A wonderful crack in my radiator developed tonight.

#1 02-12-2005, 11:31 PM

The time has come... My radiator needs replacing. On the freeway, I smelled a very strange odor (not the typical maple syrup smell), and decided to pull over at the next exit. I parked in a gas station lot, and popped the hood. Everything looked fine, until the radiator leak caught my eye. There is a very small crack in the top plastic, about two inches long. Fluid is very very slowly leaking out.

I'd like to change it ASAP, and hopefully find a little fix in the mean time. I'm assuming that I'm too late for the group-buy on the aluminum one, but I asked anyway over in that thread.

Ruined my day, man. I've got the money and all, but it was meant for other purposes. As usual.

I looked at subaruparts.com, and they list it for $355. I also looked here and found the radiator for $320. The part number that subaruparts.com lists for the radiator is 45199PA001, and this checks out at the other site. Has anyone ordered from subarupartspeople.com before ("the other site")?

Does anyone else know of any other good prices, aside from maybe, possibly inching into the aluminum group-buy?

ensteele · #2 02-13-2005, 12:48 AM

I am not sure if it is too late, but the best deal would be to go with the group buy. If you get another OEM one, you will have the same problem in the future. If you use the search feature, Stormin Norman did a fix to his that lasted a very long time. He finally replaced his, but the fix lasted a couple of years if I remember right. I will look in a few minutes and if I can, I will link to it in this thread. Good luck.

ssnsltd · #3 02-13-2005, 07:49 AM

FWIW,
I have a crack on top/ more or less above the water line.
This will continue to spread through vibration unless you arrest the crack. The only way to do this is to drill a hole just PAST the ends of the crack.
I did this, then drilled several holes through the crack line
sanded the crap out of the area around it
used brake cleaner to make sure the surface had no oil or radiotor fluid left on it .
Filled/covered the area with Epoxy putty (I think it was magnum steel) make sure you work the putty through the crack and holes so it has a good purchase when the radiator flexes. I aslo put in some bars leak.
I have driven mine from NC to Flordida and back, pluss around town for a couple weeks. It does leek a little, but I have not had to add any fluid since the repair. There are a couple good threads on fixing the cracks here. I also saw some PVC heat activated (195 deg) repair paist at LOWES the other day. I figure that should work as well.

#4 02-13-2005, 02:34 PM

Well, I got some QuikSteel (the product that Chris recommended in a much earlier thread), some medium and fine grain sand paper, and some brake cleaner. I am also going to get a turkey baster a little later (to drain some fluid), and try to fix the problem. The mentioned thread is here .

I also got a plastic radiator fix-kit, which appears to have some kind of mesh with a hardening solution. I haven't opened it yet though.

I'm trying to get into the aluminum radiator group-buy, and will let everyone know how it goes. Even if I have to do some persuasion/bribery, I really would like to have an all aluminum radiator instead.

SilverSpear · #5 02-14-2005, 04:54 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by deruvian

I also got a plastic radiator fix-kit, which appears to have some kind of mesh with a hardening solution. I haven't opened it yet though.

USE IT! when i first got my SVX, a stupid trucker damaged my hood while going in reverse, the accident wasn't bad at all, just a big ding on my hood (not even the headlights were hit...) but the things holding the radiator from above were pushed a little bit breaking the pins and in consequence leaking water... so i got this fix-kit, and glued the pins back in their places... now i have been driving the car for 4 years with no problems...

SilverSpear · #6 02-14-2005, 05:00 AM

so the point is no need to buy a new radiator... save the $$$, fix it with the kit you have and if it still leaks, then buy a new one...

#7 02-14-2005, 05:38 PM

Well, precisely as described in another thread, I tried to patch the hole using QuikSteel. I sanded the area, drilled a hole at each end of the crack, drilled a few holes along the crack, and cleaned the area with brake cleaner. I applied the QuikSteel, and waited for it to fully harden. Radiator fluid has still found its way out from under the patch.

I definitely haven't heard back from Chris regarding the aluminum radiator, so today I sucked it up and bought an OEM one.

Whatever. I'll be installing it tomorrow, and I'll let y'all know the turnout.

#8 02-15-2005, 05:30 PM

Well, I installed the new radiator today. Man, that old one was dirty!

Putting the auxiliary transcooler on the new one felt a little strange, because a few holes have to be punctured in the fins.

When putting the screws for the fan frames into the radiator, they did not go in all the way. I didn't have any washers available, so I thought that I could get away with putting them in as far as I felt safe with. That worked on the first one, but on the second one the head broke off. The screw is still sticking out by a few millimeters, and I can just barely get hold of it with some pliers. However, I cannot loosen it with them. The pliers just spin, not the screw.

A trick that my Dad and I would use on stuff like that starts with a trusty old Dremel. We would use a cutting disc to put a slot in the end of a broken screw, and therefore simply turn it into a new screw.

Stick a slotted screwdriver in the newly cut slot, and you're good to go. Unfortunately, I do not have a Dremel.

The fan is temporarily attached at that corner with a zip-tie.

Drives great. Stays at the correct temperature, and, of course, doesn't leak.