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North Shore Radiators have been supplying quality service for new car radiators & reconditioned car radiators to the Auto Trade of the North Shore & Sydney for over 30 years. Below are examples of radiator issues and how we can resolve them.
SEAM LEAK
This is a solder joint failure between the tank
and the header. It can be caused by a poor
solder joint at the seam, corrosion or a stress
crack. If the rest of the radiator is in good
condition and not limed up too badly inside this
type of leak can be repaired by removing the
tank, cleaning up the header and tank and
reassembling the radiator.
INLET/OUTLET LEAK
This is a solder joint failure at the hose
connection. The cause of this type of failure
could be a poorly soldered joint, radiator hose
vibration or cracking due to excessive stress or
pressure on the connection. It is easily
repaired by first checking the affected area for
cracks, if no cracking is found thoroughly clean
and resolder the connection.
TUBE RESTRICTION
Lime or calcium build up on the ends of the
tubes can restrict coolant flow through the
radiator core and will lead to overheating or a
possible boil over situation. Solder bloom is a
chemical reaction between the solder, brass
header and anti-freeze. This white growth will
eventually plug the ends of the tubes. Proper
cooling system maintenance, including flushing
the cooling system and refilling with the
correct mix of quality anti-freeze and distilled
water will prevent most of this from happening.
CRACKED TANK
This is plastic rad tank failure caused by
plastic fatigue. The condition is due to
constant heating and cooling which will
eventually cause the plastic to become brittle
and crack under pressure. In some cases the
plastic rad tank can be replaced. If a new tank
is not available, a new complete radiator is
recommended.
RAD CORE DAMAGE
This can be caused from a fan blade striking the
core, a stone hitting the rad, something rubbing
against the core or a foreign object contacting
the rad. If the damage is not too severe, this
is a fairly simple repair providing the rest of
the radiator is in good condition.
TUBE LEAKS
This could be a leak between the tube and the
header, or possibly a corroded tube at the
header. If your core is aluminium, this type of
leak would require a rad replacement. If your
rad core is copper/brass, it can be repaired
providing the rest of the radiator is in good
condition.
FIN DETERIORATION
This condition is common with rads that are 4 to
5 years old and are exposed to road salt during
winter weather driving. The salt will eventually
deteriorate the fin material and severely weaken
the rad core. The area most affected would be
the lower half of the rad as it is most
vulnerable to the splash of slush and water that
is mixed with road salt. To repair this damage
would require either re-coring the rad or
replacing it with a new complete rad.
PLUGGED RAD CORE
This is another example of a plugged rad core.
This restriction has been caused by the over use
of a radiator "stop leak" additive. You can see
the sealer has actually collected in the lower
section of the tank, blocking off those tubes
and not circulating as it was designed to do.
Most stop leak products only provide a temporary
fix and rarely result in a long lasting
permanent repair. A new complete rad in this
case would make the most sense.
LOOSE SIDE STRAP
This is a common problem on down flow type rads.
It is caused by a poor solder joint or excessive
twisting of the rad support causing the solder
joint to break. To repair this we simply clean
the strap and the tank, secure the bracket into
place and resolder the strap to tank connection.
PLASTIC TANK FAILURE
This is another common problem on today's modern
rads. High coolant temperatures eventually break
down the plastic causing it to crack, or in some
cases break the connection completely off the
rad. If the cooling system loses too much
coolant, the resulting super heated steam will
actually melt or erode a hole right through the
plastic tank and this can quite possibly end up
causing severe engine damage.
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