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Radiator Woes

Ripper

Asked by Ripper,

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Ripper Newbie

Ripper

Posted
Posted

folks...the plastic top tank part of the radiator has developed a hairline crack. and when the car heats up and pressure builds, it's leaking water.

tried two types of epoxy glue to hold it but it aint working... :) works for a day or so but then the epoxy gives in to pressure

my obvious first choice is to hunt for a used radiator from delkanda and the usual suspects...

but then again the car being a 93 model corolla, there is no guarantee the used radiator too wont sprung a leak soon... And also i might have to buy the whole thing with the fan and i dont want to pay something i don't need right now. cos my fan is quite ok though it tends to be loud at times :) :)

which brings me to the next option...getting one of those copper tank thingies done cos the leak is only happening from the top and rest of the core seems to be quite ok

what do you guys think is the best course of action????

ct lionel seems to be offering the service but have no idea about costs, durability, time for the repair etc...

anyone else with a copper topped tank on their radiators???

23 answers to this question

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Elvis_Pil Newbie

Elvis_Pil

Posted
Posted (edited)

Dude you can change the top bottle of the radiator, go to a good radiator joint and ask them to remove the top for the sample, and go hunt around Panchi and you should be able to find one. The work is sort of specialized as you can practically change the top bottle only once.. also check the whole cooling system for other issues as well.. Also the copper option may be worthwhile to consider, if your not too keen on keeping the engine bay original

folks...the plastic top tank part of the radiator has developed a hairline crack. and when the car heats up and pressure builds, it's leaking water.

tried two types of epoxy glue to hold it but it aint working... :) works for a day or so but then the epoxy gives in to pressure

my obvious first choice is to hunt for a used radiator from delkanda and the usual suspects...

but then again the car being a 93 model corolla, there is no guarantee the used radiator too wont sprung a leak soon... And also i might have to buy the whole thing with the fan and i dont want to pay something i don't need right now. cos my fan is quite ok though it tends to be loud at times :):)

which brings me to the next option...getting one of those copper tank thingies done cos the leak is only happening from the top and rest of the core seems to be quite ok

what do you guys think is the best course of action????

ct lionel seems to be offering the service but have no idea about costs, durability, time for the repair etc...

anyone else with a copper topped tank on their radiators???

Edited by Elvis_Pil
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harshansenadhir Apprentice

harshansenadhir

Posted
Posted
folks...the plastic top tank part of the radiator has developed a hairline crack. and when the car heats up and pressure builds, it's leaking water.

tried two types of epoxy glue to hold it but it aint working... :) works for a day or so but then the epoxy gives in to pressure

my obvious first choice is to hunt for a used radiator from delkanda and the usual suspects...

but then again the car being a 93 model corolla, there is no guarantee the used radiator too wont sprung a leak soon... And also i might have to buy the whole thing with the fan and i dont want to pay something i don't need right now. cos my fan is quite ok though it tends to be loud at times :) :)

which brings me to the next option...getting one of those copper tank thingies done cos the leak is only happening from the top and rest of the core seems to be quite ok

what do you guys think is the best course of action????

ct lionel seems to be offering the service but have no idea about costs, durability, time for the repair etc...

anyone else with a copper topped tank on their radiators???

copper radiator tank will be a fix and will last long too, If it was me, I would've tried removing the top tank and use JB weld to provide a solution from the inside of the tank where it can sustain pressure. Looked for copper rebuilding and for both the tanks a guy asked 15k, two years back. Didn't check with CT lionel guys as I could source a brandnew radiator at 18k. In my opinion, first give it a try with JB weld and copper thing is better than used radiator. Failing all, worth to source a new radiator if cost justification is just right.

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Suds72 Newbie

Suds72

Posted
Posted

About 18 months ago I got the copper top done for something around 10K. It was a guy from Arawwala, Pannipitiya.

PM me if you need the details

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VVTi Newbie

VVTi

Posted
Posted
About 18 months ago I got the copper top done for something around 10K. It was a guy from Arawwala, Pannipitiya.

PM me if you need the details

i did mine in Copper from Lionel Radiators, cost only 6000 for the top tank as I had the same issue Ripper has... till the day I sold the car, the fix worked.. from August 2007 till last December.. no issues, no leaks... they gave a 12 month warranty also.

