Title should kind of explain, our 1998 CR-V has developed a horizontal crack in the upper plastic tank approx. 2" (50mm) in length, and directly across from the upper hose fitting.

It's actually one main central crack, and a series of lighter, superficial surface cracks which are located slightly above and below the main crack, running parallel. It weeps a bit of coolant from the central crack, which pools in the channel on the top of the radiator.

Rest of the rad. seems fine. Can the tank be replaced, or do I need to replace the whole assembly?

 

BTW, thanks again to all who contributed to the hesitation (more like, dying) fix.. this thing runs friggin SCHWEET!! ;-)

To make a silly test, I warmed it up, put it in 1st and started driving around without touching the throttle. Amazed how well it pulled driveway & parking lot ramps, grades etc. without ever bucking or dying out. Just torqued right along.. at 1mph.

For initial fit & function, I rate the Cardone Select distributor at 5/5. After hearing one horror story, I +might+ replace the Chi-Com bearings with something decent, but for now I hate to mess with it, as it runs so darn nice.

 

You probably could get the tank replaced, but at $100 for a new one, I doubt it will be cost effective. I put one in mine from oriellys. Only complaint is that it uses a Nissan cap and not a Honda cap. I'm glad I checked while I was at the store.

 

My radiator had a crack in roughly the same place when I bought it. Had to check my levels before every drive and left a nice puddle in my driveway every morning .

Anyways, it isn't worth trying to fix. A new radiator can be had for less than 100 bucks from your local auto parts store. I bought the Ready-Rad one from Advance Auto (They always have 15-20% off btw if you order online and pick up in store) and have been running no issues or leaks since I put it in.

 

you can upgrade to an all aluminum dual core for around 120

 

Care to link to a decent example of that?

So far the rads. I've found seem to be suspiciously cheap.. like, $75.00 for a brand-new unit. Shouldn't they be at least $179 these days?

Of course, the last time I bought a radiator was about 15 years ago, and it was for a Ford truck. Just a little single-core for an F100 with the 300 L6, and it was about $150.

But come to think of it, I suppose the Honda parts are cheap on the materials end.. just aluminum and plastic, not all solid brass - is that what's holding the price low?

 

Lastly - what's the prognosis for this? Do they just kind of keep seeping forever, or is it bound to split wide open and eject the contents of the cooling loop?

Do I have to fix it during the winter?

 

I would fix it as soon as possible. You are dealing with pressurized fluid, it could last 10,000 more miles leaking, or burst tomorrow, possibly ruining engine components.

The pricing you see are about what they cost for a new, no frills radiator. As I said in my earlier post, I have been running a less than $100 auto store radiator with no issues.

 

Auto store rads are fina as well. they usually come with a lifetime warranty.

but as we know, when its time to replace a rad, it will hold up another 100k+ and usually when the car has taken a crap and scrapped.

A dual core isnt needed, but like I said, an upgrade.

 

I put Hondabond on Mom's 3 years ago as a temporary fix, it worked so now I guess it's a permanent fix. Typically they blow all to pieces if you have excessive pressure in the cooling system (blown headgasket) but otherwise they generally seem to just keep seeping. That said I'd just put a parts store rad in it, they don't cost much and they normally work well. I really should do something with Mom's before it does fly apart somewhere.

 

Had this happen a couple of months ago to my wife's car, made this when it did

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