]

put a piece of wire under the brass plate on the cap. removing pressure. might slow leaks.

 

[tommygunn]

Black pepper used to fix radiators years ago, don't know if it would work on today's radiators.

 

[Bgallagher]

I would try the GM cooling system stop leak tabs (I believe to be the same as Bars Leak) and top off with some cheap antifreeze. They work pretty well at slow leaks and are usually used as a crutch so until you can save up the dough for a new radiator.

 

[The_Jeff]

We have road salt and rads here still last at least a decade. I'd look into problems like galvanic corrosion (electric current in your antifreeze vs ground), lousy antifreeze, etc.

Distilled water is hungry for ions, lacking a better analogy, and will steal them from your rad.

It's not entirely ethical, but I'd buy another silla rad then stick the old one back in and reject it from the get go. Anything should last more than 18 months.

 

[wrcsixeight]

When I stick the Negative lead of my voltmeter on my battery (-) and the (+) in my coolant, I only get 0.02 volts, well below the 0.1 volt threshhold they say they electrolysis becomes a problem.

I frequently park head first overlooking the ocean with an onshore breeze and lots of salt spray from the waves, which I attribute to my short radiator life, but I agree, radiators should last more than 18 months.

As far as I have read, It is very difficult to fix an Aluminum radiator, and even if successsful, I have no faith in the build quality and would just expect it to start leaking elsewhere shortly thereafter.

 

[Bgallagher]

What kind of car is it? Have you tried rockauto? Website is top notch and has a lot of quality products and names. I am sure you can find a quality radiator there. Just be sure to use the coupon code!

 

[wrcsixeight]

Had a Spectra and a Visteon copper brass radiator from RockAuto, both lasted about 2 years.

It's a Dodge Van

 

[Chris142]

Those tubes are too thin for most guys to TIG weld. We use a small torch and special aluminum solder or an epoxy like stuff that mixes with baking soda.

Becomes rock hard in 5 minutes.

 

[chad8]

fix it yourself.. cheap and easy. get a pressure tester and find the leak. Get some alumaloy and a torch and have at it.

http://www.alumaloy.org/

 

[The_Eric]

If you're looking to nurse it, then I'd go with a 3lb cap and some Bars Leak Gold or GM cooling system tabs (same thing as Bars Leak Gold). Either of those two sealants do a good job without gunking up your cooling system.

That will get you along until you can afford a suitable replacement.

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: The_Eric
If you're looking to nurse it, then I'd go with a 3lb cap and some Bars Leak Gold or GM cooling system tabs (same thing as Bars Leak Gold). Either of those two sealants do a good job without gunking up your cooling system.

That will get you along until you can afford a suitable replacement.


I ran a '93 Grand Marquis with a leaking radiator for around 5 years by loosening the cap... It'd need maybe a pint added per year, cap was still loose the day I sold it...

Because of the composite intake on my '98 Grand Marquis that are prone to sudden failure, I've also run it with the cap loose for the last two years I've owned it...

 

[The_Eric]

While running with the cap loose can certainly get you out of a jam, I wouldn't advise doing it long term. The cooling system needs the pressure that the cap maintains for resistance to cavitation and hot spots as well as raising the boiling point.

 

[wrcsixeight]

Thanks for all the replies.

As Indicated in my original post, I am losing very little coolant at this point.

I would really prefer not to add any type of sealer to the system.

Perhaps I should have asked if a leaking radiator simply slowly increases it's rate of leaking, or is it much more prone to a rapid expulsion of coolant and possibly causing overheating and engine damage if not caught in time?

 

[MarkM66]

Originally Posted By: Brons2
take it to a local radiator shop and see if they can fix the leak economically.



Exactly!

 

[wrcsixeight]

Perhaps I'll do just that.

I still have my old copper brass radiator whose first row of copper fins disintegrated, perhaps I'll have that re cored, and install that one, then take in the aluminum one and have that one fixed as a back up with minimal down time.