Cooling system failures

The cooling systems on the 6.2 and 6.5 trucks of the 90's came with aluminum radiators that were fitted with plastic tanks.

These usually have a fairly good life span but the tank seals do fail as do the fittings.
It's not all the rare to see one of hose connections snap off.
The upper radiator fiitting is the usual suspect.
This can start out very subtle anad just weep some or it can fail all at once and dump coolant everywhere.

Here is the radiator from my 94 Burb that has failed in such a manner.

This is likely the original radiator at 270K miles and it was caught before it failed totally.

The plastic degrades over time with heat and the flexing from normal opperation

This one manifested itself as a small puddle on the ground and what apeared as a leaking tank seal.

Upon removing the old radiator the broken fitting presented itself :eek:


Robyn

One of my soldiers had the same problem, on his ford Taurus. Our solution- picked up an exhaust reducer at the local autozone along with a JBWeld kit, roughed up what remained of the upper neck with 80 grit, buttered the neck and the inside of the reducer with JBWeld, slid the reducer over the neck and let it sit overnight at the airfield(this was before 5-minute JBW). next day at lunch, re-installed the hose, topped off the radiator. He ran the car for 6 months, traded it and his re-up bonus for a pathfinder, and it never leaked a drop. Not a recommended permanent repair, but with todays rapid set epoxies, could get you home from the boonies.

That same thing happened to my 95 GMC last month. Luckily it happened only a mile outta town and I could get to the gas station. Enough of a lip left to reattach the upper hose, refill with coolant, and limp home with teh radiator cap loose.

Then put in a new radiator...

Some radiator shops have access to replace just the tank. I've had these radiators re-sealed and one new tank before. The cores seem to last really well.

The radiator shop I buy the Visteon units from will also "retank" the aluminum cores.
The issue seems to be that the prongs that hold tha tanks on may or may not survive a "recrimp"

My radiator in the Burb was doing fine with cooling and a fresh LH tank would have fixed the problem.
The cost for a fresh radaitor was not all that much different than the new tank, seal and labor to R&R the thing.

Missy

Yeah the core is still in pretty good shape, and as Robyn says there is limited success with just replacing the end tanks. For a little more $$$ I could just replace the whole thing.

A little more $$? Limited success?

Tank replacement = $50 - $80. The job takes less than 30 minutes at a competent shop.
New radiator = $300 - $500. If you are lucky, you'll find the one you need in stock.

I've bought a lot of radiators over the years, and had a bunch of tanks replaced. The crimps can break off when they do the job, but it's hardly "limited success". A VERY small number are unsuccessful. This according to my experience, and the experienced word of my cousin, who works at a radiator shop that does a high volume of these, of every brand. They guarantee the work, and will apply your repair job price toward a replacement if necessary (for a year). There is no reason to not attempt a tank replacement if the core is sound.

Now, as far as the emergency repairs go, logic (and my luck) dictates a temporary repair is possible (like Robyn's pic) if it breaks in your driveway. However, they will almost always break off clean at the tank when in the sticks. Your luck may lead to other options. Mine doesn't. Ever. Murphy is my shadow. I'd rather be lucky than good, but it doesn't seem I'll ever see that option. YMMV

I would recommend pulling a radiator that had been in for over 5 years. Pull it and have a shop check it. Mine was supposed to have been done. It wasn't. I started seeing problems and pulled it and flushed it myself. Flush didn't do it. Had the tank removed and wow. If you are seeing any temp problems pull the radiator first and check it. The rebuild shop that didn't do mine ended up costing me several thousand. Its great insurance and you will rest better knowing it not your radiator.

Teh new radiator was only $235 shipped to my door....unit was made in Canada, no cheap chinese junk.

With my luck I'd have the end tanks replaced on teh failed radiator only to have the core fail two weeks later...

I haven't dealt with the radiator shops in my area before, so would be driving blind there to see if they were competent.