rpm
Apprentice
Posts: 1,504
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Post by rpm on Nov 22, 2012 22:57:27 GMT 1
Find another rad cap (new or scrapyard etc), drill a 10mm hole in it and push a long tyre valve into it. Sit it onto silicone and let it cure.
Stick that on the car and use a pump to pressure the system to about 15 psi and wait a few minutes. Keep checking pressure with tyre pressure gauge to see if its holding pressure or losing.
If its losing it should become apparant pretty quickly
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Post by sorted on Nov 26, 2012 19:33:54 GMT 1
In my experience an awful lot of the head gasket issues these things are famous for started with the radiator, resulting in overheating leading to warped head etc. I would change that rad ASAP, they are not that much at all considering
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Post by krashbandikoot on Nov 27, 2012 2:16:35 GMT 1
Have you checked the header tank?
On the 800's they had terrible problems with splitting just above the front seal where the two half's were glue together.
There might be a really slight crack in it allowing just a bit of coolant to leak and it would explain why your rad is green too, it'll be spraying over it in bits and pieces.
I agree the rad has had it though, it looks like its on its last legs.
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Post by rhyds on Dec 2, 2012 14:46:14 GMT 1
Well I've got around to swapping the radiator. The rad in my old car looked pretty rubbish but didn't have any serious staining or similar, and seems to be holding OK. The one that came out had blue/white stains on the corners and a strange red stain in the middle, so could easily have been leaking.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2012 21:05:06 GMT 1
No brown ones !  |
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Post by krashbandikoot on Dec 9, 2012 18:47:10 GMT 1
The red stain in the middle could be anything, blood from bugs, old coolant that has been spilled or a bit of power steering fluid.
Have you pressure tested the old rad to see if it was leaking or not?
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Post by rhyds on Dec 9, 2012 20:15:43 GMT 1
Being a home mechanic I don't have the kit to pressure test a rad. It seems to be OK at the moment but we'll see how it pans out.
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Post by krashbandikoot on Dec 9, 2012 23:08:45 GMT 1
You don't need it really.
The best way is to seal the bottom pipe, put a large cork in the top rad rad pipe or seal it with a lot of duck tape and use a football inflation valve to penetrate the cork/tape. Connect a bicycle pump, immerse the rad in water, (the bath will do), and then pump the bike pump a few times.
Air will come out where ever the rad is leaking
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Post by rhyds on Dec 11, 2012 20:57:24 GMT 1
Well I've ran the car for a week and a half with the new rad and touch wood it's not needed a top-up since. The rad that went in wasn't amazing, so I'll keep an eye out for an alloy one to swap in when it's convenient.
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