Radiator mystery

marten

marten

Sharpest Tool
Mar 15, 2015
327
new mexico
First Name
carl
Willys Model
  1. CJ
Willys Year:
  1. 1946
Well I have taken this 4 core radiator "cooper" to the rad man twice now. He pressure tested in his tank and no bubbles-twice. I watched him. He also flushed it three times. It is leaking at the bottom above the hose fitting. Anyone have any ideas. I drive and let it sit, no leak. It sits for 36 hours and starts to leak. I am ready to bight the bullet and buy a new one.
Thanks
Image09172017120249.jpg
 
Big Dog Frank said:
Barrs leak works every time.
Click to expand...
I was wondering about this type of stuff. I dont want a temporary fix, would hate to get stranded out in the NM desert. Plus I think the PO did this because I got a lot of this type of looking crud coming out of the tubes. To much fun.
 
When I did my truck my radiator shop said mine was junk. I was on a budget so I put it back in and added Bars Leak. No leaks. Probably ain't the best but all I could afford. But then again there ain't no deserts in Ohio. Good luck!
 
Sounds like the leak is pressure/heat related. Before I bought a new radiator, I would try a new hose, don't matter if the current one is new or not. If the hose has a piece of trash embedded in the hose, under the clamp and when the water is hot or pressure built it closes off around the trash and seals the leak....so no leak. As the fluid cools and pressure goes down the seal is lost so the leak starts again. I can't see how the metal radiator could do that. If there was a leak in the radiator it would have shown when the rad man checked it.
 
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Do you have a 7 LB rad cap... 10 too much? What thermostat are you using - 180 may be too much... mine spit fluid with a 180 on warm days... 160 is fine. Also, where does your overflow tube go... if it overflows would it be emptying onto the lower tank area and look like the leak you are describing?
 
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jfcroni said:
Do you have a 7 LB rad cap... 10 too much? What thermostat are you using - 180 may be too much... mine spit fluid with a 180 on warm days... 160 is fine. Also, where does your overflow tube go... if it overflows would it be emptying onto the lower tank area and look like the leak you are describing?
Click to expand...
I have a 165 thermostat in, I recently changed a 13 lb cap from a 5 pound rad cap. maybe I will go back to the 5 pounder. Also... I cleaned the antifreeze off and changed out the fuel filters and a few hoses. When I was finished the antifreeze was reappearing and no visible leaks on the rad hoses....When I popped the rad cap off there was pressure built up. It is about 98 degrees out. Haven't started it for two days. The over flow hose is clear and goes into a over flow tank.
 
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For whatever it's worth: I've found that a radiator or heater core will leak water with pressure on it but when I pressurize
air in the same core..........ZERO no leak... Put water back in, pressurize it and small droplets begin to form in a few seconds..
I even test fuel tanks now with water under pressure.
 
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Blindmelon said:
For whatever it's worth: I've found that a radiator or heater core will leak water with pressure on it but when I pressurize
air in the same core..........ZERO no leak... Put water back in, pressurize it and small droplets begin to form in a few seconds..
I even test fuel tanks now with water under pressure.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I was just pondering this same thing.
 
It sounds as if it is leaking between the hose and the outlet tube. Is the tube perfectly smooth and round? Often they are not on older radiators.

One option is to get a tube of silicone bathtub caulk. Drain and DRY everything in the vicinity, then glue the hose on. That should to it.

The tube can be cut off if you ever need to, so this is not a permanent mod....
 
I've had great luck pinpointing oil, transmission and coolant leaks with the UV dye, light and glasses - purchased from Amazon. I had a coolant leak that was due to loose intake manifold, I was worried it was a freeze plug behind the engine (GM 350). Engine oil leak was fixed with new valve cover gaskets.
 
After I installed my new aluminum radiator............I was impressed.. My old radiator was 6 years old and brass/copper of identical size....
The new radiator really shows itself in 100+ degree weather... I am way too warm and my engine is just 180 degrees...The same as the
thermostat............You're gonna like the new one......
 
In 1970 I had a problem with electrolysis... My new, 1969 Fiat 124 had an aluminum cylinder head, cast iron block and radiator core of tin....
In one year, the radiator core was plugging up with black goo.... The electrolysis was accellerated by the tap water the dealer used when
he did the new vehicle prep... L.A. water has chlorine in it... The fix was a rodding out the core and using distilled water and antifreeze, 50/50.
In the next 4 years and 80,000 miles.........No cooling problems..
 
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Just wanted to pass that along. What is interesting in the article is what it states on distilled H20. "Generally distilled water is not used, as it tends to be "hungry water" looking for ions, creating more problems that it solves." So living in Socal and what Larry points out about our H20...finding some w/o added minerals is the next best thing.

Two of my recent radiator changes started to show signs of electrolysis so I got the straps on. Going to source the correct diode for the one way ground when I have time. My gmc has high mileage on a 1 year old radiator which was leaking where the tubes go into the tank. Put the gunk aluminum pixie dust in there with good results.

Another tip is to paint the radiator so road salt and contaminants corrosive effects work both sides. You can use bbq paint or I have had great results with thermal dispersant (link below) which raises the efficiency of your radiator by 20%. The new formula doesn't need to be baked on.

http://techlinecoatings.com.au/product/tltd-thermal-dispersant/

This coolant is another recommendation for mixing cast iron and aluminum.

http://www.nissanraceshop.com/product/genuine-nissan-blue-long-life-antifreezecoolant-1-gallon/

Supposedly GM adds these prior to shipping their vehicles.

https://www.amazon.com/Genuine-3634621-Cooling-System-Tablet/product-reviews/B000QIH3C4



 
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Go figure, nothing is simple anymore. LOL
49willys_mogon said:
Just wanted to pass that along. What is interesting in the article is what it states on distilled H20. "Generally distilled water is not used, as it tends to be "hungry water" looking for ions, creating more problems that it solves." So living in Socal and what Larry points out about our H20...finding some w/o added minerals is the next best thing.

Two of my recent radiator changes started to show signs of electrolysis so I got the straps on. Going to source the correct diode for the one way ground when I have time. My gmc has high mileage on a 1 year old radiator which was leaking where the tubes go into the tank. Put the gunk aluminum pixie dust in there with good results.

Another tip is to paint the radiator so road salt and contaminants corrosive effects work both sides. You can use bbq paint or I have had great results with thermal dispersant (link below) which raises the efficiency of your radiator by 20%. The new formula doesn't need to be baked on.

http://techlinecoatings.com.au/product/tltd-thermal-dispersan
This coolant is another recommendation for mixing cast iron and aluminum.

http://www.nissanraceshop.com/product/genuine-nissan-blue-long-life-antifreezecoolant-1-gallon/

Supposedly GM adds these prior to shipping their vehicles.

https://www.amazon.com/Genuine-3634621-Cooling-System-Tablet/product-reviews/B000QIH3C4
Click to expand...
 
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