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Ripper Newbie

Ripper

Posted
  • Author
Posted
i did mine in Copper from Lionel Radiators, cost only 6000 for the top tank as I had the same issue Ripper has... till the day I sold the car, the fix worked.. from August 2007 till last December.. no issues, no leaks... they gave a 12 month warranty also.

thanks guys for taking the time and effort to reply :) appreciate it :)

i think this copper tank is the way to go since it comes with a warranty :D

willl checkout these lionel fellows and see how things are :)

Harshan

once i had a crack in one of the engine housing of my bike... one moronic mechanic dude had tightened the clutch cover incorrectly and the bloody thing cracked...

He used JB weld but it didn't hold too well...

luckily for me i stopped using that bike and went for another :)

also removing the plastic tank would be tough without destroying those pin thingies that hold it tight innit?

anyways i think the whole tank has aged to a point that even a small fix wont help things and i'm sure the leak will spring elsewhere...chances are the radiator is over 15 years old :P

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harshansenadhir Apprentice

harshansenadhir

Posted
Posted
thanks guys for taking the time and effort to reply :) appreciate it :)

i think this copper tank is the way to go since it comes with a warranty :D

willl checkout these lionel fellows and see how things are :)

Harshan

once i had a crack in one of the engine housing of my bike... one moronic mechanic dude had tightened the clutch cover incorrectly and the bloody thing cracked...

He used JB weld but it didn't hold too well...

luckily for me i stopped using that bike and went for another :)

also removing the plastic tank would be tough without destroying those pin thingies that hold it tight innit?

anyways i think the whole tank has aged to a point that even a small fix wont help things and i'm sure the leak will spring elsewhere...chances are the radiator is over 15 years old :P

did you check the price of a brand new radiator? could be the best option and might leave you with mere 5k ~ 8k difference between the copper radiator job. If I could source b/n radiator for 406 at 18k (which is 23k right now) you would be able to source it at a slightly lower price.

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ravisam Newbie

ravisam

Posted
Posted
About 18 months ago I got the copper top done for something around 10K. It was a guy from Arawwala, Pannipitiya.

PM me if you need the details

I had a simillar issue few months back. When I went to radiator guy he said, the core is Alumenium & he can not weld Copper to Alumenium. :unsure:

Only option was replacing a new one & cost me 19k (CT210 Diesel auto). :rolleyes:

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charitha19 Newbie

charitha19

Posted
Posted

try the copper tank options if ur core is good.. the radiotr house guys quotaed around 18K for my car to replace everything including the core.. with a warranty.. maybe u should ask them as well.

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Ripper Newbie

Ripper

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Go for the copper top tank solution, I went to delkanada and bought one and that leaked too.

yeah that's my worry with a used radiator...

my core too is aluminum mix alloy i think but i feel the top part where it meets the tank is steel...

anyways the situ isn't too bad at moment...need to refill about half a litre of water everyday after my daily driving.

will attend to it by the end of the week as i've got snowed under with work :(

I think a visit to CT lionel is the first and maybe radiator house next... If B/new option is not worth the moolah will do the copper tank thingy

VVTI

that copper radiator top isn't too bad mate :) pimp my radiator style :)

btw...brasso and silvo seems to be indispensable items for you :)

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VVTi Newbie

VVTi

Posted
Posted
yeah that's my worry with a used radiator...

my core too is aluminum mix alloy i think but i feel the top part where it meets the tank is steel...

anyways the situ isn't too bad at moment...need to refill about half a litre of water everyday after my daily driving.

will attend to it by the end of the week as i've got snowed under with work :(

I think a visit to CT lionel is the first and maybe radiator house next... If B/new option is not worth the moolah will do the copper tank thingy

VVTI

that copper radiator top isn't too bad mate :) pimp my radiator style :)

btw...brasso and silvo seems to be indispensable items for you :)

Brasso, Silvo, WD40 and SuperGlue.... you have no idea how useful they are.... my tool kit has all 4! Even took the SuperGlue and the WD40 on my Jaffna trip. Just in case....

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ruwansusantha Newbie

ruwansusantha

Posted
Posted
Brasso, Silvo, WD40 and SuperGlue.... you have no idea how useful they are.... my tool kit has all 4! Even took the SuperGlue and the WD40 on my Jaffna trip. Just in case....

