radiator burst but why?
 

started car thursday morning 05:00 (there was no frost or ice) :(

car started fine but inside window a bit steamy. after 4-5 mins driving blowers stone cold!

pulled over with engine running header tank and rad pipes stone cold. usualy blowing warm by now. squezed pipes, no pressure and little squelchy noise?

continued another mile then turned on the blowers again. red hot air! (i thought sticking thermo at this point)

continued a further 5 mile till realised temp gauge at max temp/over heating and blowers gone cold. slowed down for a roundabout noticed a lot of steam coming out of bonnet. pulled over (dual carrage way) switched off.

turns out the rad split at the front of the car on the driver side end tank.

im just wondering if theres more to it. :wonder:

my thoughts are.... wednesday drove home parked car and rad burst after i got out of the car not noticing it. or as soon as i turned the ignition thursday? i think this as when i got recoverd there was a wet substance on the floor drivers side where i park. i think as its had a split in the rad its not been able to pressurise, leading to not warming up or dribbling out as im driving till its got hot then sprayed out as its boiled?

either way ive got a new rad in the post (uprated alloy one).

im also going for a new thermostat when i fit the new rad.

any help please? :notworthy

stew

You have not said what year car you have, considering there are like, 15 years worth of impreza's out there its like a crystal ball job :lol1:
But one of the major issues with older (classic) impreza's is that parts of the radiator system are made of plastic, these become brittle over time and crack, hence you lose water from it, also the pipes age and crack, plus radiators are known to go with age, the coolant is a corrosive so eats metal eventually....

Tony:)

It's a common problem on the older classics like yours, and mine, Stew.

As Tony says, they go brittle over time. The end tank split on mine a couple of years ago, on the drivers side also. Just one of them things really.

yes it is a very old 93wrx. ;)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...by/Image14.jpg

also i use a spec-R alloy header tank silicone rad hoses and a high pressure rad cap. 1st thing to go will be rad (but not now ive bought an alloy one :cool: ).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/subarug8.jpg

thank you for taking time to read :notworthy

also bought a zerosports cool thermostat because im anal £50!