radiator leak

[napkinthief]

i was pulling out a driveway in the dark, and the curb was all mesy up with a big rock in the middle and as i pulled out i heard a nasty metal grinding noise, and i woke up today with my whole coolant on the floor under my car, the metal under the radiator seems ruffed up, but i couldn;t tell if it was leaking from there or somewhere else, gotta get it on jacks, but what kinda problem am i looking at?

 

[DSMcrazy3]

First off, I believe all of DSM radiators are plastic on top and bottom. So if you hit that rock, which it sounds like you did, it possibly cracked it, or somehow ripped your lower radiator hose off. Or you could have just cracked the radiator, then on the drive the heat might have cause a bigger and bigger leak..Get it on the stands and have a look

Goodluck

 

[blackGSX2g]

I've seen several metal tanked DSM radiators.

Either way, its very thin metal/plastic so I would suspect that its trashed. When your system is pressurized, it will find any little hole it can and will cause you to eventually overheat.

 

[napkinthief]

well im running on a dry radiator, and im not overheating....so what is going on with my car, getting brakes done tommorrow ill take a look and get some pics

 

[DSMcrazy3]

Sit and idle for 5-10 min., you will probably begin to see your temp. needle rise, not substatially, but you will see it, just rev and hold it at 2k rpm for about 5-10 seconds and it should cool off back to normal. If you continue idling the car will keep repeating the process.

Josh

 

[napkinthief]

ok so what does that mean? if the needle is at the middle where it normally is everyone is ok?

 

[DSMcrazy3]

No not really, you can get by like this, but it isn't good to. You need to get a new radiator asap. Like I said, you can get by like this though, just be sure to check your temp. while you idle.

Josh

 

[napkinthief]

well ive just not been pushing my car, trying to stay under 2.5-3 rpms and turn it off during any idle longer than a few minutes. thing is i dont have the $ right now for a radiator

heres some pics....

first is the damaged part, second is the one thats fine, notice the difference?

third is just one of my broken stud

 

[DSMcrazy3]

Hard to tell exactly what that is that is messed up in the first pic. If you had coolant before the little incident, and you don't anymore, the radiator is def. messed up. You don't have to turn the car off at idle, just watch the temp gauge if you sit for a few minutes, and if you see it start to rise hold it at 2k rpm till you see the needle drop . As for the broken stud, in order to fix that(if you didn't know) pull the rotor, knock the broken stud out with a hammer. Put the new stud in through the back, and get a nut started on it and tighten it so that it pulls the lug into position.

Josh

 

[napkinthief]

ok i just got out my trusty screwdriver and the only damage is the little plastic mounting pin is snapped, but my leak is from the same side by the fins, looks like the radiator got shoved up into a screw

new radiator or should i weld it?

 

[ddavisaf]

My radiator had a hole in it due to the condensor being push through it. I got some steel putty and patched it with that. 5 months now no problems. Depending on how bad the hole is patch it, it's cheaper. If it's that bad then buy a new one. You will NOT be able to "weld" anything near the core unless you've been welding for years and years. It will melt super quick.

 

[DSMcrazy3]

Looks like it's time to bring out the ol JB weld.

Josh

 

[napkinthief]

well after i loosened the top bolts and pushed the radiator back a bit, near the lower right corner it squirts like one of those waterguns for 99 cents but the stream is continuous

i had nothing to patch it with but liquid nails, but it didn;t work to well gonna try steel putty tommorrow, if not TO THE JUNKYARD for a new radiator

 

[DSMcrazy3]

Yeah, when patching a radiator, you must remember how hot that coolant/water gets running through the system! If patching it doesn't work, and you end up going to a junkyard, tell me how much it ran you so I can get a ball park figure. I need one too

Josh

 

[a_scobel]

Ehh..just put an egg in it.

 

[95-DSM-RS]

If you need a new radiator I have got one i was gonna take to the dump you can have if your interested. It came on a parts car i bought but if you want it its yours...e-mail me if you want...