Hello everyone, I have noticed that my 899cc sei Squeak is using slightly more water/coolant than it normally does and when I had a look into the engine bay I saw a small amount of water directly under the radiator pipe.
it hasn't been overheating and there is no 'mayo' under the oil or water tank's caps.
as far as I know the car still has it's original radiator and its 17 years old now, could it just be worn out?
I will try and get some pictures up
thank you
Heather

might just be the pipe or connection. might be repairable with a new clip if your lucky.

get some pictures if you can as that should help diagnose the issue

radiators don't really 'wear out'. Only reason they leak is from taking a hit from a stone or the like that damages it or if the car has not had any coolant and just water so it rusts form the inside out.

I would say as well, you say its using more than normal... it shouldnt lose water period so something is wrong. As above, can you grab a pic of where you mean, i can't picture exactly what you mean.

blu73 said:

radiators don't really 'wear out'. Only reason they leak is from taking a hit from a stone or the like that damages it or if the car has not had any coolant and just water so it rusts form the inside out.

I would say as well, you say its using more than normal... it shouldnt lose water period so something is wrong. As above, can you grab a pic of where you mean, i can't picture exactly what you mean.

Click to expand...

Agree they don't wear out.
They can corrode from inside out or outside in.
If the core is crimped to the tanks the crimp can loosen causing a leak ( Toyota's are good at doing this, you see no manufacturer is perfect)
The connector stub pipes can break from over tight hose clips.
Vibration can crack core.

A 17 year old radiator has earned its retirement, particularly if the corrosion inhibitors haven't been kept up to date. Its an easy and cheap swap out.

D

Agree, fit a new one.
Replaced my Cinq rad a couple of years ago, think it was only about £20...!
Old one wasn't leaking, but all the zigzag fins had collapsed, blocking airflow.

Radiators do wear out.

They're suspended top and bottom in the nose of your car, so during normal use they do get subjected to vibration, flex and twist. Eventually they get fatigued and will split in one of the corners, especially if they're also slightly corroded.

The Younger Mrs S' Cinquecento, Titch was afflicted like this... but before I managed to change the rad' it somehow got shot through the radiator by a massive stone (still dunno how it passed through the bumper slots) which settled things for sure..

I'd also beg to differ that cooling systems don't lose water. I think I've only ever had one car that never needed topping up. Everything else seemed to need half a cupful every month or two. Usually you'll lose it around an old water pump, from the thermostat connectors, or any other joints.

On Titch, there is a tell-tale pink stain on the (factory) joints where the heater pipes connect to the matrix pipes on the bulk-head, by the battery.


Ralf S.

I guess we all have different experiences, none of my cars have used coolant in normal use, only ever when there has been somekind of issue - and I personally would count any weep however small from anywhere as something I couldn't leave and would have to fix.

Car I have right now, the 500 that we have had about 18months i think - I have never had to put a drop in that since we got it.
My old panda when i got it was losing coolant, needed new radiator cap and then never used any after that upto when i started the engine conversion and thats a 25 year old car with about 100k miles on it.
And my Suzuki, again has never needed top ups between coolant changes, I did a coolant flush and refill right after i bought it. Its pretty hard to bleed the system so over a week or so i had to top it up few times as air made it to the top of the rad, but I never had to put a drop in between then and about 2 months ago when i renewed the coolant. Thats about 2.5 years that stuff was in there never needing a top up.

Radiators get less efficient with age even if they dont leak...