Thread: Radiators - learnt something new today

The cooling system in my TD5 and I haven't had the best relationship up to now and today was no better. Short story is that when my head gasket went last year the radiator was one of it's victims. I replaced it along with a number of hoses etc. I recall that it was a not genuine.

Ever since then the cooling system has always been a concern to me. Whilst in the Victorian high country my top radiator hose blew (new genuine) on one of the joiners. When I changed the hose I broke the bleed line back to the exansion tank. Bugger!

Bush repair carried out and I returned home to replace the radiator again. Job done and now I have the remains of two radiators as trophies. Two weeks go by and today on returning home I again notice the dreaded red blood of the coolant. The fan shroud screw hole was leaking in the tank.

On closer inspection the following lessons were learnt.
1. The non genuine tanks had a poor plastic mould quality control. Both the broken bleed nipple and screw mount had inconsistent wall thicknesses.
2. The fuel cooler pipes for the lower 4 vanes were not clear(completely blocked by design with the exception of a bleed hole). Out of the box the hose pipes had to be drilled clear for the fuel cooler. The oem version was clean.

Now I am not saying that all non genuine parts are of poor quality or that even the genuine parts are better, I am saying that I should have compared the parts better prior to replacement.

Am I ignorant of the normal practices of motor mechanics or can I reasonably expect to purchase a radiator "for my car" and not have to modify it for it to do it's job?

I wonder how the car will go now the fuel is getting cooling.

Btw I managed to make a good tank out of the spare bits I had collected and it appears to be holding. The endcaps come off easy enough. Now to take the newest tank back for a please explain.

Leaks from the shroud screw holes on aftermarket radiators seem fairly common.
Probably a combination of the holes drilled too deep and entering the water passages or the shroud screws too long.(They only need to be half the length they are)

Easy fix is to cover the screw thread with gas tape or similar teflon tape and refit.For added insurance fit a small O ring around the screw shaft as well.

Trev.