Bummed out..Radiator leaking already?

[crazyspeed]

Low mileage 1997 GTS. Went for a blast today, got back and thought I smelled a/freeze. Found puddle under radiator...driver side. Either coming from left tank seam near top...or upper radiator hose(doubtful) Are these radiators known to be weak? Do I have to spend a lot af money on a fancy alum rad? or repair this one? Has anyone found a reasonable compromise? TIA

 

[dave6666]

Don't feel bad. I did buy the fancy aluminum radiator to replace a perfectly good stock one. The aluminum one had a hole in it right out of the box.

Replaced for free, minus a large postage stamp back to where it came from.

 

[dave6666]

BTW... I've been seeing some good used one's on ebay for $100 bucks and not selling. I think that officially means the price could possibly be less...

 

[Sean Roe]

Three words to help prevent this.... Anode Radiator Cap.
I've replaced two anode caps on my car and no radiators in the nine years I've had it ('96 GTS with in service date of Oct. '97).

 

[dave6666]

Three words to help prevent this.... Anode Radiator Cap.
I've replaced two anode caps on my car and no radiators in the nine years I've had it ('96 GTS with in service date of Oct. '97).

I've got one Sean...

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[Tom F&L GoR]

Anode cap = used up coolant anti-corrosion additive. Change your coolant frequently.

FWIW, I've used DEX-COOL coolants for the lifetime of a Dodge Ram Van (1992, trade-in 2005), Dodge Dakota (1996), Dodge Intrepid (1997) and Viper (1994, but purchased in 1998) I've never changed coolants or radiators. Couldn't even guess how much a radiator costs.

Peak makes a Global Lifetime antifreeze now that is very good.

 

[crazyspeed]

Don't feel bad. I did buy the fancy aluminum radiator to replace a perfectly good stock one. The aluminum one had a hole in it right out of the box.

Replaced for free, minus a large postage stamp back to where it came from.

So....are you selling the perfectly good stock one?

 

[dave6666]

So....are you selling the perfectly good stock one?

I found it quite handy having the spare when the fancy one came back out...

Keep an eye on ebay. They come up pretty often. Or there are lots of vendors here at the forum that may (or may not) have good prices on used ones.

 

[ViperJohn]

Depending on how the miles are, it's possible the coolant was not changed enough. The glycol broke down and accelerated corrosion occurred. Corrosion rates are also higher when water is not flowing/moving.

 

[crazyspeed]

I'm not sure yet where the leak is from....possibly the seam between the core and the side tank? Is this an all brass radiator?
Which is considered the best constuction today? The Alum radiator with plastic side tanks on my 5 series BMW was cheesey, the plastic tank cracked and exploded after 5 years. One would expect better a radiator on a pricy BMW or a Viper...espec considering the price of repair for these engines

 

[99 R/T 10]

I have had two of them fail along the drives side seam. I replaced it with a custom aluminum one. Alan's Performance has a triple pass radiator that works great

 

[Sean Roe]

Anode cap = used up coolant anti-corrosion additive. Change your coolant frequently.

FWIW, I've used DEX-COOL coolants for the lifetime of a Dodge Ram Van (1992, trade-in 2005), Dodge Dakota (1996), Dodge Intrepid (1997) and Viper (1994, but purchased in 1998) I've never changed coolants or radiators. Couldn't even guess how much a radiator costs.

Peak makes a Global Lifetime antifreeze now that is very good.

That's a good point for those that don't think about it much.
I run the extended life coolant and two bottles of Redline Watter wetter. It gets changed about every four years (I think it's due this summer, for at least a checkup).

There hasn't been any green coolant in my car since '99.

 

[crazyspeed]

Well I pulled the radiator today. No response to my ques, but it does seem to be 100% brass. Boy is it heavy. it looks like it's leaking from the left tank at the seam.
Upon quick inspection, it seems to be in really nice shape. I'll likely have it repaired if I can find a reputable rad shop...anyone try this?

 

[wow]

Crazy Speed,

I just took my 96 gts for a spin and also noticed my rad. seems to be leaking in the same place. Let me know how your repair goes. Thx

Jason

 

[whitebluevipe]

"Anode cap = used up coolant anti-corrosion additive. Change your coolant frequently."

so Tom are you advocating these or think there a bad idea?

 

[99 R/T 10]

It will be hard to find a shop to repair it. It appears nowadays most won't touch it due to the EPA regulations and would ratehr just sell you a new one.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

"Anode cap = used up coolant anti-corrosion additive. Change your coolant frequently."

so Tom are you advocating these or think there a bad idea?

I believe they were developed for the marine industry where the lake/sea/ocean water is used as the coolant? In an open system without anti-corrosion additives, the OEM had to make sure that the engine block would not corrode, so there was a sacrificial part instead. Since it is prone to corrosion, and coolants try to prevent any corrosion, in a closed automotive system all you are doing is pitting (<-- pun, get it?) one against the other.

I have seen so many taxi radiators with 100,000+ miles and so many diesel truck parts after 600,000+ miles with only one coolant charge that I can't see these anode caps are necessary. A decent long-life coolant is a major, NASA-to-the-moon, size step forward in coolant technology.

 

[crazyspeed]

Crazy Speed,

I just took my 96 gts for a spin and also noticed my rad. seems to be leaking in the same place. Let me know how your repair goes. Thx

Jason

The rad shop wants to do a recore with a triple row ...for $380. He says it is a top quality rad.... and manufacturers have gone cheap with alum/plastic rads which are not as reliable. I am tempted to go with alum radiator for weight savings alone. I wonder what the weight savings might be?

 

[dave6666]

The rad shop wants to do a recore with a triple row ...for $380. He says it is a top quality rad.... and manufacturers have gone cheap with alum/plastic rads which are not as reliable. I am tempted to go with alum radiator for weight savings alone. I wonder what the weight savings might be?

I just put my Ron Davis back in. The first one had a leak and had to be replaced. I am unfortunately now experienced at Gen 2 radiator swapping.

Anyway...

The OE radiator weighed 20.2#

The aluminum Ron Davis weighed 17.4#

Add at least another qt. of fluid at 8# per gallon and it's a *** for tat exchange. Well, with the exception of better cooling.

 

[viper spray]

Get the Ron Davis and be done with it...........