Radiator

#1 03-18-2002, 11:44 AM

Anyone out there ever see an SVX radiator top tank crack? Mine has a hairline break between the inlet hose and the filler cap. I find it an odd place for something to fail and was curious if anyone else has heard or seen such a thing.

Thanks in advance for any input. (and to think I haven't had to dump any money into this thing for a couple of whole months, bummer)

listed · #2 03-18-2002, 02:11 PM

It shouldn't have broken without some sort of outside force involved.

Aredubjay · #3 03-18-2002, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by lightning_8669
Anyone out there ever see an SVX radiator top tank crack? Mine has a hairline break between the inlet hose and the filler cap. I find it an odd place for something to fail and was curious if anyone else has heard or seen such a thing.

Thanks in advance for any input. (and to think I haven't had to dump any money into this thing for a couple of whole months, bummer)

John,
Over the past three years of being involved with these boards, I've heard of several instances of this happening. Not "a bunch" but several. One fellow repaired his (at least temporarily) with JB Weld. You could probably do a search in the Yahoo archive and find a few instances of this anomoly.

Chris · #4 03-18-2002, 03:50 PM

mine did the same thing 2 years ago. I fixed it with epoxy-puddy. But, when I took the upper radiator hose off a few months ago to pull my motor... part of the freaking neck came with it!!! I am thinking about having a race style aluminum one maunfactured..... when I get money to do so. As it is right now I will be lucky to drive it by fall!

Also, you can buy new plastic tanks and have a radiator shop replace it for less than a new radiator.

wawazat?? · #5 03-18-2002, 04:48 PM

was having an aluminum radiator made up. He shipped his in for sizing and outlet placement. He was having a triple core system made but stated they could easily make a two core like our standard radiator as well.

immortal_suby · #6 03-18-2002, 04:55 PM

My wife's svx radiator did this. There is a thread on it somewhere but basically a member recommended using a product called magnum steel - you need to sand and thoroughly clean the plastic before using it.
I tried JB weld and some other waterproof epoxy but both flaked off. The magnum steel has held up for quite a while now.

#7 03-19-2002, 06:05 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by lightning_8669
Anyone out there ever see an SVX radiator top tank crack? Mine has a hairline break between the inlet hose and the filler cap. I find it an odd place for something to fail and was curious if anyone else has heard or seen such a thing.

Thanks in advance for any input. (and to think I haven't had to dump any money into this thing for a couple of whole months, bummer)

I had mine go recently (last spring?). From one who knows, don't bother fixing it. I've tried *tons* of JB Weld and numerous other products in the two weeks waiting for the shop to get my replacement radiator in. What happens is that the plastic in that area, once cracked, tends to "flower" open, and off comes whatever was attempting to bind it.

Save yourself the aggrivation, choke down the cost (I won't try to qoute a price, cause' parts around here are *extremely* high) and put in a new rad. You could also save yourself some dough and do the R&R yourself (if you can change a tire, this'll be easy).

BTW- wawazat, Griffon was backed up for a while (wait time was like 6 months

) so I never gave them the old rad. I'll probably wait till' after the electric water pump is in before I spend the money.

Jamsvx · #8 03-19-2002, 10:18 PM

Hi

I have heard of 2 failing here in Australia...one up in Qld (he had an aluminum one custom made and again, like others here, he commented that it was far cheaper than getting an OEM one). I a picture on my home PC so will upload it when I get back (away for work at the moment).

One of the more recent additions to the Australian club also had his go and also commented on the cost effectiveness of an aftermarket radiator.

One thing that we noticed when comparing Blakes 1992 and Ron's 1992 was that the mounts (plastic) near the top of the radiator had cracked in exactly the same place and in the same manner - I will also try and get some photos of this phenomenon for everyone.

Regards

James

#9 03-20-2002, 06:49 AM

Thanks so far to all who've responded. Apparently the car has an issue with top radiator tanks failing. As I took a closer look at it last night and what seems to be the problem (not that it will help any of us) is that the inlet hose directs the hot coolant from the engine directly at the part of the tank that is failing. I don't think they put enough material in the area to be able to tolerate this "focused" heating. I think the form for the top tank was designed to allow for uniform plastic thickness. Which means it would be more manufacturable. Which means it should be cheaper to make. And, and, and....

Anyway, I'm to cheap to have a custom one made (the car also isn't worth that much) so I think I'll put a used on it and see how it holds up.

Thanks again guys.

Uncamitzi · #10 03-21-2002, 10:36 AM

I noticed that mine had cracked shortly after I got the car back in Dec of last year. After trying to find an affordable (read cheap) replacement I decided on the plastic epoxy repair. So far so good. After a couple of road trips the repair is holding. I will continue to look for a replacement (or eventually shell out the 400.00 plus for the replacement). When I first looked at the problem I couldn't believe that Subaru had used a high impact plastic as a radiator..... Then found out that it had become common place. You would think plastic would be cheaper to replace.

#11 03-21-2002, 10:57 AM

Cheapness is realative. The problem with the SVX radiator (aside from the engineering oversight) is that they didn't make many. That being the case they cost more because each set up in the process has a smaller population of finished parts to spread the cost over. However, the tooling to form the platic tank was likely much less expensive than tooling to make a metal version. But to get the plastic to form this shape the material thicknesses had to be controlled. What that did was make the material thinner in an area that needed it to be thicker. Right where the hottest coolant blasts into it coming out of the engine. But hey, they last 10 years so what are we complaining about? Add to this mis-step the clogging trans coolers in the early model years and the radiator is another serious weak engineering link in the design of the car.

Thanks for letting me vent. Glad to hear you are having luck with the plastic cement.

#12 03-21-2002, 12:27 PM

Mine cracked a month ago - identical place. Where can I find that Magnum Steel?

Also, who do you recommend for an aluminum replacement? And are they really that much less expensive than stock?

immortal_suby · #13 03-22-2002, 04:31 PM

Most auto parts stores will have magnum steel. it comes in a tube about the size of a stack of quarters. It is a solid piece of "dough' that you have to kneed for a while to activate it.

#14 03-23-2002, 11:08 PM

im new here, and whats funny is the first thread i look at is for this rad prob...i just got my first svx two days ago

and it has a crack in the upper tank!!!! unreal, what a small world!!

#15 03-25-2002, 05:54 AM

Welcome to the board Mr. double o bondo.

You will find, after looking over several threads, that the SVX is a car with failures across the product. So if my radiator fails you can expect other radiator failures. Other areas to watch for; rear wheel bearings, transmissions and clogged trans coolers in 92-93 model years.

Good luck and welcome aboard.