Radiator leaking

[domano 68]

Looks to be coming from somewhere in front of the fan as the middle section of the radiator and below is wet. It appears to have sprayed on the valve covers. The bottom of the plastic shroud is also wet.
Pinhole leak in the radiator?
What's the diagnosis? TIA!

[JonnyC10]

Mine was leaking in the same area. I bought a Champion 2 row on ebay from championcooling for Like $169 shipped. Fits great but I had a problem, like others, with the trans lines stripping out in the radiator. So I just got a big aftermarket trans cooler.

[scottybaccus]

It's done. Stay away from Champion. Look on RockAuto.com, and get a Spectra Premium. They are very affordable, and top notch.

Don't try Bars Leak radiator sealant. It tends to do more harm than good. You can get some tablets from any GM dealer. They dissolve in the coolant and seal up some surprising leaks. Either way, you are on borrowed time. Order a radiator.

[domano 68]

Whats involved in removing and replacing the radiator? Searched youtube and did not find anything related. A step by step would be great.

[domano 68]

One of the tranny line end is rusted. I do not want to strip these. So these just unbolt directly and are not flared nuts or anything like that? Any help here would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[scottybaccus]

The trans lines should be an inverted flare. Use a flare nut wrench to ensure you don't ruin the nuts.
Drain the radiator, remove both hoses, and overflow hose, if equipped.
If you have a plastic shroud, remove two screws in the top edge, two in the lower edge, and a couple on the sides that hold the top half and bottom half of the shroud together.
Remove the bolts in the top of the core support that retain the top radiator brackets. Be careful not to lose the rubber pads.
Lift out the top half of the shroud, then the radiator.
Make sure all the connections match on the new radiator. Sometimes the top neck will be resized using a rubber sleeve. They work fine.
Reinstall the radiator, make sure the bottom pads are properly placed, insert top pads, and install the brackets. Reinstall the top half of the shroud, and reassemble both halves, connect the hoses, refill coolant, check ATF, etc...

[Unionwelder]

Now that's a damn tutorial there Scotty. Nice job

[kcsa75]

Originally Posted by Unionwelder

Now that's a damn tutorial there Scotty. Nice job

Not to hijack, but what happened to radiator shops. Used to be able to have a leaky radiator repaired. I've got one leaking and can't find anybody to repair it.

[Lee H]

Originally Posted by kcsa75

Not to hijack, but what happened to radiator shops. Used to be able to have a leaky radiator repaired. I've got one leaking and can't find anybody to repair it.

You can thank the Environmental Protection Agency for this one.

[zeldman]

Originally Posted by scottybaccus

It's done. Stay away from Champion. Look on RockAuto.com, and get a Spectra Premium. They are very affordable, and top notch.

Don't try Bars Leak radiator sealant. It tends to do more harm than good. You can get some tablets from any GM dealer. They dissolve in the coolant and seal up some surprising leaks. Either way, you are on borrowed time. Order a radiator.

X 1,000,000

So very true. I can't believe this stuff is still on the market.

There is a radiator shop here where I live. He has been doing radiators since water was invented.

I would rather replace a 42+ year old radiator than try to have it fixed.

[Ironhorse]

"IF" you want to stay original and a HUGE "IF" there may look at having your original radiator re-cored. MY BIL had the radiator re-cored on his 1957 Chevry station wagon he bought from the original owner who purchased it new in Nov, 1956. Since he is the 2nd owner he wanted to keep the '57 as original as possible. Not a cheap fix but in my opinion well worth the $$ being as he is the 2nd owner of that '57. That also retains yuor brass side tanks instead of getting plastic tanks as with some of the new radiators.

When I had to replace my truck radiator I used that as an opportunity to convert to a 4 core radiator. Takes a little bit of time and upper and lower 4 core radiator mounts but not rocket science at all. Just a thought.

Like Lee H stated you can thank the EPA for closing the radiator shops. We used to have three in this little burg, now we have ZERO ! Also EPA closed many of the local chrome shops. You can easily spend $500 & up to get a bumper re-chromed IF you can find a chrome shop that is still open.

[domano 68]

Is the green stuff, Prestone, ok to use?

[Ironhorse]

The "green stuff" is the only coolant I use. Have it in my '57 Chevy 2Dr, '71 Chevelle, '71 Chevy 4x4, '88 Caprice and our '99 Tahoe. I buy the straight full strength and mix it my-self with distilled water. Hate buying the pre-mixed as your paying for half water in the jug. The Tahoe from the factory used the pink ''Dex-Cool". I drained and flushed it and went with the green Prestone when I had to replace the intake gaskets on the Tahoe, common problem for the 5.7 / 350 V-8. My opinion but I just don't care for the Dex-Cool "jelly-freeze". Have never tried it and don't intend to but have been told DO NOT mix the two coolants.

[hamjet]

Originally Posted by scottybaccus

It's done. Stay away from Champion. Look on RockAuto.com, and get a Spectra Premium. They are very affordable, and top notch.

Don't try Bars Leak radiator sealant. It tends to do more harm than good. You can get some tablets from any GM dealer. They dissolve in the coolant and seal up some surprising leaks. Either way, you are on borrowed time. Order a radiator.

I just checked the spectra premium at Rock Auto, they're only 2 core...

[1972BlueC20]

I have the spectra premium # A369 in my truck......fits great, cools great....good price!! No problems at all.

[tommys72]

My radiator has also sprung a leak. So you guys do not recommend getting the original one fixed? I found a radiator shop that will fix mine for 75 bucks.

[Lee H]

Originally Posted by tommys72

My radiator has also sprung a leak. So you guys do not recommend getting the original one fixed? I found a radiator shop that will fix mine for 75 bucks.

I think repairing is fine if the repair tech will stand behind the repair for a while. Understand it's likely a temporary fix. Corrosion, like rust, like icebergs, you only see a tiny bit on the surface. In my neck of the woods it's getting difficult to find a repair shop due to EPA regulations and then it's expensive. Last quote I got for a re-core was $225. For $75 bucks I'd give it a try.

[tommys72]

Originally Posted by Lee H

I think repairing is fine if the repair tech will stand behind the repair for a while. Understand it's likely a temporary fix. Corrosion, like rust, like icebergs, you only see a tiny bit on the surface. In my neck of the woods it's getting difficult to find a repair shop due to EPA regulations and then it's expensive. Last quote I got for a re-core was $225. For $75 bucks I'd give it a try.

Thanks for the advice! There's a few shops around here that will still do it. I'mgoing to give them a shot.

Sorry to hijack the thread also, figured it was better than starting a new one for the sane exact thing

[Freddo]

Originally Posted by Lee H

I think repairing is fine if the repair tech will stand behind the repair for a while. Understand it's likely a temporary fix. Corrosion, like rust, like icebergs, you only see a tiny bit on the surface. In my neck of the woods it's getting difficult to find a repair shop due to EPA regulations and then it's expensive. Last quote I got for a re-core was $225. For $75 bucks I'd give it a try.

I got a 'rough' quote a month or two back from a local radiator shop to recore my mostly plugged up 48 year old original radiator. They told me between $350-$400 to recore mine versus $200+/- for a new one. I'd love to recore mine but can't make myself pay double the cost of the new one. If I could get it done for $225, I'd jump on it. I know that as soon as it warms up it'll need to get done. It was running real warm during the hotter parts of last summer.

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by hamjet

I just checked the spectra premium at Rock Auto, they're only 2 core...

Aluminum 2 cores are different than the old brass/copper radiators. They are basically twice as thick, so the equivalent of a 4 core.

[Lee H]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

Aluminum 2 cores are different than the old brass/copper radiators. They are basically twice as thick, so the equivalent of a 4 core.

And they need the four row mounting hardware.

[Justin@EntropyRad]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

Aluminum 2 cores are different than the old brass/copper radiators. They are basically twice as thick, so the equivalent of a 4 core.

exactly! Our cooling rows range 1"-1.25" thick...so even our "smaller" rad cores are still 2-3" thick