Coolant loss

[~Rob~]

Having to top up the coolant for the second time this since saturday. If i had a leak, would it get cought by the engine undertray and i wouldnt see any puddles, or is there a drain of somesort?? is it worth taking the undertray off for a few days?

[Martin F]

I doubt in this weather if you'd notice any small leaks as they'd probably evaporate by the time you got to look at them.

How much are you losing?

[~Rob~]

i bet ive put in just over qtr of a litre into the rad since sat. then an inch each time into the exp. bottle.

[Barney]

Are you having any other problems, such as heater not working?

[Martin F]

Seems a little odd that you are still losing it after topping up, unless for some reason you have air in the system. Have you been hearing any gurgling noises from behind the dash ?

Check around the water pump for any signs of coolant loss (particularly below it on top of the alternator)

[~Rob~]

Are you having any other problems, such as heater not working?

No dont seem to be..

not noticed any gurgling either. ill have a good look around the water pump area / top of alternator this evening..

i may aswell remove the undertray for a few days too then, see if i get any puddles..

[~Rob~]

i think i have found my problem...

dropped the undertray off last nite and had a good look round. the rad seems to be leaking from the back / bottom of it. only dripping slightly. it doesnt seem to be any of the hoses / joints in that vacinity. im going to start removing things though and see if i can locate the point of leak as the coolant seems to be tracking across the rad and dripping elsewhere.

any thoughts on rads? stock or uprated? and any rough ??? guestimates?

and what is the smaller cooler behind, to the offside, of the rad?

oh, and is RADWELD (as a temporary aid) a big no no? i seem to recall reading bad things about it.

cheers guys..

[Martin F]

It could be a weeping end tank on the radiator, has been heard of before particularly if you have the plastic ones.

Stock vs. Upgraded well that comes down to your intended use of the car, but at the same time there seems to be some good deals around on upgraded rads nowadays.

I defenitely would not want to use Radweld in our cars, as you really don't know how it will effect cooling in the other areas it has access to. OK in your old beater :D

[Barney]

Well the leak is bad news Rob but at least you seem to be some way forward into locating the problem

Personally, I wouldn't recommend putting Radweld in your system for no other reason other than it doesn't fix the problem as such, also I would be concerned that it might cause the cooling system to perform below it's best??

AFAIK the standard radiator is a good unit but knowing Mr T it won't be cheap. As for aftermarket items I'm sure someone with more knowledge will be along to help shortly.

Good luck fella, you certainly have had your share of misfortune lately.

[~Rob~]

It could be a weeping end tank on the radiator, has been heard of before particularly if you have the plastic ones.

Is a leaking end tank a new rad then? or is it a fixable problem?

Stock vs. Upgraded well that comes down to your intended use of the car, but at the same time there seems to be some good deals around on upgraded rads nowadays.

a stock is 350 inc VAT from my local dealer. going to have a phone around, but after just a couple of searches it seems as though i can get a fluidlyne and seperate cooler for around 360.

with the auto tranny cooler, i believe this is built into the stock rad, so if i bought a stock rad the auto cooler would come integral, yes?

if i went uprated / aftermarket rad, i would need seperate tranny cooler. how and where could the seperate cooler be mounted?

I defenitely would not want to use Radweld in our cars, as you really don't know how it will effect cooling in the other areas it has access to. OK in your old beater :D

i thought as much.

[Martin F]

It can be fixed, but only as part of recoring the radiator (AFAIK) which is what a refurbished radiator is.

As yours is a UK spec you could do away with the additional cooler (originally in the bottom of your OEM rad) as you have a second additional cooler inside the nearside air duct. Jap specs don't have this.

The only time i would advise against omiting this cooler is if you were attending in doing lots of track days.

If its ?350 for an OEM and ?360 for a Fluidyne, think i would defenitely go with the Fluidyne as its so much lighter than the OEM (copper) item. Just make sure it fits properly as soon as you get it AMHIK !