I had a copper tank done for my AT212 Carina, though the core was Aluminium, 2 years ago from Rad Hou, Peliyagoda.Cost only Rs. 6000. No issues so far.

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Ripper Newbie

Ripper

Posted
  • Author
Posted

ok boys...

an update..shameful one sadly!

the list member VVTI and myself checked around for repair joints for my busted radiator but none of those people were convincing enough.

Especially with the aluminum core thing, nobody was willing to give a proper warranty at least for a month or so...

Radiator house quoted 16.5k for a brand new one but shockingly that too without a warranty!

So naturally we were thinking of a used one from a delkanda joint...

called up japan lanka and they had a few ae110 radiators at, 6.5k for the radiator only and 8k for the whole thing with the fan.

So list member VVTI and I started on removing the leaking unit from my car.

only then we noticed the fan blade was at a somewhat awkward angle :P and the fan wasn't moving freely :P

after removing everything and trying on the fan motor, it wouldn't work

we removed the motor housing only to find out the rear bearing of the motor had gone kaput, making the armature rub against the magnets

this was so bad the whole armature had burnt off after catching fire...

basically..it was the dead fan that killed the radiator. :P

and i didn't spot it :(

The old radiator top tank had gone brittle over years of use and the fan failure and it cracked like an egg shell as i was trying pry off the top hose

the "new" radiator was pressure tested and road tested and seem to be working mighty fine :)

I had my radiator fan running throughout by passing the thermostat switch. I think overtime this ruined the motor bearings and got me into this mess.

to my bad luck i didn't spot the issue early.

anyways...8k down, a good lesson learnt :)

getting my thermostat switch sorted over the weekend.

weekly fan inspections are now added onto the usual check up routine

motorq.jpg

bearing.jpg

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MkX Newbie

MkX

Posted
Posted

Guys can radiator top tank repaired using copper in march HK-11. Does it have fiber glass top tank?

There is leak but still can't see where it exactly but it comes through near seal between top tank and the readiator core.

How much this wold cost to repair?

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Ripper Newbie

Ripper

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Guys can radiator top tank repaired using copper in march HK-11. Does it have fiber glass top tank?

There is leak but still can't see where it exactly but it comes through near seal between top tank and the readiator core.

How much this wold cost to repair?

you can easily see if it's plastic or copper :P

if it is plastic...don't bother repairing!!!

you're better off with a used radiator!

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MkX Newbie

MkX

Posted
Posted
you can easily see if it's plastic or copper :P

if it is plastic...don't bother repairing!!!

you're better off with a used radiator!

looks like it's plastic. BTW my father did copper repair on the fiber glass top, fully removed and put a copper thing i guess, it has cost him Rs.5,500.

This march's fas has not worked guys.. looks like heat sensor or some thing has not worked today.. how ever only after engine boiled and radiator leaked, the check light has come...

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Ripper Newbie

Ripper

Posted
  • Author
Posted
looks like it's plastic. BTW my father did copper repair on the fiber glass top, fully removed and put a copper thing i guess, it has cost him Rs.5,500.

This march's fas has not worked guys.. looks like heat sensor or some thing has not worked today.. how ever only after engine boiled and radiator leaked, the check light has come...

i got a used radiator in good nik for like 6.5k...with the fan 8k

and yeah....as stupid as it was...i busted my "new" radiator too recently :action-smiley-060:

busted a hose oneday coming after work...fixed things up at home myself but have forgotten to re-connect the fan :angry-smiley-048:

Now i'm on my second "new" radiator...with pre-mixed coolant, new hoses and genuine radiator cap.

believe it or not...the cap plays a big role and you get the wrong one... in a bad situ things gets worse really fast!

one has to develop the habit of keeping an eye on the heat gauge all the time :)

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The Don Newbie

The Don

Posted
Posted

Guys anyone know a place where I can get some brass radiator repair done? CT no longer active on this field :(

Check the yellow pages. There is Radiator House in Peliyagoda I believe, D*MO, and recently I had my radiator cleaned at a small radiator joint in Nawala in a small lane in front of where the "weli" lorries are parked. Years or oxidisation had caused my radiator to get blocked and the car to intermittently overheat. Sorted the problem out before it did any damage.

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