Steaming radiator
Discussion
Well I thought I should start and warm up my wedge as its been stuck in my garage for weeks. When the engine was near normal running temp I noticed that some steam (particularly visible in the cold air) was coming up from the bottom nearside corner of the rad, but no water drips. I guess this might be why my guages started misting up a bit late summer (post a few months ago).
The rad looks in pretty good condition to me, but I have never had to repair a rad before. I know you can get that radweld stuff - has anyone tried to use that before and does it work? Or is there anything else I should try before going down the re-core route? Does the radweld cause any problems with the rest of the cooling system/engine/gaskets? I presume if I do try it I should put it in at the swan-neck?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Chris
Check your hoses and if they are ok, empty a bit of rad fluid (only if you need to as the level is probably a bit lower anyway now) and put a can of Bar's Leak in the rad. You will find it at any garage or petrol station.
It seems creepy to add a leak stopper to the coolant system..but immense experience with this product has shown it will not adversely affect anything and stops leaks in a few minutes. Rad makers go so far as to suggest it should be used once a year or so.
CHJ said:
Well I thought I should start and warm up my wedge as its been stuck in my garage for weeks. When the engine was near normal running temp I noticed that some steam (particularly visible in the cold air) was coming up from the bottom nearside corner of the rad, but no water drips. I guess this might be why my guages started misting up a bit late summer (post a few months ago).
The rad looks in pretty good condition to me, but I have never had to repair a rad before. I know you can get that radweld stuff - has anyone tried to use that before and does it work? Or is there anything else I should try before going down the re-core route? Does the radweld cause any problems with the rest of the cooling system/engine/gaskets? I presume if I do try it I should put it in at the swan-neck?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Chris
Has the water level dropped? If the car has not been used for a while, the rad could have been damp & you were seeing water from the outside evaporate off.
Assuming you do have a rad problem, the best long term solution is to take it out and have it re-cored.
I have always been worried about using rad weld ( or similar ). If it can block a hole in the rad, can it block an engine water way? Having said that, these products do have a very good reputation, and I think have moved on from the what you may have bought 20 years ago. When I bought my Jeep ( knowing that it had a shot rad ) I topped the water up when collecting the car, but paniced when filling up with fuel just down the road due the steam above the front of the car, and the water below it. When paying for the fuel, I saw some rad weld, so bought 2 bottles and poured them in. Topped up with water and drove home ( 70 miles ). Everything fine. In fact everything was still fine when I sold it three years later, having not added any water since. I always worried about it though, and was always going to change the rad, just never got round to it.
Assuming you do have a rad problem, the best long term solution is to take it out and have it re-cored.
I have always been worried about using rad weld ( or similar ). If it can block a hole in the rad, can it block an engine water way? Having said that, these products do have a very good reputation, and I think have moved on from the what you may have bought 20 years ago. When I bought my Jeep ( knowing that it had a shot rad ) I topped the water up when collecting the car, but paniced when filling up with fuel just down the road due the steam above the front of the car, and the water below it. When paying for the fuel, I saw some rad weld, so bought 2 bottles and poured them in. Topped up with water and drove home ( 70 miles ). Everything fine. In fact everything was still fine when I sold it three years later, having not added any water since. I always worried about it though, and was always going to change the rad, just never got round to it.
After I changed the Rad on mine recently I had some steam rising from the N/S front as you describe. It turned out to be the swan neck cap leaking and the coolant running down the pipe and evaporating at the rad. New cap £3, dry it off, problem solved. Worth checking the top hose connection at the rad and the otter switch. 
Edited by pwd95 on Sunday 17th December 21:10
It is definitely a hole or split of some sort as the steam was coming from one particular section, and with my torch I can now see that it is damp in that area. The car has always used a little water since I have had it and I guess this could be the cause.
I was worried about the rad-weld damaging the waterpump in particular, but I see from the adverts for the Barrs leak stop (which I hadn't heard of before) that it lubricates the waterpump at the same time as sealing any leaks which seems pretty good. Thanks for the tips.
Chris
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