Coolant doesn't like staying in the car - new radiator or...?
 

Hey guys,

My classic Turbo 2000 wagon is being a bit leaky!

I'm topping up the coolant on a fairly regular basis - I don't do any long drives, thankfully but I'd like to sort the problem as soon as I can.

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After a drive - the car doesn't normally leak this badly, this was after a longer drive and I left the car running for 3 or 4 mins afterward.

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After a drive, it seems to be coming out of the top of the radiator - if it's been a longer drive, it comes out a little like steam from where I've highlighted below:

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In general the car doesn't get used too much and I'm burping the system and checking the fluids weekly - but I'd much rather have a healthy car!

Just wondering on opinions, am I better off getting a new radiator, if so where's a good place to check out?

What about sealants? K Seal etc?

Opinions and advice are really welcome - thanks in advance! :luxhello:

Jonny

Get yourself a japspeed aluminium radiator and some silicone rad hoses.:thumb:

As the man said new rad

New rad....but a standard one should be fine. It certainly works well on my 400/400 2.5 forged engine:( Paid all of £64 for it locally.;)

Burping? waste of time. IF it airlocks, drain it and refill AFTER DOING A SEARCH FOR HOW TO DO SO WITHOUT AIRLOCKING.

There is no known way to bleed the system....sometimes you can get lucky, most times not, and the longer you drive it with an airlock, the more chance of damage.

Swap the top hose too. Standard Subaru part is good.

Do not put bloody k-seal in the system! Why people do this is beyond me! The rads are peanuts! Why would you want to bodge such a vital part of your engine's health system?

The rad will most likely have split down the plastic end tank (if you look with a torch from the front of the car down the depth of the end tank you should see it)

Also, the temp gauge is not much more use than an ash tray on a motorbike so driving it around knowingly like that is silly too.

Guys,

Thanks for the replies. I've taken the car off the road (handy thing about the missus never using her car is I can live without mine for a bit!) for the last week or so now to prevent damage. Sounds like a new rad is in order - aluminium Japspeed + silicone hoses strikes me as a pretty fun idea! :)

Point noted about K-Seal and others. If I'm going to fix it, do it right.

Thanks for the help folks!

I would get a check for hydro carbons in the coolant, your coolant may be pressuring due to compression leak. You may not get other normal signs for head. But it's more common that you think

You must have a lot of disposable income;)

Ha, disposable income is the last thing I have! Happy to keep the car off the road until pay day though, haha!

I never thought about compression, that may be worth looking at.

As above. Steve.:)