Help Radiator Leak

[verba1]

Opened front clam today and noticed some liquid drivers side floor pan. Stuck my head as far as i could and shone a torch under radiator and saw hoses were a bit wet then looked closer and a small drip of green coolant just hanging under radiator .....

Checked header and it has not dropped any noticeable amount .

Basically is the car still safe to drive as i have to take it to jetstream next week ( 100 miles)

Is there anything i can get from halfords ( radiator seal )as a temporary fix ?

Any heLp will e appreciated .

cheers
Stefano

[Metalman]

I would say most nobles with the original rad leak, they are pretty poor quality to be honest. If it's just a small drip then it should be fine for your trip but you may want to think about fitting a pro alloy rad at some point. I wouldn't put anything like 'stop leak' into the coolant system just keep an eye on it, obviously if it gets worse then don't drive it.

[verba1]

thanks jason ! , you've saved me a trip to halfords ..was just about to go and buy something for the rad lol !!
Thought the day was going to come , so looks like a pro alloy one ..... more money lol

[Metalman]

Yes but worth it, I think they are cheaper than a standard noble one? It's a good upgrade and will add value to your car when the day comes to sell it on, plus it will match your intercooler

[Jim O.]

Are you sure that it's the radiator that's leaking, and not one of the connections between the hoses and radiator? I've seen many cars where the clamps have loosened up over time and heat cycles, and have started to leak. Tightening the clamps seems to be a temporary measure - the long-term fix is to replace the clamps with much better ones.

If you're not positive that it's the radiator that's leaking, I would suggest thoroughly cleaning and drying the area and then run the car for a bit while watching the suspect area. Or, if you have access to a cooling system pressure tester, pressurize the system and watch for the leak to appear...

[verba1]

had a closer inpsection and if you standing in front of the car the leak is coming from the top left of the rad near where the pipe is coming in (but not from the pipe) , but from that metal square bit that has a screw with a hollow centre with threads all around it . Can that be tightened up ?

Edited by verba1 on Saturday 19th April 14:03

[verba1]

Jim O. said:

Are you sure that it's the radiator that's leaking, and not one of the connections between the hoses and radiator? I've seen many cars where the clamps have loosened up over time and heat cycles, and have started to leak. Tightening the clamps seems to be a temporary measure - the long-term fix is to replace the clamps with much better ones.

If you're not positive that it's the radiator that's leaking, I would suggest thoroughly cleaning and drying the area and then run the car for a bit while watching the suspect area. Or, if you have access to a cooling system pressure tester, pressurize the system and watch for the leak to appear...

Thanks Jim, you are spot on it's the clamp! It is drivers side of rad where hose comes in at the top then into metal clamp ... got some light on it and found a screw with splines just hiding to the side . managed to get a half turn or so and seems to have done the job . what do use to replace that clamp?

Many thanks
stefano

[Jim O.]

We use a heavy duty hose clamp designed for use on silicone hoses on the cars that we build - they're much stronger and clamp much better than the normal clamps usually found in chain-type auto parts stores here in the US. Unfortunately, I don't know what's available over in the UK.

[Blu3R]

I tried the Mikalor clamps, absolutely useless. They need to be so tight that it feels like they're going to collapse the aluminium pipe that the hose is fitted over. They also start to cut into the silicon when they're biting down. I just use the proper Jubilee branded clamps, perfectly adequate. If you feel you want more bite you can double them up on some hose ends, I did on the ones not easy to reach just in case.