I think my Radiator is leaking?

[Early93Viper]

I have a 97 GTS with a newer or aftermarket radiator in it. (Not sure to be honest it was Josh’s old car.) The car seems to always run pretty cold 160-180 degrees is normal operating temp. But ever since I have bought it if I get on the car 5-6k RPMs I see a little drop or two of coolant on my garage floor. And when I dynoed the car a few weeks ago I lost a decent amount of coolant on my second run.

So we filled it pressure tested it for leaks. During the pressure test it held 15pds for about 10 min then for about 5 min it slowly went down to 13pds where it held. But we thought that was pretty normal. We couldn’t find any leaks and the pressure test seemed normal. So we changed the radiator cap (Just in case) and I was on my way.

Fast forward to today I took the car out and got on it hard for three or four stints and then drove it home. When I returned home I smelled a bit of antifreeze and opened the hood and found a couple of drops on the radiator fan and radiator shroud. (See pic) But no drops on the ground. There was no visible water coming from the top radiator hose or anywhere else. I even saw a bit of steam coming from the radiator. All of which makes me think the radiator has a small leak in it except there doesn’t seem to be a trail from the water on top of my radiator fan and shroud going to the radiator. It just seems like they appeared out of nowhere.

Questions:

Am I right to think I have a small radiator leak?

How do I tell what radiator I have?

If it is my radiator is it possible to get these leaks fixed or should I be thinking about getting a new radiator?

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

My guess is a bad radiator. It can be rebuilt for $400 or you can get a used one for $400. I like having spare parts so I have a rebuilt one sitting in the corner.

 

[-FROG-]

I had one leaking once so it's possible. Same as you... a few drops here and there. There was evidence on the bottom areas of the bumper. Jack it up, crawl under there and scope it out.
About getting it fixed... yea you can do that. I had a larger radiator fixed on a Mustang hot rod I had. They resoldered it and painted it and it looked brand new. Saved me a ton of money!

 

[EllowViper]

I just swapped out my Fluidyne three core back to the stock radiator. Here's the deal and may be applicable to your situation. The Fluidyne (aluminum) would leak when cool, but not when hot. I guess the aluminum expanded and sealed-up the leak but when it cooled, drip drip drip. Really weird. I will get it fixed, but I was scratching my head over that for awhile. Maybe your's is doing the opposite...leaking when hot and not when cool. Don't know. Just a thought. Expanding & contracting metal does some weird things.