not sure where to post this but i did a search and couldnt find anything on the upper part of the radiator leaking??? my car just started loosing coolent about a full resv. everyday???i noticed after a long drive the top portion of my radiator the part you see that looks like plastic is leaking through the seam where the top part seams with the rest??? is this a normal thing? is it time for a new radiator and what kind should i go with? same or metal one?

um, leaks aren't normal for a radiator, you need a new one

ok maybe i should clerify what i wrote for those who dont understand. I know a radiator should not leak, thats a give me, what i was asking is , is it a normal thing for our radiators to leak in that way ( example we all know our door handles are compleete crap and it would be considered normal for them to break) sorry for the misunderstanding but im trying to see how many people have experianced the same type of leak i guess i should have worded it better thanx
joe

its normal for a radiator to fail in the fins, tanks, and the seams. if it leaks its bad replace it.

Thanx for the info a new one is on order

through radiatorbarn.com right? i think $152 shipped or something, and all-metal.

$ 126.78 and free shipping even better

here's one for you guys...

put a new radiator in, 150$ autozone august 2004

got new radiator hoses (upper, lower), all new heater hoses/cooling and heating system hoses, flushed the antifreeze, and put new antifreeze in september 2005

and yet i still lose a whole resourvoir of coolant every week or so, and i get radiator fluid seeping out of the upper and lower radiator hoses whenever i check and refill the coolant resourvoir...

i have made frequent trips of 100+ miles since the new radiator hoses and heater hoses and such, but yet i'm still losing radiator fluid?

How could these be, and whatwould someone suggest I do?

Originally posted by talonman_NT95
here's one for you guys... put a new radiator in, 150$ autozone august 2004 got new radiator hoses (upper, lower), all new heater hoses/cooling and heating system hoses, flushed the antifreeze, and put new antifreeze in september 2005 and yet i still lose a whole resourvoir of coolant every week or so, and i get radiator fluid seeping out of the upper and lower radiator hoses whenever i check and refill the coolant resourvoir... i have made frequent trips of 100+ miles since the new radiator hoses and heater hoses and such, but yet i'm still losing radiator fluid? How could these be, and whatwould someone suggest I do?

If you are leaking from the hoses at the hose connections then your hose clamps are not on tight enough. Tighten them down. Pressure goes up when things get warm and if they aren't on tight enough they will leak.

i can agree with this my hoses leaked too both of them and i had obx and switched to napa and still leaked very little but neverthe less they leaked, i reciently tightened the hell out of all hose clamps and what do you know now my radiator its self kinda blew apart at the seams??? im guessing there is more pressure in my system than there should be?? why i dont know?? new thermo when changed hoses both times

Had a very similar problem with another eclipse one time. kept Blowing water back out the overflow and out the lines couldn't figure it out to save my life til i took the Radiator cap off and started it and it spewed water everywhere as soon as we started the car. Did leak down test and sure enough Blown head gasket. replaced gasket no more wasting loosing coolant.

so the problem may be a bad head gasket?

hmm this is sounding like a tougher problem to solve than i thought...

would that be the thermostat no opening?

you hope its not the head gasket, unless you plan on some sort of rebuild.

i know my problem was not head gasket related, only about 1000 miles on my head gasket and i have great compression and clean coolent and oil, my problem was the radiator for some reason cause i replaced it and now i have no leaks where the hoses use to leak b4 hose doesnt get as tight and everything works good, so far about 200 miles on the new rad.

Originally posted by joeck76
i know my problem was not head gasket related, only about 1000 miles on my head gasket and i have great compression and clean coolent and oil,

You don't necessarily need to have coolant/oil mixing to have a blown headgasket. Two of my dead HG's have been compression/exhaust gasses mixing with the coolant. Excess pressure in the cooling system is probably the fault of the radiator cap or thermostat, but can easily be caused by Headgasket issues.

This is very true however i wouldnt think if you had a blown head gasket you would read 200 across the board on the compression side and have no fluid mixtures at all and still be able to eat food off your block?? i might be wrong here but with conditions such as i just mentioned, i dont see where a blown head gasket would be the issue but you are very correct in stating that not all the time do you get a fluid mixture.