Radiator - recore or replace?
Discussion
I have needed to top up the coolant level on the Griff occasionally and finally got around to investigating the source of the leak.
The bottom corner of the radiator is wet, everywhere else is fine. I have removed the radiator and its in really good condition with no visible damage.
The car never overheats and I am wondering whether to have this radiator repaired or go for an ally one.
Normal rads seem to be about the £350 mark and ally about £450.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Steve.
The bottom corner of the radiator is wet, everywhere else is fine. I have removed the radiator and its in really good condition with no visible damage.
The car never overheats and I am wondering whether to have this radiator repaired or go for an ally one.
Normal rads seem to be about the £350 mark and ally about £450.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Steve.
Steve, I've just been through exactly the same experience 2 weeks ago. Ally rad, looks in great nick, losing a bit of water, couldn't find leak, spent a lot of time on hoses, clips etc and then finally spotted a little wet patch at one corner.
Rang up Aaron Rads and a new one was coming in at about £300+ or so.
I want to spend some time replacing all the hoses clips, steel pipe etc. with ACT products or similar but not right now so I did the unthinkable and popped in some K-Seal, recommended as the best sealer.
Spent time bleeding system etc. and it worked a treat, absolutely no loss of water. No change in temperature whilst running. I don't know how long it will last but it has given me some thinking time to decide what to do with the whole cooling system and in the meanwhile it has cost me a fraction of the cost of a new rad.
Your choice, I am sure I will get some abuse for this.... otherwise Aaron Radiators are a good option for a new aluminium, high performance radiator
Rang up Aaron Rads and a new one was coming in at about £300+ or so.
I want to spend some time replacing all the hoses clips, steel pipe etc. with ACT products or similar but not right now so I did the unthinkable and popped in some K-Seal, recommended as the best sealer.
Spent time bleeding system etc. and it worked a treat, absolutely no loss of water. No change in temperature whilst running. I don't know how long it will last but it has given me some thinking time to decide what to do with the whole cooling system and in the meanwhile it has cost me a fraction of the cost of a new rad.
Your choice, I am sure I will get some abuse for this.... otherwise Aaron Radiators are a good option for a new aluminium, high performance radiator
I fitted an Aaron Alloy radiator back in March, good quality. Also fitted ACT Stainless steel swan neck, silicon hoses and otter switch. No leaks and kept cool during the summer months.
You could get a re core for your existing radiator this is the cheapest route, worth checking all the hoses. I wanted to upgrade and replace to give peace of mind that the cooling system won't give any problems.
You could get a re core for your existing radiator this is the cheapest route, worth checking all the hoses. I wanted to upgrade and replace to give peace of mind that the cooling system won't give any problems.
d sender unit! 
Hi,
I looked at the price of a re-core etc.
I can have the existing one re-cored for £150, new standard one for £320 or an ally one made for £365.
It had to be the ally one. I looked at a few and have ordered one from the link below:
http://www.highflowracing.co.uk/radiators.html
I'll let you know what its like but it looks good on the website.
Just to add: The car already has stainless pipes and silicone hoses, all in good condition. Cheers!
I looked at the price of a re-core etc.
I can have the existing one re-cored for £150, new standard one for £320 or an ally one made for £365.
It had to be the ally one. I looked at a few and have ordered one from the link below:
http://www.highflowracing.co.uk/radiators.html
I'll let you know what its like but it looks good on the website.
Just to add: The car already has stainless pipes and silicone hoses, all in good condition. Cheers!
I had my old original unit recored this year as part of a revamp of the cooling system, I fitted some silcone hoses and the stainless sections from ACT,everything has worked really well with no overheating issues this summer.
I belive that the ECU will still run an enriched fuel mix untill the engine gets up to a working temp, sometimes with the increased cooling of alloy rads this can take a lot longer and could possibly stuggle to reach the level at all with a lower ambient temp, I personally would only run an alloy rad for a fast road/track day car.
I belive that the ECU will still run an enriched fuel mix untill the engine gets up to a working temp, sometimes with the increased cooling of alloy rads this can take a lot longer and could possibly stuggle to reach the level at all with a lower ambient temp, I personally would only run an alloy rad for a fast road/track day car.
alloy rads have been known to fracture with the twisting of the chassis......... the originals can cope better with the flexing...... just do a search on alloy rad failures on TVRs... yes people will rave about them because they are additional bling, but search out the long term user threads on failure 
Hoover. said:
alloy rads have been known to fracture with the twisting of the chassis......... the originals can cope better with the flexing......
Correct...whether its alloy or original don't bolt the radiator in rigidly like it's some sort of bulkhead. Use very thick rubber washers or bobbins and don't do the nuts up tightly...let it float. The radiator on my X-Trail floats by about 5-6mm in any direction thus preventing any load being applied to the end caps.Gassing Station | Griffith | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff