Leaking Radiator

I was going through the McDonalds drivethrough last night and smelled antifreeze when I lowered the window. Low and behold, some smoke rising from the left front fender. Temp guage was OK so I continued the 3 mile trip home. This morning(in the light), I noticed that there was some antifreeze running along the outside of the "seam" along the top of the radiator.

I seemed to remember GSRev and Randomwalk101 having a similar problem in the past. I did some searches on the old board and I guess I have the smae problem, right? OK, what now? What did you guys eventually end up with?

yeah , if it is leaking listen to dbman96 and get a new one . the fluidyne one is worth it for forced induction man .

Oh my GOD.. he's ALIVE!!!! J/K [img]biggrin.gif[/img] Hey I just bought a replacement for about 130 if I remember correctly. I didnt get nothing fancy and it has a life time warranty. It has worked just fine. The replacement is brass so it weighs a little more but its more durable. Call me.

The GSR radiators are notorious for having the plastic end tanks crack around 100k miles. I just got a replacement radiator with metal end tanks for ~$125 like GSREV did.

I don't see the need for a Fluidyne or the like on a JRSCed application.

I went through the same thing with radiators and the replacements started to leak after like 6 months. I fell like it was the drag strip that did it. All of the wheel hop and abuse was just too much for the radiators. They weren't designed for drag racing. I eventually got my money back for the radiators and bought a fluidyne. No problems so far and it's been about a year. Good luck with yours. [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#DDDDDD"><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by GSRDPM:
I seemed to remember GSRev and Randomwalk101 having a similar problem in the past. I did some searches on the old board and I guess I have the smae problem, right? OK, what now? What did you guys eventually end up with?</font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hey Tom, yeah I had that exact radiator problem. The leak is from the top where that plastic cap being clamped..I bought a Fluidyne for $290 shipped back in the days when carparts.com was still around...anyways, the Fluidyne was nice but I don't think it worth it. Just get a regular replacement and you'll be fine. Replacing them is extremely easy..just unplug the plug connecting the fans, unplug the lower/upper radiator hoses (have a bucket to catch those antifreeze), remove the two brackets on the top and pull the whole thing out...installation is reverse...good luck.

P.S. My TL has that **** plastic cap like the Integra...I thought that Acura would have "learned" by now.

A hundred bucks says they ended up with a new radiator. If you're pushing a lot of power go to www.absoluteradiator.com and get a Fluidyne for $315 - otherwise you can get a standard replacement for around $140... don't try to fix it, it will only give you heartache in the future.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#DDDDDD"><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by GSRDPM:
I was going through the McDonalds drivethrough last night and smelled antifreeze when I lowered the window. Low and behold, some smoke rising from the left front fender. Temp guage was OK so I continued the 3 mile trip home. This morning(in the light), I noticed that there was some antifreeze running along the outside of the "seam" along the top of the radiator.

I seemed to remember GSRev and Randomwalk101 having a similar problem in the past. I did some searches on the old board and I guess I have the smae problem, right? OK, what now? What did you guys eventually end up with?</font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>

Tom,

I have the OEM radiator out of the GSR I bought to do my swap...it had ~40,000 miles and should be in good condition. I'll sell it for $50 if you want it. I live in St. Louis, MO, so shipping shouldn't be too bad.

Let me know. Email me. Tom

Thanks for the responses guys!!!

Yeah, since I plan on staying at 6 PSI for the time being (been that way since November 1998 and have resisted the temptation to go higher this long) I think I'll pass on the fluidyne.

Alex: I like the path you took - you have mail.

Blowncivic: Thanks for the offer. My car only has about 62K on it and since there seems to be a design weakness, I'd rather just get a different new one.

I just noticed something. Granted, I don't post as much as most of the guys around here, but I have been around for a while. I joined the board in February, 1999. When the board moved, I had to re-register as my username was not recognized and it appears that it now shows me as being registered in February, 2002. [img]graemlins/cry.gif[/img] I want my seniority back!!!

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ February 26, 2002 10:21 PM: Message edited by: GSRDPM ]</font>

I picked up the new radiator from Four Seasons Radiator here in Houston - $130 plus tax. It has a full lifetime warrantee with only two exclusions:

1. "...if it is damaged due to an accident."

2. "...if someone were to come up and shoot a bunch of holes in it."

I laughed when he told me number two. i don't know if it is a Texas thing or something out of FnF.

Mine has recently started leaking. I am trying to save up for the Fluidyne.

For reference, I spent about a week searching and www.absoluteradiator.com had the best price by a good margin on a Fluidyne. Unless you know of anything better than $315. They also have the all-aluminum Koyo for $349 but it's another 3/4" thicker and I'm already "clearance-impaired" by my turbo setup. I ordered wednesday and FedEx (standard shipping) has me slated for a Friday delivery. Note - I have tried calling these people and you get a very generic sounding answering machine, but the guy called back and gave me a tracking number a couple hours later.