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Thread: Radiator Renewal

  1. #1

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    Radiator Renewal

    Hi all,

    I may be looking at renewing the radiator soon depending on what is wrong with it. I saw wisps of steam emanating from the bonnet, on lifting the bonnet it appeared to be coming from around the passenger side radiator fan cowl - only had a quick glance at 5:30am today before having to rush off to catch my train so I will have a better check later to pin down the source.

    Is it a pig of a job to remove and refit a radiator? Can the radiator drain plug be accessed by removing the front bumper?

    Also, what spec of antifreeze is recommended for the 6A13 non turbo? The manual simply states "high quality Ethylene Glycol" which is nice and non-committal.

    Cheers,

    Jamie

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    On the VR4, you don't need to remove any bodywork to change the Radiator.

    Drain plug is accessible, drain it.
    undo the pipes.
    unclip the fan power leads
    2x brackets on top of the radiator
    Lift free.

    I'd imagine that the process will be the same on the V6 too (fingers crossed).

    As for coolant, I think I used the normal premix pink stuff from Halfords but I can't remember 100%, I can check the receipts tonight if nobody else has answered.

    HTH

    Stuart

  3. #3
    Confused's Avatar

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    As jaspa said, it's a really quick process to change radiator on one of these.

    It's common for the top tank to get a hairline split, which is very difficult to see, especially when cold.

    And you want blue or green coolant, not pink The different colours are different types, and you don't want to be mixing, unless you have guaranteed that you've fully removed all traces of the previous type, and even then you may find it reacts to the metal that makes up your coolant system.

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    Thank you both for your insights.

    I'll check what colour of coolant I have in the tank so I can buy what I need to keep on top of any coolant loss (and avoid mixing different types) until I can get it repaired.

  5. #5
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    i would agree with confused assessment of the situation and jaspa's removal list.

    you can't go wrong after the coolant drain, it should take no longer than 30min to replace and fill the rad.
    you just have to keep topping up the expansion tank until you get all the air out of the system.

    Bye for Now!

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    From the manuals in the resource library, there are coolant drain points on the engine block. Will the coolant fall to the radiator drain point under gravity anyway or is it still recommended to open these up too?

    Incidentally, the coolant is currently pink. Is it worth going trough the rigmarole of flushing the pink out to put green/blue in?

  7. #7
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    Stick with the colour you have. Pink is organic acid technology (OAT) and forms sludge if mixed with glycol. OAT doesn't play nicely with copper or brass iirc but as far as I know we don't have any of that in stock cars.

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    You do not have to remove the block drain bolts to change and fill the fax.
    The bottom rad hose comes from the thermostat housing which is at cylinder head level so the engine will remain full of coolant.

    Do what nick said with respect to the type of coolant. If you have pink in there already stick with pink.

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    Update - after noticing a loss of coolant in the last few days, I found the radiator is leaking from a tiny pinprick on the aft side. It wasn't constant so I concluded it started off as a tiny crack that only opens up when under pressure (when thermostat opens), and has grown in size very recently. New rad ordered from Viamoto.

    Thanks again for your help.

  10. #10
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    Was that in the plastic part? That tends to be the common failure point on these. You're doing the best thing by installing a new one. For the extra five to ten quid, I would put on a new original spec 0.9bar rad cap at the same time too.
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    No, it was a breach in the radiator core itself, nestled inside the passenger side fan area. The leak emerged on the engine side, unusually. I didn’t think it would suffer impact damage there, which made me think it was a small crack that propagated over time rather than it being struck. Hopefully there will be a screenshot attached from a video I took showing the leak.

    851E81D3-82BA-4B40-8E93-BF626AEC762B.png

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    if you're automatic, there are autobix cooler pipes on the bottom of the rad that can be tricky to lessen with out damage!
    Updating Soon!! 1998 Legnum VR4, fully serviced every 4500 miles. Fully Amsoil'd. Falken 453's, EVO 8 FQ320 rear diff.

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    Nope, manual here. But does that mean there are redundant transmission connections that need blanking off?

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    No.
    There are two radiators, one for manual (no additional pipes on the bottom tank), and automatic, which has the two take off's for the autobox pipes.
    also Alloy evo radiators can be adapted to fit.

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    You can use the automatic radiator in the manual. You could block the redundant coolant feed and return lines off of a new radiator if you wanted to, I guess!

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    Deleted.
    Last edited by Jsa274; 19-06-2019 at 01:20 PM.

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    Just a quickie
    An Auto Radiator can be used on a Manual as the 2 pipes that cool the Auto Fluid are NOT connected to the main radiator
    Think about it - They are hardly going to allow the Auto fluid to mix with water !
    The auto part is just a pipe that goes into the bottom edge of the radiator and comes out again
    It simply feeds the auto fluid through the bottom of the radiator to keep it cool.
    Just remove the pipes or use them to re-cool the engine oil or cool the power steering fluid and divert from the PS pipe cooler
    Mike
    Viamoto

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    Radiator renewal

    I have the classic hairline crack in the plastic part of the top of the rad. I ordered a new rad from a supplier in Holland that claimed the rad fitted my 5W model. Unfortunately this morning the garage fitting it said the new one is too fat and the unions that join some of the cooling parts are a different thread size to the original- since the new rad came without unions they removed the original ones to fit the new rad but the threads were different sizes! So, warning to others be careful. I am contacting Viamoto to see if they can supply the correct one with fitments.........😞
    Last edited by hawkyork; 09-12-2019 at 01:17 PM. Reason: Misspell

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    The Viamoto radiator fitted my car perfectly, took no time at all to fit it.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by hawkyork View Post
    I have the classic hairline crack in the plastic part of the top of the rad. I ordered a new rad from a supplier in Holland that claimed the rad fitted my 5W model. Unfortunately this morning the garage fitting it said the new one is too fat and the unions that join some of the cooling parts are a different thread size to the original- since the new rad came without unions they removed the original ones to fit the new rad but the threads were different sizes! So, warning to others be careful. I am contacting Viamoto to see if they can supply the correct one with fitments.........��
    The radiator sounds totally wrong! In reality, any UK/EU/JDM 8G Galant radiator will fit the VR-4. This eBay one looks a good buy. If you have a manual, then you simply leave the two autobox connectors on the radiator alone. The only difference is that in some of the smaller engined cars, and I think this only applies to the 1.8s, the radiator is 18mm thick rather than 25mm thick, but it would still physicallly fit and work.

    I bought and installed an eBay one about eight years ago. No issues.

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