91RSinNS

Hey Guys,

Finally got enough time off work, and enough decent weather, to pull my Third Gen out of storage. When i fired it up last, a month or so back, I noticed a coolant leak after letting it run for half an hour. Temp never spiked, and before the leak started, it'd been at operating temp for a while. At the time, it looked like the lower rad hose was at fault.

Took the car for a bit of a shakedown cruise today, just up and down the street a few hundred yards a few times over. Ran perfectly for the whole duration it was running and driving. After more than a half hour of running, and some driving, I popped the hood again to check to be sure everything was still behaving, and noticed a coolant leak again, this time it seemed to be originating from the bottom of the rad, near the center.

This time, the same as last time, the coolant temp never spiked on the gauge, it wasn't leaking the whole time, and now it doesnt seem to be a hose, but rather, the rad.

When my Daily Driver had rad issues, that resulted in me swapping in a new-to-me Rad, it was doing similar. I could leave it parked with no coolant puddle, I could drive it an hour or so and have no puddle, but all of a sudden, the Coolant Level light would start to flash, and I'd need to top up the Rad. So I'm wondering if, in reality, what I have now isn't a cracked hose, or bad gasket, but rather, a crack in the bottom of my rad.

I can get an OEM replacement Rad from work, if that is the problem. How much work is it to replace them? Please tell me the nose doesn't need to come off! Any other thoughts on what it may be? Any good ways to troubleshoot?

Thanks guys!
AR

UNCLE TOM

iTrader: (1)

radiator swap is easy . drain , remove upper & lower hoses , dis-connect tranny lines if your shiftless , remove fan , remove upper core support , remove overflow hose , lift radiator up & out . don't lose the 4 rubber core supports on the ends of upper & lower core supports . i'm almost 72 & a nit-picker , i changed mine myself in less than 2 hrs. . good luck .

one92rs

iTrader: (5)

hey man. check to see if it is a hose or even the drain for the rad before you go buy one. when draining the rad from petcock or the bottom rad hose it will hit the tray below the rad and run to the middle. check the drain petcock and the tighten the lower hose clamp at the rad and run again to check.

UnderCover89TBI

iTrader: (25)

Radiator is an easy replacement the hardest part is going to be installing the tranny lines back into the new radiator. Tip leave the radiator loose until you have the lines started then put the radiator in place with the top mount on and everything

91RSinNS

Thanks for the tips, guys! I'm pretty sure the lower hose is clamped on there good and tight, but I wasnt aware that these rads had a drain, so I'll be sure to check that. Is there any way to replace a bad drain if, say, its cracked? Or would a new rad be the best way to go? I'm a big fan of preventative maintenance, so if replacing the rad now might save me some headaches down the road, It might just be easier to bite the bullet now and do it.

A friend of mine suggested running some of that solder seal rad sealant thru the cooling system, but I've heard stories of that blocking water passages, chewing up the water pump (which is less than two years old), and so forth. So I'm not sure I wanna risk that...?

AR

1ADan

iTrader: (4)

if you're replacing the radiator, replace the radiator hoses, clamps, and thermostat while you're at it; they're all inexpensive parts, easy to do, and would require pretty much the same process you're doing already. if you replace the hoses, use a sharp razor blade to make slits in the ends and you can use a screwdriver to pry it off the radiator easier.

never been a fan of coolant system stop leaks - it goes *everywhere* in your system, not just to the leak. not a fan of extra gunk clogging up other parts of the cooling system if I can avoid it.