[~Rob~]

It can be fixed, but only as part of recoring the radiator (AFAIK) which is what a refurbished radiator is.


From what ive been reading, the MKIV rad is a bi-atch to recore and ends up quite expensive, so i think thats out the window.

let me just confirm, with the UK spec Auto i would not require the auto tranny cooler built into the stock rad?
i wouldnt mind a couple of track days, but definatley will not be attending lots, so that could be an option.

ill keep the thread updated with prices and my choice.

[~Rob~]

also, can anyone run through what i have to the cooling set up at the front of my car..?

im assuming the curvy pipe thing is the aircon cooler, isnt there a PS cooler in there too? as i mentioned earlier, theres also a smaller cooler directly behind the main rad.

[Martin F]

Yep, not many people recore the stock rads, and i'm sure the cost will be fairly high if you did find somebody to do the work for you.

As long as you still have the additional UK transmission cooler in your nearside air duct (can easily see it looking through opening in the bumper) then you can do away with the one in the bottom of your radiator with no ill effects. This is obviously my opinion and based on the fact that the majority of drivers don't use their cars at prolonged high speeds (autobahns), the jap specs don't have two coolers and i'm not trying to flog you something :D

Looking from the font of the car through the central opening you will have a piece of shaped pipework which is the PS cooler, behind that you will have the Aircon condenser (radiator) and then behind that your main coolant radiator. In the opening on the left you will have your Side Mount Intercooler and the opening on the right on a UK spec auto car will have the second transmission cooler.

HTH

[~Rob~]

... This is obviously my opinion and based on the fact that the majority of drivers don't use their cars at prolonged high speeds (autobahns), the jap specs don't have two coolers and i'm not trying to flog you something :D...

lol, dont worry mate, if it went pear shaped, i wont be sueing your ass! :D

ill double check for the 2nd tranny cooler this evening...

[~Rob~]

did some investigating last nite, found the cause of the leak to be a hole in the front of the rad, so definately new rad then!

the tranny cooler in the side vent of the front bumper is intact, it probably has seen better days. im wondering if its worth placing another in the location of the stock SMIC or replacing the stock tranny cooler with a new one / aftermarket one.

if i go for an all alluminium aftermarket rad, will i need to use a different coolant?

is it worth waiting till JAE to buy my parts, as im not sure if there loads of bargains there etc?

[Martin F]

I've never seen that many bargains at the shows, but you can usually save on carriage by getting the traders to bring your order with them and collecting at the show.

Coolant will be fine as you already have an aluminium cylinder head :)

Transmission cooler is really down to what you feel comfortable with and condition of existing components, although personally i would try not to obstruct the stock SMIC.

[~Rob~]

...although personally i would try not to obstruct the stock SMIC.

ah, the SMIC is f00ked so im gonna do an FMIC while the front end is in bits. so that hole would be empty.

would it be a ball ache plumbing in the tranny fluid hoses across and to that location?

[~Rob~]

ordered a Fluidyne alu rad and tranny cooler to match. should be here end of next week, good price too.

just need an FMIC now!

while im redoing the coolant system, should i change me thermostat too? stock or aftermarket? dont fancy forking out 70 quid for a TRD one!!

cheers guys..

[Martin F]

Good choice, you won't believe how much lighter it is than your stock one, just make sure the damn thing fits properly. Had to drop mine off at the welders this morning as it sat to one side so needed to have the pegs adjusted at the bottom. You'll be OK with yours as you can just return it if any issues, i bought mine through somebody who bought it from Envy and never fitted it. Had it for over a year and went to fit it last month and found it sitting off to one side :(



Wouldn't say it was mandatory to change your thermostat and also its not any easier to change because you have the rad out, well apart from the fact you will already have drained the coolant :D

[~Rob~]

Wouldn't say it was mandatory to change your thermostat

how often they meant to get changed? just when they get stuck :zipped:

[Martin F]

I honestly don't know, it's a mechanical item so i guess it must wear.

Your shout on this one :D