| Author | Message | ||
     k sides (Sideshow) New Member Username: Sideshow Post Number: 3 Registered: 11-2002 |
noticed a leak from the bottom of my rover(96 d1)'s radiator. does stop leak work, or will it just clog things up. any experience? just replaced a radiator in my dad's dodge ram, not looking forward to another. | ||
| Paul T. Schram (Paulschram) Senior Member Username: Paulschram Post Number: 1607 Registered: 02-2002 |
Your '96 Disco radiator is probably already pretty well clogged. Check it out real well to be sure it is coming from the radiator. Be embarrassing to put a new radiator in and find it was a bad hose! You may well end having to get a new radiator, it will be worth it in the long run. I put it off... Ended up costing me a top-end rebuild. OK, some of it was pilot error, but had I replaced the radiator sooner, it wouldn't have been as likely to have happened. | ||
| k sides (Sideshow) New Member Username: Sideshow Post Number: 4 Registered: 11-2002 |
bttt. appears to be a pin sized hole on the bottom of the radiator. anybody else got any info? | ||
| Erik G. Burrows (Erik) Member Username: Erik Post Number: 221 Registered: 04-2002 |
I used Prestone's "Super Radiator Stop Leak", and it worked wonders with the pinhole in my radiator, but... It might also have been the reason my heater stopped working. How's that for a recomendation?! | ||
| Erik Geagan (Geagan) Member Username: Geagan Post Number: 124 Registered: 10-2002 |
What does it run to have it replaced? | ||
| Gary Taylor (Gtaylor) New Member Username: Gtaylor Post Number: 12 Registered: 04-2003 |
That Prestone Stop leak crap is what caused me to have to replace my heater core as well as having my radiator rodded out. A $5 can of crap clogged up my whole damn system. I know it was that because the radiator shop showed me the pile of red, plastic looking stuff they got out. That stuff matched, perfectly, the wad of stuff I retreived from my old heater core. Stay away from that crap. Fix it right! You'll be glad you did after you get over the money it's gonna cost. | ||
| Erik Geagan (Geagan) Member Username: Geagan Post Number: 125 Registered: 10-2002 |
enlighten me, what does it cost to replace the whole thing? | ||
| Paul T. Schram (Paulschram) Senior Member Username: Paulschram Post Number: 1618 Registered: 02-2002 |
Erik: Shop around, prices will vary widely. I found a brand new radiator on eBay of all places for $500 and after having many sent to me that got damaged in the mail, the place I got mine from had to send me two to replace the first one damaged in transit. The more common sources will run around $630. Some will say to have it rodded and others will say rodding only works for a little while and you're back in the same boat. Locally, recoring was $7 more than Atlantic British's cost! I had two sent from England, both destroyed in shipping and one was apparently intentionally mislabeled at the factory. When you finally find the radiator you want, make damned sure they pack it securely! Peace, Paul | ||
| Erik G. Burrows (Erik) Member Username: Erik Post Number: 222 Registered: 04-2002 |
Gary, The prestone stop leak instantly stoped the leak I had in my radiator, but did also instantly stop my heater. Since you went through the same thing, and replaced the core, were you able to see where the clog was? Was it in the core tubing, or on some screen? | ||
| charles pastrano (Charles) Member Username: Charles Post Number: 224 Registered: 08-2002 |
I had mine rodded two days ago. Cost $92.50. Not bad in my opinion. | ||
| JPinson (Jeffro0502) Member Username: Jeffro0502 Post Number: 53 Registered: 02-2003 |
I had mine recored in my 91 RR, it was as good as new and only cost $300 | ||
| KJ (Karen) Senior Member Username: Karen Post Number: 128 Registered: 02-2002 |
Please, PLEASE don't let coolant leak any longer than necessary. Six weeks ago we lost a beloved pet from antifreeze poisoning. It did not happen here. We think he might have been poisoned at our near neighbor's house, after the neighbor replaced his van's radiator. Pirate was a welcome visitor there, and probably licked some of the coolant off the ground. Apparently it's very tastey to animals and even a tiny amount will kill them. It's a painful, nasty, preventable way to die. I had Pirate put down before he got too bad, knowing that the test results showed he was a goner and we had no choice. Keep that stuff locked away and off the ground. Karen  | ||
| Gary Taylor (Gtaylor) New Member Username: Gtaylor Post Number: 13 Registered: 04-2003 |
Erik, My heater core had those little red pellets wedged into the core tubing so it was totally restricting the flow. I had a pin leak in my heater core and had added the stop leak to try to fix it as it is a pain to change the heater core. It worked great, no leaks, but all of a sudden I blew a hose, then another, then overheating. I had those pellets in my t-stat, heater core, radiator, etc... I think they were supposed to dissolve but they don't. | ||
| Erik G. Burrows (Erik) Member Username: Erik Post Number: 223 Registered: 04-2002 |
Yesterday I flushed my cooling system six ways from sunday, including reverse of normal flow. I was hoping maybe to blow the crap off of any screen in the system, but no dice. I do have some heat (flow) but only at high engine RPMs. That'll teach me I guess, it just seems such a waste to have to spend $500+ to fix a leak so small that I only have to put a cup or so of water in at each fillup. | ||
