Calling all radiator leak experts

[E9Wayne]

Hey guys, well my Coupe did awesome driving nearly 1200 miles to and from the Hiltonhead event a few weekends ago. And my kids flew in last night for the long Thanksgiving holiday week ahead. After taking them to the Great Falls Cars & Coffee this morning where I was parked next to a Ferrari F40 of all things (lots of folks spilling over to my car from seeing the F40) someone pointed out a small fluid leak under my left front radiator area. I got home and took these photos. The leak is not bad and it looks to be in the radiator itself versus a hose nearby.

At Don, do you recall if this is my original 3.0L radiator or did Coupeking install something newer at the restoration in 2011?

Thanks for any feedback or thoughts on what to do here - repairing leak, considering more robust radiator replacement if this one has seen better days, etc.

Wayne

 

[Ohmess]

Wayne, try to find out where that drop is coming from. That spot is a low spot, so a leak from either the tstat housing or water pump could show up there. Get a little further under the front of the car and look up at the bottom of the water pump. Leaks from either the tstat housing or the water pump may show up there. You can also run your finger along the bottom of the bottom of your hoses, including the bottom hose on the radiator to see if any coolant is there.

If you don't find anything visually, top up your coolant and take it to London Auto and have them pressure test it.

Needless to say, after my coolant leak at Hilton Head, I am in the process of replacing my hoses and rigging up a better mechanism to turn on and off my heater bypass.

 

[sfdon]

All good advice from Chris.


“If you don't find anything visually, top up your coolant and take it to London Auto and have them pressure test it.”

for a car guy driving long distances you should consider having your own tester. I would test before EVERY long drive.

 

[Ohmess]

I have Tom's sitting in my garage right now.

 

[HB Chris]

Looks like a 49YO radiator to me.

 

[E9Wayne]

thanks guys and to Chris O I I will look further into this and report back! Macha, what is a 49YO radiator? I can't find info on that...

 

[sfdon]

Forty Nine Year Old....

 

[sfdon]

Wrench speak.... like your 710 cap on your valve cover....

 

[E9Wayne]

doh!

 

[E9Wayne]

Hey coupster friends, well the shop just called and the radiator itself is leaking. After reading all the related threads here, I've decided to go with the Ireland engineering aluminum replacement unit, unless someone here has better ideas. I know the look will not be stock but I've got the resto-mod thing going anyway and it won't bother me too much I think. For $375, the IE unit is well priced versus a used E9 radiators on ebay for higher $. I like the idea of better cooling performance too. While I'm at it I will change out the water pump, coolant thermostat, radiator cap, temp sending unit and upper and lower hoses if I can find replacements. Any other ideas from the gang on how to approach this before I hit my Paypal account hard?

 

[adawil2002]

Had my original radiator triple cored by a radiator shop & was right around $400, increased cooling in the same space as the original.

 

[Wes]

I looked at an aluminium radiator for my e28 but declined. My radiator shop advised strongly against it as they said the weld break quite easily and cannot be re-welded. Not sure if this is the case for stuff from IE (wrench talk) but just putting it out there.

 

[Stevehose]

I've had my aluminum radiator for 5 years or so and it's been great. Temp never goes over 190 regardless of heat, humidity, traffic or A/C. Or all 4 at once. Before that I had mine triple cored like Andrew which worked well so that is definitely a good option, but the aluminum ones are lighter and in my experience more temp stable.

 

[sfdon]

Bought over 100 aluminum radiators now.
Not one problem.
The IE radiator does NOT have any way to attach the fan shroud so is no good to me.

 

[deQuincey]

Bought over 100 aluminum radiators now.
Not one problem.
The IE radiator does NOT have any way to attach the fan shroud so is no good to me.

A side question on this topic.

Would an original Alu radiador from an e28 (AC versión car) be an improvement over the original stock Copper one ? Would it be better than a copper triple core ?

I think that it is possible to install it in the car using the same fixing points, and it is way lighter than the original.

Also I think that you can install the shroud on it

If the previous is true I think that to keep the aspect of originallity you can paint it in black, right ?

Thanks

 

[boonies]

Worth checking with @sfdon to see if he has any aluminum radiators for sale. I picked one up from him about a year ago when I noticed my core was rotting. Good fit, nice unit.

 

[JMinPDX]

I've had my aluminum radiator for 5 years or so and it's been great. Temp never goes over 190 regardless of heat, humidity, traffic or A/C. Or all 4 at once. Before that I had mine triple cored like Andrew which worked well so that is definitely a good option, but the aluminum ones are lighter and in my experience more temp stable.

What Steve said except mine is going on 8 years.

 

[Wes]

A side question on this topic.

Would an original Alu radiador from an e28 (AC versión car) be an improvement over the original stock Copper one ? Would it be better than a copper triple core ?

I think that it is possible to install it in the car using the same fixing points, and it is way lighter than the original.

Also I think that you can install the shroud on it

If the previous is true I think that to keep the aspect of originallity you can paint it in black, right ?

Thanks

OEM E28 radiators can be a bit of a pain. The side parts are some kind of plastic and are crimped to the core. Can't be pulled apart and cleaned, or re-cored. Ask me how I know.... I bow down to Don's advice on allow E9 radiators, suspect the build quality from his source is higher than where my local shop get's theirs from.

 

[deQuincey]

OEM E28 radiators can be a bit of a pain. The side parts are some kind of plastic and are crimped to the core. Can't be pulled apart and cleaned, or re-cored. Ask me how I know.... I bow down to Don's advice on allow E9 radiators, suspect the build quality from his source is higher than where my local shop get's theirs from.

i know, also the radiators on e24 are the same type,

but provided the specific rad is ok, what about performance ?

I also have a triple core, in this case my concern is the very tight clearance between rad and fan and the extra weight, more metal and more coolant

 

[bluecoupe30!]

Had my original radiator triple cored by a radiator shop & was right around $400, increased cooling in the same space as the original.

Same here, simple fix, cooler running, unit goes back in easy. Bleeding, well that is another story.