Baglady1990 said:

I’m beyond that now Tim! My engine for a better word is screwed!! Steel seal ect .... I’m having everything replaced!

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Just had a look at rad thru grilling lots of indentations plus it now looks like it’s leaking I can see damp on the inside “shelf” where the rad meets to car ... anyhow I’m booked in for engine replacement + rad and anything else that needs doing! **** knows what has or hasn’t been done to it before I took ownership... but I’m starting from scratch so to speak [emoji36]

timmycm850 said:

often stone chips get into the lower section of the bumper and brakes away the small aluminium fins off the bottom 2 or 3 inches of the radiator, this causes the radiator to become less effective and so the car begins to over heat slightly causing head gasket blow no1. repair is done and your on your way with fresh coolant, later on symptoms begin to reappear and a build up to head gasket no 2, this time the mechanic notices the radiator is missing fins off the bottom half. head gasket repair is done with new radiator and all is good.

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Absolute nonsense!

There’s something in the radiator theory but a knacked radiator is usually seen as an elevated running temperature on the gauge .. then turning on the heater tends to reduce the temperature again. This car runs okay until it boils over.

Anyways there’s a new radiator going in.

Heater matrix will be okay... they’re steel and aluminium. Neat water doesn’t damage it toooo easily.

It’ll be interesting to perform an inquest in the old engine.. I’m curious what the cause is.


Ralf S.

Baglady1990 said:

Just had a look at rad thru grilling lots of indentations plus it now looks like it’s leaking I can see damp on the inside “shelf” where the rad meets to car ... anyhow I’m booked in for engine replacement + rad and anything else that needs doing! **** knows what has or hasn’t been done to it before I took ownership... but I’m starting from scratch so to speak [emoji36]

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Remember when looking through the bumper, on cars with AC, you're not looking at the water radiator but the AC condenser which is always in front.

John202020 said:

Remember when looking through the bumper, on cars with AC, you're not looking at the water radiator but the AC condenser which is always in front.

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Do you think I’ll need a new one??

Baglady1990 said:

Do you think I’ll need a new one??

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No, unless badly corroded.

AndyRKett said:

Absolute nonsense!

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:yeahthat:

The radiator is engineered to cool the engine adequately during a hot Southern European summer. Losing a few fins off the bottom isn't going to make any significant difference the cooling capacity; certainly not enough to change anything on a typical UK day.

However, if weather related corrosion or (much less likely) impact damage causes the coolant tubes in the matrix to leak, that's a whole different ballgame and, if not promptly attended to, it won't be long before the coolant level drops sufficiently to put the HG as risk.

On cars with A/C, the A/C condenser is mounted in front of the radiator and that's what you see when looking through the grille. This is another cheaply engineered component and it's common to see quite a few fins missing. Doesn't seem to affect A/C performance much, unless of course the tubes perforate.

I was told about this when I got my 500, so I added a Zunsport grille that fits over the factory grille. It has smaller holes in the pattern to stop the stones going through. I think back in 2013 it was around £80 !

werdna said:

I was told about this when I got my 500, so I added a Zunsport grille that fits over the factory grille. It has smaller holes in the pattern to stop the stones going through. I think back in 2013 it was around £80 !

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You mean these ones ?

https://www.zunsport.com/en/fiat-grilles

jrkitching said:

:yeahthat:

The radiator is engineered to cool the engine adequately during a hot Southern European summer. Losing a few fins off the bottom isn't going to make any significant difference the cooling capacity; certainly not enough to change anything on a typical UK day.

However, if weather related corrosion or (much less likely) impact damage causes the coolant tubes in the matrix to leak, that's a whole different ballgame and, if not promptly attended to, it won't be long before the coolant level drops sufficiently to put the HG as risk.

On cars with A/C, the A/C condenser is mounted in front of the radiator and that's what you see when looking through the grille. This is another cheaply engineered component and it's common to see quite a few fins missing. Doesn't seem to affect A/C performance much, unless of course the tubes perforate.

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I’ve bought new rad new condenser too obviously I’m worried about the h core .... will play it by ear but if it has to be replaced ...[emoji20][emoji36][emoji24] I’ll get the guy’s to do it that are sorting everything else .. scary as I know half the car has to come out to do it [emoji23] but if if needs doing .. it needs doing & I have to say they have been quite reasonable in the ££ department.
That’s something I suppose.

yup ! Mine was black as the car is tech house grey !!

I’ve replaced many condensers, they are not expensive and probably worth doing as you’re doing everything else.

Baglady1990 said:

I’ve bought new rad new condenser too obviously I’m worried about the h core .... will play it by ear but if it has to be replaced ...[emoji20][emoji36][emoji24] I’ll get the guy’s to do it that are sorting everything else .. scary as I know half the car has to come out to do it [emoji23] but if if needs doing .. it needs doing & I have to say they have been quite reasonable in the ££ department.
That’s something I suppose.

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The A.c. is completely separate from the engine issues so won't have been affected by said issues only physical damage and corrosion will have taken it's toll but as above with so much being done you might as well do it too noting it requires a a.c. specialist to remove the old one(the gas not the condensor) and refill it.

John202020 said:

with so much being done you might as well do it too

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:yeahthat:

From what I've seen of 500 A/C condensers, one that's been in service for 9yrs will be close to scrap. As I've said before, they're not engineered to cope with a climate that routinely uses salt on winter roads.

Most 500s have aircon and so a condenser, the comment about looking at the radiator through the grill you are looking at the condenser and the condenser being alluminium and only thin does tend to get damaged along the bottoms but can still work fine for years. As such the radiator is protected from any damage by the presence of the condenser.

Also as pointed out the radiator and cooling system is designed to manage very hot weather, in the case of a 500. Italian summer circa 40’C I’d be surprised if the actual engineering specs aren’t for 50’c heat. In any case the coolant system is more than capable of keeping the engine cool with a few broken fins on a radiator.

9 times out of 10 when a fiat fire engine blows its head gasket it is due to a sticking or failed thermostat. They are cheap to replace but also means they are cheap... so not well made and prone to failure. Also if a car is frozen because of lack of antifreeze or abused badly this can also have a knock on effect for the head gasket. Overall there is now know way to say for sure what caused the problems in this case, certainly without forensically taking the old engine apart piece by piece. But what I can say whole heartedly is that it has nothing to do with a stone damaged radiator.

Club500 are dismantlers do probably have the decontamination equipment themselves to do the A/C.

typecastboy said:

Club500 are dismantlers do probably have the decontamination equipment themselves to do the A/C.

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Please god [emoji23]��

How's it doing?



Ralf S.

Ralf S. said:

How's it doing?







Ralf S.

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Car goes in on Saturday and hopefully collect Tuesday ? I’ll update when i get her back! Still running car apart from last 2 days (flu)? car fine as long as don’t go up to 70

Baglady1990 are they collecting it as very slow and scenic route for you if they're not....