August 7, 200421 yr My radiator on mah Brumby has a slow leak arround where the lower radiator, i know its not leaking from the hose, but i have not be able to pin point the leak. Its has been leaking about a whole overflow bottle about every month or two. It has about 260,000 KM on the clock and i think its the orriginal radiator. My dad recons i should try some rad stop leak but u guys said this can do more damage than it fixes. Anyone have any suggestions on how i can fix it or should i bite the bullet and buy a new one? When you reverse flush the engine block do you have to take out the T-stat? How often should the t-stat be replaced because while im in there i may as well replace it too, along with the gasket.
August 7, 200421 yr Well - I would remove the radiator and take it to a radiator shop. If it's still cooling well, then maybe it just needs a seam re-soldered. They can pressure test it, and like I said - as long as it's cooling efficiency is still up there, it's going to be cheaper to have it gone through by a shop. GD
August 10, 200421 yr Author I found the leak its in the seam on the engine side above the lower radiator hose running the whole height of the radiator. In the middle white corrosion has pushed the seams 3 or so mm apart. ha i cant beleive i couldn't see this before. Do you recon this radiator is worth getting soldered up? btw: the gauge never reads over half way in the console and this is with a suspect thermoswitch for the electric fan.
August 10, 200421 yr Won't hurt to ask - depends on the shop. I'm not a radiator repairman, so even if I saw it I couldn't tell you if it can be fixed for a reasonable fee or not :-\. Rest assured that it *can* be fixed. A competent repairman can just replace the whole tank on that side if neccesary. I have a friend that works at a radiator shop, and he went through an EA81 radiator for me at one point (free). He soldered a small leak, flushed it, and painted it..... told me it *would* have cost aroun $70 or $80 (US). That's compared to about $120 for a new aftermarket unit. Seeing as mine didn't have any corrosion at all (not to mention I got the repair done for free!), I chose to have my Subaru radiator repaired rather than take a chance with some aftermarket unit. GD
August 10, 200421 yr Author yeh i just rang arround $550 new from the dealership and $330 for an aftermarket one from this Subaru shop. i am gunna see if it can be fixed soon.
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