Tinkerers Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 Hi, Our dealer did a level 3 service and recommended we replace the radiator in the near future. It doesn't leak at all. Apparently, there is lots of bugs and crud that flew into the front and is stuck in there. I never heard of replacing a radiator because of this. Does someone make some type of chemical that would dissolve this and save me the $150 for the new radiator. BTW, temp runs fine in the car (gauge centered) except when idling with A/C on in heavy traffic, it runs about 3/4 way on gauge. It didn't use to do this, but it is still not in the red yet. Thanks for any help, Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commuter Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 How old is the vehicle? How much longer do you plan to keep it? In the old days, one would just get the garden hose and spray thru the radiator from the backside to flush out the bugs and dirt. You might have to remove the fans and shrouding to do this fully, but you could try. I suspect that the bugs and organic matter dissolves when a rad shop soaks a radiator. Doing all the work to do remove a radiator, have it cleaned, reinstall it would probably cost a good part of a new radiator. And can you even do that with plastic tanks? Or do they have to tear the core out? I'm not sure on this stuff. I had a Civic years ago. After about 6 years and many miles of highway driving, the rad was so hammered from stones and road grit that the fins were practically blocked right off in the grill area. The temp kept slowly rising. I was trying to put off the expense as long as I could at the time. I recall a few long 'commutes' where it was 90F weather and I had the heat cranked in the car just to keep the temp gauge from climbing! No A/C either. You might do some things to extend the life of your rad, but it sounds like it is coming to the end of it's life. I'm assuming it is not "just" a bug issue. Commuter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcspeer Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 I just had a radiator shop order me one, 178.00 for metal not plastic with lifetime warranty. If bugs is the main problem take the raditor out and wash and pick bugs out with toothpick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 While you have the radiator out (not hard to do) flush it out backwards inside as well as outside. Put that garden hose to good use! refresh the coolant while you're at it, its cheap insurance, unless the dealer just did it, then just throw the old stuff back in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferret Posted July 2, 2004 Share Posted July 2, 2004 AFTER THE FACT.....Since 1982 in each car/truck my wife and I have owned, right after I take delivery, I removed the grill and installed a piece of nylon/fiber screen right in front of the radiator/condenser. Then when the engine called for a major maintainence interval (like the timing belt), I replace the screen material. Total cost <$5 every few years. Knock on wood....No radiator, condenser failures since I started doing this. My $.02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forester2002s Posted July 3, 2004 Share Posted July 3, 2004 Sounds like a good idea. What type of 'nylon/fiber screen' do you use? And how do you fasten it in place? And presumably the screen doesn't reduce the air-flow significantly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferret Posted July 3, 2004 Share Posted July 3, 2004 I get a piece of replacement storm door screen from a hardware store. I make sure its non metallic (no aluminium or steel). Then usually cut it to fit just in front of the radiator/condenser. Then I replace the grill allowing the top and center to hold it in place. Finally I use nylon wire ties to fasten the bottom to a cowl/support/anything nearby. May not prevent all failures, but sure does stop bugs from clogging or a chemical reaction from their guts from eating away something more expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. RX Posted July 3, 2004 Share Posted July 3, 2004 I'd be willing to bet that it has nothing to do with the bugs, I'll also bet you that you have the green antifreeze in your car. The green stuff and aluminum don't go well together, there is a chemical reaction that causes something like calcium to form, this gets stuck in the small passages of your radiator, after awhile it will creat a blockage. See if you can find someone with one of those laser temperature sensing things and check various sports on your radiator after it is up to operating temp, I'll bet that you find cool spots. Those areas are where water is not going through, and therefore not getting cooled. Eventually this stuff will completely block up your radiator, and you'll over heat you engine. Get a new radiator, abd flush out the engine and replace the green stuff with the organ stuff Prestone makes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger83 Posted July 3, 2004 Share Posted July 3, 2004 AFTER THE FACT.....Since 1982 in each car/truck my wife and I have owned, right after I take delivery, I removed the grill and installed a piece of nylon/fiber screen right in front of the radiator/condenser. Then when the engine called for a major maintainence interval (like the timing belt), I replace the screen material. Total cost <$5 every few years. Knock on wood....No radiator, condenser failures since I started doing this. My $.02 Depending on what you use, where you live, and what vehicle you have, you run the risk of having decreased the carefully engineered amount of airflow over the radiator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferret Posted July 5, 2004 Share Posted July 5, 2004 I live in northern NJ and my 22 year experiences include: 5 Subarus 2 Saabs Geo Tracker 2 Caravans 2 Toyotas None overheated or came close, No radiators plugged (externally) or leaky condensers. As I said these have been my experiences, and for me they have been worth the few extra dollars for the screen material and nylon ties. To each their own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THAWA Posted July 5, 2004 Share Posted July 5, 2004 replace the green stuff with the organ stuff Prestone makes. Tell me you don't mean Dexcool? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howards11 Posted July 5, 2004 Share Posted July 5, 2004 Here's a link to some good information: http://autorepair.about.com/cs/productreviews/l/aa052601a.htm ~Howard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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