Cracked Radiator

[MELLO*SOS]

Hi everyone

Driving the 240 home last night I noticed a strange noise while depressing the gas. The temp gauge was all over the place, but only when the gas was pressed... I cruised off the 5 into Sun Valley (what a fantastic industrial-park neighborhood :jerkit:) and parked to investigate... Opened the hood and coolant was everywhere, and when the engine was cranked water gushed out like a fountain. Anyway I left it there overnight, praying it would be in one peice the next morning...

So I came back today with my tools ready to do some damage -- finding out right away that it "just" had a cracked lower rad hose... So I picked up a new one from Autozone and replaced it (after removing the PS pump, which wasn't really fun). I refilled the radiator with water and coolant, fired up the engine and everything was perfect! :w00t:

So cruising home, about 10 minutes later I see some water on the windshield... But there are no cars in front of me, and my wiper washer fluid has never worked, so I take the Stadium way exit and pop the hood... Sure as hell there's bright green coolant everywhere _AGAIN_. My hoses are all in tact, and there were no obvious leaks, so I tried added the remainder of the coolant + water mixture... Then right there near the upper hose connection, I watched (in horror) as all the bright green coolant I was pouring in was running out, around the black tank and down the fins :( :bash:

So I looked on ebay and there are a few used KA24E radiators, a few "OEM KOYO FIT" replacements for $100ish and a few original KOYO rads for $285+. I really don't want to dump much more money into this 240, as I'm planning on selling it and buying another one, so what's my best choice here? I'm thinking of either the $100ish ones or just hitting up the pick-n-pull that was 2 blocks away from where I left it overnight...


http://64.200.11.227/longraditator.jpg

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33602&item=2469444144

FWIW I've a 90 ka24e with 204k on the clock, and don't plan to sr20 or do anything else too crazy.
TIA

[S13Grl]

I'd go with a junkyard. See what you can find from people that are parting theirs out in the For Sale section. Also check ebay more frequently, you might find something cheap. I don't think West and I have one laying around, but I'll check again. If you don't find anything reasonable, email me at [email protected] and just put radiator as your subject, and I'll check employee pricing at my company (I work for Autonation). I'll post back here if Mark and I have an extra radiator. Good luck

[zero.counter]

Just go local OEM with a lifetime warranty. If you go the ebay route, I hope there is some type of warranty.

Or a junkyard as your second choice. No need for high performance rads in your case...

[MELLO*SOS]

Thanks for the replies, I'll post when I make my decision :)

[kanekz]

You can also patch up the hole/crack if its not too big and also if its not a fin thats messed up. I have used a plastic JB weld tube for a plastic part on a radiator. still working great. You can probably use regular JB weld for a metal part.

[MELLO*SOS]

kanekz

I thought that same thing when I first saw it, plus I love using JB weld on anything that breaks... Well I wish I took a picture of what was happening so you could see it, it's not like there is a hole in a fin somewhere, it's like there is a hole under the black "tank" at the top of the rad near the upper hose connection. The fluid just pours out from under the black area, down the front + back of the radiator.... Needless to say I don't think JB weld will fix it good enough... And that "STOP LEAK" stuff is out of the question too. From the amount of fluid leaking, it must be a good sized hole.... I think the best idea is to just buy a replacement radiator for $100 or so that comes with a warranty. A JY donor won't have a warranty, and might end up with the same problem (or come with it's own issues).

Besides, I just want to get this replaced and put the car back on craigslist. I want to sell it and pick up a 91+ with a DE, black/grey interiour and in just better condition to begin with.

Thanks for the input

[MELLO*SOS]

So Bell Auto Wrecking in Sun Valley, about half a block from where I parked the car, has a 1990 240sx MT radiator. I'm driving over there in an hour or so to buy it -- for $50. :bigok:

Has anyone else done a radiator install? I'll try searching but if someone has a link to a how-to I'd appreciate it.

Thanks for all the suggestions

[MikeDeuce]

Or just go to radiators.com and get one with metal end tanks and everything delivered for around $120. Mine has worked flawlessly ever since.

When you put the new one in make sure you get all the air out of the system via the bleeder bolt on the head... safest way to make sure you're OK, IMHO, is to have a water temp gauge or techtom or something that displays the temps accurately... but I'm paranoid.

[MELLO*SOS]

MikeDeuce

I picked up the used radiator from the JY today at 4pm. It looks like it's in okay condition, but I'm really surprised by how thin it is. The KOYOs I see on ebay look like they're 3" or so thick.

I was thinking about the temperature gauge thing, and the gauges in our car and most other vehicles suck. They only indicate temperature, and don't at all indicate a leak or loss of fluid, which is what usually would raise the temperature. It would rock if there were a pressure gauge or something for the cooling system that would let you know if you sprung a leak or were missing some water.

I'm going to install the rad tomorrow or Sunday, I hope it's not too much of a PITA.

Is it possible that the same thing that caused the lower radiator hose to rip is the same thing that caused the radiator to start leaking? Would something like a bad thermostat somehow managed to build enough pressure to blow a hose? I just don't want to install this radiator and 5 miles later have the same thing happen...