Radiator Issues

[Brady]

After a normal paced drive downtown yesterday in 90-100 degree heat, upon parking it back at home and checking on it later I discover it has emptied its bladder of a whole lot of coolant.

At first I thought it was the lower radiator hose but after jacking it up and peeling off the undercover it appears thats not the case. I did however notice a bunch of hairline cracks near the top of the radiator itself, there maybe more towards the bottom but the top ones are the only ones visible.

My question :

Whats the best radiator for my buck in terms of ease of fitment, aluminum core & fits with fan shroud

I was looking into jus a KOYO oem replacement but I guess thats brass core as well.

Heres some pics of the crack.

 

[IJ.]

Isolate the leak first then decide on a course of action.

 

[tlo86]

buy new coolant hoses for radiator and turbo (there was one kind of a PITA to get to that leaked for me on my 7m but all i remember is it was hard to get to and above the water pump) basic maintenance to me *shrug* no need to fork out hundreds of $$ on hose

park it for a while and poke the hoses with a screwdriver - mine with hairline cracks would spray out of the crack if i got close enough to it

 

[Brady]

bump for new info/problem

 

[jdub]

Seems pretty straight forward...new OEM (Koyo's fine), upgraded dual core aluminum rad, or fix the one you have. Like IJ said, you need to find the leak for sure before you make a decision...have the system pressure tested.

Replacing the hoses while you are at it is a good idea as well, especially if they are old.

 

[Brady]

well i figure to have the system pressure tested would be like 65 bucks + whatever it costs to patch it tahts nearly half the price of a new oem replacement

do you know of any aluminum rads that fit perfect with fan shroud and everything?

 

[jdub]

I have a CSF rad...it and the shroud fits perfect.

 

[IJ.]

Fill the engine idle it and use eyeball v1.0 L/R and watch for the leak

PWR rad + shroud and fan fits.