Diagnosing a cracked radiator...
 

Just my luck, I might be joining the PWR radiator club by necessity moreso than choice.

Drove to work today, nothing unusual.
Stopped at the gas station for breakfast as I usually do.

Breakfast burrito, some kind of huge donut and whatever I feel like drinking.

As I'm parking there are clouds of steam billowing from my hood, from the very front.
...
...
Now that I think about it that's probably why the front of the engine bay is wet with coolant.
It couldn't have just sprayed in ever direction,

could it?

I checked for leaks, saw nothing but a small puddle.
I figured if one of the hoses on the left side were leaking there's no way my tranny cooler could be wet, especially if the fans were blowing and air was rushing in.
Then again I did let it idle on my home today in some parking lot for a few minutes.

ANYWAY here's the deal.
I have coolant all over the place.
A semi-slow leak.
No apparent hose bursting or fitment problems.
A much different situation than when a hose clamp simply fell off a few months ago.

What are the chances I have a cracked radiator fin and the fans are blowing it around?
Pretty good?

At what mileage are radiator failures common?

How much is shipping a new one going to cost me?

It's irritating when ebay sellers can't find the time to answer a simple question for a potential buyer.
Not that I asked PWR. I never thought I'd need a new rad til now. ):

first of all check all the hoses, then water pump... leave the radiator thing till last.

With the engine cold, fill up the radiator and put the cap on. Fill the expansion bottle to the correct level, then start the engine and let it idle for about 15 minutes until it warms up and the cooling system becomes pressurised. The leak should become apparent.

From hanging around here for a couple of years I'd say the imfamous crack along the bulge in the plastic top constitutes the vast majority of radiator failures; seems that would be more likely than a leak in the core. As to when, mine was cracked when I bought the car 25 months ago at <105,000 miles. The dealer gave me a new radiator, which retails somewhere in the neighborhood of $300. He shipped it to me N/C, so I can't help you there. Can you ring it up at subaruparts.com and see, or will they not ship to you?

Looking for a coolant leak around the front of the engine, I'd be sure to check that little thermostat bypass hose.

dcb

dcb > I do have a crack there but it has yet to be compromised. I know subaruparts will ship to me. I've got stuff from there before, but I don't want to stay with oem if there are superior alternatives.

Even though I changed my water pump less than 3 years ago, I think Danny got it.

Today my car is not starting.

There is no reason for it not to start, so I assumed there is massive resistance keeping it from turning over.
I pop my radiator cap and what do I see?

Metal shavings. :mad:

http://www.subaru-svx.net/photos/fil...u_S./32202.jpg

If anyone has any other ideas let me know. I'll be taking the bus to work today...

Oh and if anyone has a water pump older than 3 years, can you tell me where you got it.

Though now that I think of it, the water pump pulley isn't toothed it's smooth, so I don't understand how it could stop me from cranking it over, unless my belt is really good and tight.

Sucks to have to trash a perfectly good timing belt. :(

So your engine won't even turn over now? I think the radiator is the least of your worries.

Weird huh?

I've determined my battery is near dead. All the signs are there.
I'm gonna get a jump here in a half hour or so and I assume it'll start right up.

While it's running I'll poke around and try to make a concrete evaluation of what's happening.

Even though I may jump to conclusions as things go wrong, I don't go about trying to fix them haphazardly. ;)

I don't think it's nealy as serious as I'm making it seem.

BTW, can anyone tell me if this is the C solenoid transfer valve assembly for the AWD?
http://www.subaruparts.com/diag/?mod...category=182-A

Being that I might be opening up the timing case I am thinking of rerouting my rims fund into water and oil pumps, a new cover, and that solenoid thinger.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ken/things.jpg
Am I missing anything?

One moooore thing.

Does anyone know if the SVX has that dead battery power reserve feature like the XT6, where you turn the key back and forth rapidly?

Ok apparently I don't have to change the name of the thread.

The radiator is cracked on top in what seems to be the common area where everyone else's does.

I got a jump from my friend. Didn't wait, just turned the key and it fired up.
I ran it until it was warm, drove around the block, and bubbles were spewing from the crack that I had deemed uncomprmised.

So much for my initial observation.

Current plan of action is a JB Weld type temporary bandage until I determine whether somethign is shredding aluminum shavings or what.

If not, it's a PWR rad for me. (:

---
Concerning my loss of cranking power, I did leave the hood open all night, and my passenger door might have been cracked but I'm not sure.

You may have simply compromised the electrical system, just as if
you stood there with a hose spraying water on it. Remember, more than one
of us now had had to replace the tranny resistor after similar leaks!

Nik,
Antifreeze will destroy bearing so make sure you rinse the alternator and idler pulley off well with clean water, and oil the idler pulley....

I'm wondering where any metal shavings present in your coolant could have come from, and how they would defy gravity and accumulate around the radiator cap. Have you used a "stop leak" product?

dcb

I was thinking this earlier. Makes sense.
Will do.
On my moms Grand Cherokee the water pump failed becuase it began to dig into the cylinder wall. A friend thinks it's possible the bearing in the pump is shredding.
The defying gravity part... they may have just been pushed up by the flow of steam or something, and imbedded onto the rubber of the cap due to pressure. The shavings are practically weightless they are so small.

Never used a stop leak product in my coolant. It's never leaked before. Not like this anyhow.