94impreza

It looks as though i have split/burst my second radiator in 4 months !!!!
If i ragged my car from A to B day in day out i might not be suprised!!!!
I've asked this before but just in case before i buy another from a breakers, is there any stronger option radiators available for classics ?

EVOLUTION

buy one from AS Performance


www.asperformance.com


there is no garentee that the rads your buying are good if there coming off older cars. Speak to alyn at AS, i think he even does some money back should the core of you rad be ok.

The rads he put out are all tested, once the new end tanks are put on, as this is the weak part of the system


good luck

94impreza

Thanks. I've found a second hand one round the corner from me that looks spanking and is £85 inc vat. But as you say you can't predict how bad they are inside or when the weak points will go.

rossi_classicwrx

if its for a classic, i only paid 100 for a brand new one and it came with a guarentee!! so 85 seems very steep to me

GC8

Is your cooling system pressurising?

94impreza

How would i find out ? I fitted the "new" rad, filled it with water at first to run a cleaner through and to my bemusement a ****e-load of foam came out of the over-flow pipe. This was before i applied the cleaner.

Generic User

Ahh a neglected old scooby. They don't specify 2yr coolant changes for nothing. And by that I mean flushed out, not just drained and re-filled

As for 2nd hand rads. As with any 2nd hand part, its a minefield. Seeing most have come off cars that have been smashed up. And the plastic end tanks are not exactly robust at the best of times.

Put it down to bad luck, make sure you bleed all the air out (run engine with cap off until with heater set to "hot" until thermostat opens). Ensure cap spring is ok, and the the thermostat does actually open.

94impreza

Unfortunately with an import you can't really tell how its been treated in the past unless your lucky to get a full jap history. I changed all oil, coolant etc when i got the car a year ago and changed the coolant again obvioulsy 4 months ago when the first rad went and no sign of foaming from there. I will be running a cleaner through the cooling system, flushing the water out, then re-filling with water and draining again before filling with coolant.

94impreza

Any idea's of how to check if the system is pressurised ?

WHEELSHOP0_0

After a short run,temp gauge in the middle, stop the car, check rad hoses carefully(they will be HOT) try squeezing them there should be a little give in them, if they are rock hard or bulgeing there is a problem. If the car uses no water and never runs overly hot you should be OK. HTH.