hey guys,

a while back one of the radiator hoses in the bottom blew out for no apparent reason-it blew out near where it was connected. the shop inspected the cooling system to see what could've caused it but everything checked out OK. but recently, it seems like i have to pour in more coolant more often. today i saw some seepage of coolant on the top edge of the radiator. i got the car when i was 18 and now i'm 21-i never had the radiator replaced and i don't know if the previous owner ever replaced it. do you guys think it's time to get a new radiator? or is another part of the cooling system acting up? or you think a simple flush would help? thanks in advance.

 

first thing first, do a voltage check to see if the coolant you have in there is eating the block alive or not.

and i would probably go ahead and test the pressure of the cap, 1.1 bar-15-16 psi, leave it there for two minute and see if it hold pressure.

the next step-pressure test the whole cooling system, 1.1 bar(****warning, if your cap did not hold pressure, pushing more psi into the cooling system might cause leak, notice i said cooling system instead of radiator alone)

pressure test for 2min and see if it hold pressure.

check coolant bypass hose for the block

btw when the last time you change themostat, coolant,etc?
headgasket?

 

If you blew a radiator hose chances are you overheated. Your headgasket may be gone, pull the spark plugs out and if they are white your headgasket is blown, pressure test your system you may have a leak somewhere. also inspect your upper radiator hose, radiator hoses need to be replaced once in a while.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by accordexchange &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">some seepage of coolant on the top edge of the radiator.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Check for a crack in the radiator where you see seepage; And if it is cracked just replace the radiator.

I just replaced mine a few months ago. The radiator I got was Koyo and was like $120 out the door.

Install wasn't that hard either. I did a search on this board and found instructions to replace the radiator so there wouldn't be any surprises. Hardest part was disconnecting the fan & fan's sensors.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by iam7head &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">first thing first, do a voltage check to see if the coolant you have in there is eating the block alive or not.

headgasket?</TD></TR></TABLE>

How would one do this check?

Thanks

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Gerhard_001 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If you blew a radiator hose chances are you overheated. Your headgasket may be gone, pull the spark plugs out and if they are white your headgasket is blown, pressure test your system you may have a leak somewhere. also inspect your upper radiator hose, radiator hoses need to be replaced once in a while.</TD></TR></TABLE>

As long as the needle in the temperature guage doesn't rise above halfway, the engine is not over heating, correct?

Thanks

 

just change the radiator and be done with it .... they arent that expencive ... i sell oem style koyo radiators for 100