| Paul T. Schram (Paulschram) Senior Member Username: Paulschram Post Number: 1620 Registered: 02-2002 |
Erik: You may be able to find a local repair shop that can patch the hole. I think you will find that they won't want to as there may be rot that has extended further, thus making the repair temporary at best. I hate to sound so pessimistic, but the radiators of these vehicles do not seem to be up to the task of long-term use. Just wait until you decide to bite the bullet and buy one, only to have them repeatedly delivered in unusable condition. Then, it is up to you to pack it securely enough to get it back to where you got it so they can see the damage for themselves! PEace, Paul | ||
| Erik G. Burrows (Erik) Member Username: Erik Post Number: 224 Registered: 04-2002 |
I've heard such sentiment before Paul, so, where can we get radiators that are up to the task? | ||
| Paul T. Schram (Paulschram) Senior Member Username: Paulschram Post Number: 1621 Registered: 02-2002 |
Call Eric at Motorcars (funny,I believe his last name may be Burroughs, the same as my stepson...). He might be able to hook you up with one for near what I paid for mine. I don't have the number or an e-mail handy. There are many things on these trucks where we can substitute or cobble, this unfortunately, is not one of them. Story of my life... As for finding one that is up to the task, I hear many "Down in Tennessee" stories of folks finding crazy radiator builders who make them 169 row cores that would cool the sun... | ||
| Raf usher (Zonamaya) Member Username: Zonamaya Post Number: 88 Registered: 05-2003 |
ok.. lets get specific.. will somebody find WHERE to get one at a good cost that can freeze hell over.. and all that good stuff! geeze..i was trying to wait to see if you guys came up with something.. bUT- now i have to open my big mouth and ask PAUL.. DUDE.. CHECK YOUR RECIEPTS!!! (it worked last time.  ) tell me where to find one. where be this place thou hasth spoken of in Tennessee? i am from tennsssee. you better go into deep meditation to try to jog your brain. THE WORLD IS DEPENDING ON YOU DUDE! ...but dont feel pressured. ok? (yeh right.) | ||
| Jim H. (Victor_mature) Member Username: Victor_mature Post Number: 64 Registered: 02-2003 |
I used to own a Porsche 944 and when it needed a radiator I was going to go all out and have one built to repel the Arizona heat. A local shop built me a beauty, extra capacity, metal caps instead of the plastic factory type, it was a thing of beauty and fit perfectly. Problem: Flow. The coolent went through it so fast that it didn't have time to cool down. The thing would run cool in stop and go traffic but would start heating up as soon as I got on the highway. Tried different T-stats to compensate, no luck. I wound up eating the custom-built one and buying a new, factory one anyway. It seems like, with the cooling system, when you deviate from the factory design you're looking for troubles. Jim | ||
| Paul T. Schram (Paulschram) Senior Member Username: Paulschram Post Number: 1622 Registered: 02-2002 |
Raf: Relax. Your faith is gonna be tested more by this truck you just bought than anything you've experienced yet. Pressure, the trucks in the shop pressure me, those on the 'net don't. Anyway, Raf, there are many companies here and abroad that have parts for our trucks. I believe I got my radiator from Motorcars Ltd. somewhere in Texas. Before you pull your radiator and throw it away (but, if you do, send me the old one) dump the contents and flush it carefully. If your truck ain't overheating yet, be glad. e-mail me at BTLRovers(at) hotmail.com and I can give you a list of suppliers. Peace, Paul | ||
| Raf usher (Zonamaya) Member Username: Zonamaya Post Number: 89 Registered: 05-2003 |
no.. mine doesnt have problems with over heating.. but i am the type to plan AHEAD. my radiator looks to be ALL metal. soo.. will mine have the same problem in the future? how long will a weld repair last? i heard radiators run about $200. the one for my tracker was $350..soooo prices arent too far off. what do you know about these guys? www.robisonservice.com oh paul.. sometimes your "doom and gloom" attitude scares me into wanting to sell this dumb truck. dude.. i aint got no faith.. "help me with my unbelief!" i want to believe!! i want to blieve! i want to believe!!!! make me a believer!!!! | ||
| Paul T. Schram (Paulschram) Senior Member Username: Paulschram Post Number: 1625 Registered: 02-2002 |
John Robison is one of the more highly regarded wrenches in the Rover community. He sometimes posts here. I thought for sure you said you were a missionary? You of all folks should have more faith (can you tell one of my degrees is from a Catholic school?). As for Doom and Gloom, I have blown my engine up by ignoring warning signs. My day job is to tell folks not to run with scissors and not spill anything, and to bandage them up when they don't (had a woman get seven stitches yesterday from a safety knife of all things) and to clean up the spills when they happen. I love these trucks and want more folks to own them and to work on them themselves. For those who lack the inclination, I'll wrench on them. But, in spite of some of the criticism I receive, I try to tell it like it is. Life ends in death and trucks will end up being melted down into plowshares, it's only a matter of time. |
