aaulick Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 So I let the front end plastic skirt of my 2001 Outback Wagon bang down pretty hard on the ground today while backing off of a ledge that was too tall, and I cracked the plastic top of the radiator. (I now go through about 3/4 gallon of water in 15 minutes, which makes nice a nice shiny radiator!) For anyone familiar with those radiators, the crack is on the underside of the join where the plastic stand-offs to attach the fan shroud meets the vaguely tube-shaped inlet distribution channel atop the radiator. (passenger-side). The passenger-side fan blade now hits the elbow bend of the upper radiator hose as well, and the impact broke the passenger-side foglight lens as well. Questions: 1) Who the heck makes a radiator out of plastic, with nice little "break me here" levers molded into it?? Is a slightly cheaper all-metal after-market radiator going to be more reliable than stock? 2) Is there any way that some kind of epoxy is going to help me here? 3) How close is the clearance between the upper radiator hose in the passenger-side fan on an undamaged car? Besides this little crack under the stand-off, I can't find anything that actually looks bent out of shape or damaged anywhere in the assembly, but the fan blades on that side now each have a good 16th-inch deep arc-shaped bite taken out of them where they hit the hose. I can probably cut/reposition the hose or a new one so that it doesn't interfere, but does anyone have a suggestion for more places to look for bending/damage? 4) Is there some variant of the front bumper plastic that I might find in a boneyard somewhere, that would attach to a 2001 outback wagon with better ground clearance than the native version? Mine has a kind of pouty lower lip sticking out at the bottom that doesn't seem to have any purpose in life besides getting beat up and scooping mud into the foglights when driving on rough ground. Thanks, ~Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wondercow2 Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 I tried JB welding a plastic radiator side tank once, but it wouldn't hold pressure-tight. If you have a lot of room to work with and can drain the radiator before JB welding it, you might have a better chance of getting a more solid plug. Otherwise, you're screwed. Fortunately Subaru radiators are very easy to replace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Whale Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 The Radiator Barn (radiatorbarn.com) sells all-metal radiators for Subarus, and the price isn't bad. I got one for my '96 Outback for $153.64 delivered. Yours shouldn't be much more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaulick Posted July 23, 2007 Author Share Posted July 23, 2007 Wow! That comment just saved me $85. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 Plastic radiators have been around for quite some time as weight and cost saving measure. ALmost long enough that somone must have come up with a fix by now (aside from dont drop them). nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86BRATMAN Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 The best fix for any plastic radiator is a metal one. I've seen plastic radiators over time erroding from the inside and start to leak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Whale Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 I'm expecting my all-metal replacement radiator to last a long time. The construction is quite good, and it even does away with the need for the separate top and bottom brackets that were bolted to the original. There's a price to be paid in weight, of course. Still, I'm pleased to see that the temperature needle now stays below the center marks, a bit lower than with the original and also lower than on my other Subarus (past and present) with their aluminum/plastic radiators. The cause for replacement wasn't cooling efficiency, however; it was a sudden leak somewhere between the fins. This was the second time a lightweight stock radiator failed me; the first was on my '82 diesel Rabbit, where the joint between the metal and the plastic started to disintegrate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaulick Posted July 24, 2007 Author Share Posted July 24, 2007 Well, if anyone was scratching their head working out how the fan could be out of place, they can stop. The fan shroud has two thick plastic locator pins at the bottom that drop into hoops hanging off the radiator tank (or bracket). Looks like the whole fan assy got pushed up and sideways until locator pins broke out of the hoops. I wonder if I had replaced the $90 plastic splash guard under the front end last time I went breaking things this way, if it would have softened the hit enough to save the radiator, or just added one more part to break on the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron917 Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Sounds like you need a skid plate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaulick Posted July 25, 2007 Author Share Posted July 25, 2007 I've been looking at metal skid plates -- where do they attach to the car? If they attach to the same flimsy brackets as the plastic splash guard, banging the skid plate would just tear off the brackets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron917 Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I don't have personal experience with skid plates, but there's some info here: http://subaruoutback.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9034 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86BRATMAN Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 They would bolt up to the lower radiator support and engine crossmember. You can mod an ea82 car's stock plate to fit your OBW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaulick Posted July 25, 2007 Author Share Posted July 25, 2007 They would bolt up to the lower radiator support and engine crossmember. You can mod an ea82 car's stock plate to fit your OBW. That sounds great. How easy are these to find in junkyards? Any pointers or links on the modification required? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strakes Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I have one of these: http://www.rallitek.com/alskle.html but for an 2002 Legacy GT. Call them up and see if they have any for your year. They bolt up like 86bratman says. Yes, I've lifted the entire car up on the skidplate unintentionally by driving up onto a parking curb. It left a tiny scratch on the skidplate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86BRATMAN Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 That sounds great. How easy are these to find in junkyards? Any pointers or links on the modification required? There has been a post of two about it here. You basically just have to redrill a few holes on the plate and bolt it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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