Radiator Leak

dirtyRU

dirtyRU

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Joined
Dec 11, 2010
Messages
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Location
Loveland, CO
I thought i would post this over here as well, for anyone looking in the future.
Got home for lunch the other day and found my radiator had a small leak near the top, where the "fill portion" meets the metal coils.
Gone through this (leaks in other places of radiator) before, i thought i would give my luck a shot with a bottle of AlumAseal for $5 at a local auto parts store. I used it once on a '78 Ford Custom, a '96 GMC 4x4, & my father in law used it on his 2002 F150. After using in all the vehicles above, there was never another leak or problem. The F150 was driven for 7yrs until trading it in with not a problem afterwards.

Anyway's, here was the problem.
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And here was the solution.
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So far after adding it to the Forester, it seems to have sealed it up. If my luck changes though, i'll be sure to update this post!
All you do is add this directly to the radiator, add more anti-freeze to top it off it needed, then drive around with the heater on for about 30minutes to let it cycle through. Great stuff with good luck so far.

Click here to read more about the product w/ FAQs
 
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...and we're leaking again. Don't believe it ever sealed up 100%. Sometimes i would go out, come home & not find a thing. Now i'm seeing it back in the same area. I couldn't find it on a part's list, but what is the set of coils for that sits between the radiator & the grill? I'm curious if it is leaking too, as i have found a bit of fluid splash on my grille & can't seem to pin point where it came from. Going to put the subie on the sideline & take some stuff apart to see what i can find. Either way, i'm going to be replacing it now.
 
"but what is the set of coils for that sits between the radiator & the grill? " = air conditioning.
 
After the above, i went ahead & flushed the system then added a different sealant to the radiator. It did well for a few weeks, but started leaking, so i'm going to not put it off anymore & just replace the dern thing this weekend. I couldn't win!
Anybody know of any tricks or things i need to check for when doing this on a forester w/ an automatic transmission? Any suggestions for steps to take are much appreciated!
 
Well, apart from the oil cooler lines don't forget the thermo fans- not just on removal but when re-installing. And make sure you bleed the system of air. Change the top hose while you are at it.
 
Thanks for the tips Rally. I've read a few articles from other people while searching around & only one thing i'm not sure about. How do you know when all the air is out? I know there is a plug of some sort for the air that you are suppose to take off when filling. Is this one of those things that once you're actually doing it, that you see how it works?
 
Some cars do have that, but with the subaru I turn the engine on as I start filling up with coolant. As the engine geats up, the radiator will start to overflow so put the cap on and keep the enginee running while keeping an eye on the temperature gauge in case it overheats. The thermo fans will come on eventually- it takes a while-and when they turn off turn off turn the engine off. If the top hose has no pressure in it, undo the cap- i still use a towel over it and remove really slowly to make sure there is no pressure in it. Must be careful because if there is pressure in there you risk being burnt. With the cap removed top up the system. With the cap back on, start the engine and allow a few more cycles of the thermos coming on and going off- say 6 cycles, and of course filling up as required. When it takes no more it should be fine, but as a precaustion check the next day as well. This normally does it for me, but things like a faulty thermostat can stuff things up. When the thermo fans come on each time, make sure the bottom hos is hot. Just be careful of scalding yourself and if unsure let the engine cool down and always use a towel over the cap, and never stick your head above it either.
 
Have you thought about pinching the alloy tabs a little, there is a rubber O ring between the plastic and alloy which may have shrunk a little, don't try to replace it yourself but you can have just the top or top & bottom tanks replaced at most radiator shops but price the difference between new radiator & re-conditioned first.

I've found squeezing the top hose quickly when the tank seems full (with the cap on) then re-checking until the top hose is firm usually does the trick, also facing the the car up hill or on ramps helps because of the design of the heater, turning the heater on won't really make any difference because it has no valve, just a flap inside the car to let the heat escape when you need it.

If you are going to change the radiator which I'd do as it's probably full of crap now make sure you change the thermostat at the same time though if you re-con it they will put rods down each tube to clean them while the tanks are off.
 
Thanks for the tips guys. I got under there yesterday and looks like my front transfer case is leaking a little fluid somewhere...arg! All will be address & fixed this weekend hopefully.
 
Should i have the heater turned on when filling? I've got everything back in place except for one of the tranny oil cooler hoses that pretty much fused to the radiator. Had to wait til today to be able to get to a place that sold them. Goin to fill'r up tonight & be done with it. Then an oil change & get the transmission serviced sometime this week.
 
As I understand it with Subaru's the heater controls do not affect coolant flow, so that would not be necessary.
 
Checked it out this morning to top it off with just a wee-bit of coolant, but looks like most of all the air has worked itself out. You were right about that thermostat though rally, i swear it took atleast 20mins for it to turn on. I was really surprised it didnt get overly hot in that time period. Thanks again for the help guys.
 
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