95 MTX Radiator Leaking

[shoon]

my rad is leaking from the side tanks, and it has been getting progressively worse.

Couple quick questions, I tried a search but came up empty handed;

Does the rad pull out from the top, or do you have to find a way to yank it from below? Is the condenser attached ot the rad, and will I have to fight with it to change the rad?

How much time roughly to change it out?

Also found that the side tanks leaking is common, even with some of the newer rad's... anyone have any experience with the spectra premium rads? cause that's the brand I picked up.

TIA,

-Shaun

 

[LOUDSHO92]

It comes from the top and you don't touch the condenser.

All of the radiators are basically the same.

Probably around 2 hrs including burping the system.

 

[sho2see]

x2...

 

[Kens1992mtxSHO]

As stated it's a pretty simple job. Remember to burp your cooling system when refilling. Not exactly necessary if you have a t-stat with a jiggle valve, but I'd do it anyways.

 

[SHOZ123]

I would recrimp even a new one before putting it in. I had a new Modine leak from day one when it was cold.

In fact you could probably just recrimp your old one and it would be good.

 

[shoon]

Well, Rad is done.

Was fairly easy, only problem I ran into was that the bolts / clips that hold the upper rad support brackets on were rusted and one of them spun on me. Also, the electrical connector for the rad fan was a pita getting undone... has probably never been removed before.

You are probably right, a recrimp could have fixed it, however the old rad had some other problems I discovered when I pulled it out. The cooling fins were pulled apart towards the top and bottom, so the top and bottom part of the rad had an arch to it. I wonder if it had something to do with the pressure inside the rad getting a bit high, and the rad being old and weak? There were also pieces of fins all over the bottom rad support, so I guess its just as well I replaced it.

Found a small amount of brown sludgy stuff at the bottom of the coolant reservoir. One rinse with hot water got it all out, otherwise the reservoir is perfectly clean. I don't think that brown crap was oil, but can't be sure. Hopefully not.

Due to fact its -40 C I poured 4 litres of coolant and then it would only take 2 litres of water to fill it up so.. its a 66.66% glycol 33.33% water mix. Should I drain some coolant and add a bit more water to it, or just leave it? I don't have one of those coolant testers, so not sure about the freezing point of the coolant.

Also noticed I have a bit of chain noise coming from the valve cover... Guess I'll have to look into that in the spring. I'm thinking I will just need to clean out the chain tensioners and reinstall them because its hard to find new ones.

Thanks for the help,

Shaun

 

[Storm-Chaser]

There should be a solution matrix on the antifreeze bottle that will tell you how low any certain concentration-mix will protect to. Prestone list its maximum low temperature protection at 70-percent gycol / 30-percent water mix (-84°F / - 64°C). A 50/50 mix is good to only (-34°F / - 36°C).


Hey Paul - how do you crimp/re-crimp your side tanks? Any particular tool you use to insure the crimp pressure is relatively uniform around the tank?

 

[SHOZ123]

Just use a vise grips. Set it up loose and slowly tighten until you get the crimp you want.

 

[Storm-Chaser]

pictures would be cool . . . !

 

[SHOZ123]

Well you can really only do it one way. Not hard to figure out if you know how to use vise grips.......

But here's the basic concept.

 

[stangeater]

Mine is leaking at the side tanks also. What exactly are you suppose to crimp? I see in the pic, but I'm not understanding??

 

[SHOZ123]

The aluminum frame of the actual radiator has the tabs that engage the black plastic tank. Just bend in towards the radiator the tabs a bit more.

 

[stangeater]

Ahhh.....I see now. Thanks, I'll try that! Mine just started here when it got real cold, not it's really bad!

 

[chevrolet]

Its an "o" ring crimped in there and if it starts to leak it's geneally because of corrosion. You can get a radiator new for about $120. Easy out easy in. I hope the heater core is alright?

 

[Storm-Chaser]

Thank you !

I was worried that if the (re)crimping wasn't done properly, it would either aggravate the leak, or cause the side-tanks to crack from the uneven pressure. I've always suspected that the repeated cold-hot-cold and pressure-cycling gradually cause the aluminum crimps to slowly expand until the tank seal leaks.

But if that's all you're doing and you've not had a problem, I guess "evenness" is not an issue.

The aluminum frame of the actual radiator has the tabs that engage the black plastic tank. Just bend in towards the radiator the tabs a bit more.

 

[chevrolet]

The side tanks are plastic and can crack with age. when this happens its not just a leak or drops on the ground. You will know it.

 

[Storm-Chaser]

Thank you, Mr Obvious . . . .

. . . but the rest of us were talking about simply re-crimping the side-tanks - which has been done by quite a few here with good results - since side-tank leaking through the seals is a very common occurrence in the Taurus radiator . . . .


:shakehead

 

[etc1006]

IIRC one of the repair mauals (Haynes/Chilton)told you what size drill (17/32 comes to mind...) to gauge the vise grips to. I had to do this every couple of months on my 94....

 

[SHOZ123]

Thank you !

I was worried that if the (re)crimping wasn't done properly, it would either aggravate the leak, or cause the side-tanks to crack from the uneven pressure. I've always suspected that the repeated cold-hot-cold and pressure-cycling gradually cause the aluminum crimps to slowly expand until the tank seal leaks.

But if that's all you're doing and you've not had a problem, I guess "evenness" is not an issue.

Well once the vise grips are set it is even compression on each tab. Just don't over crimp as it is a bed of foam gasket material that is between the aluminum tab and the tank.

 

[stangeater]

I replaced my Radiator last night. Mine was leaking from the side tanks also. It was a pretty easy removal/install. I figured if I was going to take the thing out to re-crimp it, I would just replace it since it's not that much to do. I got my Radiator at Autozone for $99.00, plus since I new the guy, he gave me a 10% discount!