Leaking Radiator

[StevesXR6T]

Have just done a service on my T and the radiator is buggered and its leaking. I have priced a new one from ford and they are reasonable but I dont want to buy the same radiator and have the same problem in another 60,00klms time. I have looked though the forums and there is plenty about coolant getting into the trans but I do not have this trouble because I have bypassed it. But I can not find anything about decent replacements. If anyone could help me out that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Steve.

[hanra]

Mine did the same, leaked around the O ring on the drivers side end tank. I got raped by Fraud and bought a genuine.

I said to the parts guys, "do you reckon the designed has been improved, or ya reckon this one will fail in 50,000klms also"

He looked at me blankly and said "yeah it will probably fail to, no design improvement"

[GreenXR6T]

I think PWR make one, but they could be a bit expensive.

I'm sure they'd be sh1t loads better than a genuine one.

[StevesXR6T]

yeah I saw the pwr one on the net they are only down the road so I am going to get a price on monday but I think they will be a bit out of my price range.

Thanks for the input.

[f-wolf]

When you got the new Radiator in, put an " Earth Wire " between the Radiator and the Body of the Car. Stops the radiator from getting eaten by Electrolyzes. Use a Multimeter to make sure you got a good connection.

"

Stray Current Corrosion in Cooling Systems

So, why are we seeing more stray current related radiator failures these days? A good example of how modern radiators are so vulnerable to stray current corrosion is that many of them are attached to the vehicle by their plastic tanks, or are insulated from the vehicle chassis by rubber mounts.

In many cases electrical cooling fans are mounted directly to the radiator frame. Fans and fan motors cause lots of noise, vibration and harshness so they are insulated from the vehicle on rubber mountings.

Introduce some bad electrical contacts for the fan wiring and we have set the scene for rapid electrolysis via the cooling fans.

The same fan is probably cycling more often because it can?t rotate quickly enough as it has a bad earth contact. These are perfect conditions for disaster ? lots of stray current, longer fan ON time and a hotter engine. A copper/brass radiator will suffer stray current damage, too. However, an old copper/brass radiator is usually bolted directly to the vehicle body work, providing an easy path to earth for any stray current that finds its way into the cooling system.

Plastic tanks and rubber mounts deny any stray current an easy path to ground. The environment for electrolysis in its most virulent form now exists.

Cooling fans are by no means the only cause of stray current problems. According to many radiator

repairers, stray current problems commonly occur following body repairs. The cause is over-spray. Paint does not conduct electricity. Therefore, over-spray at an earth point forces the current to find an alternative path to earth ? the cooling system.

Corrosion damage in the areas of a radiator, while operating within a squeaky-clean cooling system, is a pretty good indication of stray current damage.

In simple terms, stray current is a chemical/electrical process which causes an electrical current to pass through a vehicle's cooling system fluid. It can cause rapid damage to radiators and will indirectly cause problems with other engine components such as water pumps, thermostat housing etc.

It occurs when one or more electrical items, such as a cooling fan or headlight, develops a problem in its electrical circuitry. This causes an electrical current to seek out an earth path via the radiator core through the engine coolant.

Stray electrical current can destroy an aluminium or copper/brass radiator in record time.

Aluminium radiator cores have been known to fail within a matter of days, due to stray current.

Many manufacturers and radiator suppliers can refuse to honour a warranty where stray current corrosion is found to be the cause of premature radiator failure.

The responsibility to test for stray current, and to guard against early cooling system failure, falls squarely on the party fitting the replacement radiator. "

Edited 25/11/07 12:48 AM by f-wolf

[f-wolf]

This is what I have done.

[senna_T]

did you just solder that on to the radiator f-wolf?

[f-wolf]

did you just solder that on to the radiator f-wolf?

In this one you can see how.

There is a hole in the Radiator.

[senna_T]

ahhh, fair enough, might have to do this just in-case, my radiator has been out, but not replaced so I'll do it for prevention reasons, cheers

[hanra]

That looks like solder-wik!!!!