Radiator Repair

L

larry & kaye kepple

New member
Jan 4, 1999
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I have a small leak in my radiator.Its near the connections to the
radiator (rear passenger side) but doesn't appear to be any of the
connections. I guess it is in a seam behind the retainer frame. Cinnabar
says they don"t have new radiators. Suggested I have it cored at local
shop. I understand from Gene's page that the radiator can be removed if
I jack the front of the coach about 2 ft. and push radiator up and out.
I also see the suggestion about adding a hinge with removeable pins to
make removal and replacement easier.
Will coring solve anything if leak is a corrosion leak? The radiator
was doing good cooling jobbefore leak.
Should I try Stop Leak stuff?
If radiator comes out by pushing up and out, what is the advantage of
adding the hinges with removeable pin?
 
I have a small leak in my radiator.Its near the connections to the
radiator (rear passenger side) but doesn't appear to be any of the
connections. I guess it is in a seam behind the retainer frame. Cinnabar
says they don"t have new radiators. Suggested I have it cored at local
shop. I understand from Gene's page that the radiator can be removed if
I jack the front of the coach about 2 ft. and push radiator up and out.
I also see the suggestion about adding a hinge with removeable pins to
make removal and replacement easier.
Will coring solve anything if leak is a corrosion leak? The radiator
was doing good cooling jobbefore leak.
Should I try Stop Leak stuff?
If radiator comes out by pushing up and out, what is the advantage of
adding the hinges with removeable pin?
 
>I have a small leak in my radiator....
> Will coring solve anything if leak is a corrosion leak?

I had mine re-cored a couple years ago. I could not find a local shop that=
=20
would remove and re-install it. One look and they said "no way". It turns=20
out that its not as hard as it looks. It comes out without even removing=20
the fan or fan shroud. I loosened the fan shroud and the top bracket (that=
=20
holds the radiator in), lifted it up and dropped it down and out. You do=20
have to jack up the front enough to get it to clear but a floor jack or=20
ramps work fine. The hard part is getting the oil cooler and trans cooler=20
lines off. I had to cut my trans cooler lines and re-connect them with new=
=20
fittings.

Be sure they use the correct core. There are multiple cores that fit. The=20
GMC has extra fins and rows. Maybe someone here can post the correct part=20
number for the core? Unfortunately I didn't ask for the number when I had=20
mine done.

Dave
Ann Arbor, MI.
73 Sequoia (26'/455/EFI/HEI/160=B0)
 
Larry

If you use ANY stop- leak, use only WYNN'S. It won't clog up the radiator.
I know, I taught cooling system maint for almost 10 years. It's best to
take it out and have it repaired. Coring may not be necessary. The tech
will do a flow test after repairing the leak. Then you can decide whether
or not to open it up and rod or core.

Wayne Newland 75 Palm Beach Columbia, Md

> I have a small leak in my radiator.Its near the connections to the
> radiator (rear passenger side) but doesn't appear to be any of the
> connections. I guess it is in a seam behind the retainer frame. Cinnabar
> says they don"t have new radiators. Suggested I have it cored at local
> shop. I understand from Gene's page that the radiator can be removed if
> I jack the front of the coach about 2 ft. and push radiator up and out.
> I also see the suggestion about adding a hinge with removeable pins to
> make removal and replacement easier.
> Will coring solve anything if leak is a corrosion leak? The radiator
> was doing good cooling jobbefore leak.
> Should I try Stop Leak stuff?
> If radiator comes out by pushing up and out, what is the advantage of
> adding the hinges with removeable pin?
 
Emery

For 9 3/4 years, I worked for the local distributor of Wynn's products. During
that time, I taught mechanics and dealership owners to use the Wynn's products and
programs. For two of those years, I was number 4 or 5 high salesman for Wynn's in
the world. Several more years, I was in the top ten. The point is, that during
that time, I became very familiar with what was on the market. Wynn's was (and
may still be) the only aftermarket oil products company with it's own R&D. The
3-pak of products that were used by professionals doing Power Flush on the cooling
systems, consisted of Cooling System Flush, Cooling System Treatment and Stop
Leak. I used to take a #10 can, poke a lot of holes in it with an ice-pick, pour
water in it, and guess what - it was like a shower head. I would then pour in a
small amount of Wynn's Stop Leak and the shower stopped. (and it works better
under pressure). Yes, the mechanics that hadn't seen this before, were amazed,
and frequently had to do it for themselves. I wouldn't run a vehicle without Stop
Leak in the radiator as a preventive measure.

My first motorhome was a Flxible bus, just like the FMCA emblem. I developed a
leak in the radiator, so I went to the local parts store and bought Bars. Soon
after, I developed a sever overheating. I took the bus to a radiator shop, and
had to remove the rad
myself before they would work on it. It's located in an air-scoop, almost on top
of the bus, and was very heavy. When the shop boss opened up the rad he smiled
and said, "Oh, I see you've been using Barsleak. We get a lot of business as a
result". That was many years before going to work for Wynn's, but I'll never
forget it.

Through the years, I've heard a lot of possible remedies and a lot of horror
stories, but why work with something that may make it worse. And, yes, New Car
manf for years added Stop Leak to the cooling systems before they left the
assembly line. With the newer plastic radiators, I don't know it that is true,
now.

Wayne Newland F9300 75 Palm Beach Columbia, Md

>
> I know, I taught cooling system maint for almost 10 years.
>
> Wayne Newland >>
>
> Wayne -- weren't you also an employee of Wynn's during that time? There are
> a few other good, proven stopleaks out there. I prefer to use the dry fiber
> pellets that GM uses on their production lines.
>
> The only ones that I would really avoid are those that are suspended in an
> oily base. There is a possibility that this type of material can screw up
> the antifoam agents that are present in a well formulated antifreeze.
>
> Emery Stora
> 77 Kingsley
> Santa Fe, NM
 
I had a similar experience in Nov '96 with a "pellets-in-liquid" leak
preventer: put some in outside of Chicago after seeing some weepage.
On Rte 390 in the southern tier of NY, my radiator was spouting a
stream thru a hole not in the core, but from the side. Put in a new
radiator in Bath NY, then on the way thru Iowa the same week, I lost
all heat to the interior, yet the engine was overheating. Apparently
some residual crud was plugging up the heater core and other passages
in the block. I drove back to Omaha no heat, & didn't know I had no
coolant. I'd Slick 50'd it the previous summer, but it worked just
long enough to get me home, about 100 miles. Scratch one '87 Plymouth
Caravelle. I don't know if it was Bars, but whatever it is, DON'T USE
PELLETS that claim to melt in the coolant and coagulate in the leak!

- ---snip---
Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 03:48:59 -0500
From: Wayne Newland
Subject: Re: GMC: Radiator Repair
...When the shop boss opened up the rad he smiled
and said, "Oh, I see you've been using Barsleak. We get a lot of
business as a result".

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