Hi all heres one for you.

Just serviced my 97 Cinq' and the next morning I found 2 pools of radiator coolant (keep in mind I live in Malta), right under the corners of the radiator. She still had quite a bit of coolant in her, so I went out anyway, only to find 2 similar pools underneath where I parked :/.

Funny thing is after that (coolant level is now at about 50% between min and max mark) I only get droplets forming on the corners of the radiator and the level isn't dropping as fast anymore. The Radiator itself looks very healthy, its not crusty and has no rust on it, yet the coolant seems to be coming from the joins in the rad. The hoses are tight and dry.

Could the radiator still need replacing although it still looks fairly good? I found a replacement radiator in Malta for about 100Eur (85GBP). It's aluminium and looks pretty good quality.

I was planning on getting a nice exhaust, but thats going to have to be put on hold untill I sort this one out

If the radiator is leaking then you do need a new one!

Don't know what the shipping is to Malta, but there are cheaper ones on UK eBay.

As David says, you really need to replace, pressure test will confirm leak.

i had a quote from a local place other day £42 that includes vat for band new cinq rad

I know it sounds weird, but did you try adding paprika( like ground pepper but red) in the radiator? It´s tricky because the radiator doesn´t have a tap, but try adding about a spoon full through one of the upper hoses. It should cover the leeks, if they´re small. In Spain we use it quite a lot and it works as well as any commercial radiator leek fixer. Price: 2-3 €

Thanks guys i'll have a look aroun ebay and see what I find Just one question, how do you do a pressure test?

ItalianJob11 said:

Thanks guys i'll have a look aroun ebay and see what I find Just one question, how do you do a pressure test?

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with a pressure tester

Proper way is to fit a pump tool onto the expansion tank. Bodger's way is to block off (doesn't really matter how) all but one of the holes, (radiator out of car) fill with water, and use a bicycle pump on a bit of inner tube (bike) clamped to the other end with the open end sealed off. You don't need a lot of pressure -- 1 bar is plenty.

As for new rad prices, I got a new Aluminium one last Summer for £20.

Thanks guys I'll get onto it and report back

David C said:

As for new rad prices, I got a new Aluminium one last Summer for £20.

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yeah last rad i bought, just from my local factors was about £20.

ask if these guys in poland will deliver to malta. had a quick on uk ebay for you and most don't say they post to Malta but can't hurt asking a few as it would be alot cheaper for you.

adr1ean said:

I know it sounds weird, but did you try adding paprika( like ground pepper but red) in the radiator? It´s tricky because the radiator doesn´t have a tap, but try adding about a spoon full through one of the upper hoses. It should cover the leeks, if they´re small. In Spain we use it quite a lot and it works as well as any commercial radiator leek fixer. Price: 2-3 €

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dont know how everyone missed this comment

i saw it, it may work, i wouldn't bother - not when a new rad is £20. I'm not gonna say it don't work, i don't know. I'm not one for temp bodging though

The paprika thing might work but TBH I'm not too keen on putting anything apart from coolant in my radiator. . . I've managed to get one from a local specialist for 70Eur in aluminum, so that's going on.

blu73 said:

i saw it, it may work, i wouldn't bother - not when a new rad is £20. I'm not gonna say it don't work, i don't know. I'm not one for temp bodging though

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I know people who keep running their cars for more than 2-3 years now, with the spoonfull and nothing else added or done. So it´s not that temporary, as more a quite effective improvisation. It´s very good with small leaks. The only thing is to be moderate with the quantity, depending on your radiator size and leaks. I´ve seen in a shop, adding to an old van, an Iveco, like half a jar, yes JAR, about 150-200 gr. It was impressive. And the thing still runs around. Finding a new radiator for 20 quid is quite a bargain, here the cheapest is about 85 €.

OK maybe so but it is still a bodge..
each to their own mate. I'm not telling you not to do it, i'd just buy a new radiator, they not expensive (well they aren't in the UK anyway)

Okay so heres an update worth your time!!

Got the old rad off (it was leaking from the inside where the fan sits, that explains it looking fine from the outside) Heres the good bit . . . I poured about 0.5L of water into the expansion tank to flush the system . . . and nothing came out the other end. I pulled the bleed valve out and it started trickling out, with that looked like black sand in it :O

Got an expert opinion on it and he reckons the radiator has been leaking for some time and the previous owner just put a bit of stopleak or similar product into the system. So now I'm going through the process of dismembering as much as I can of the system and getting rid of the scungy black stuff someone else put in -.-

My advice to you guys, replace your radiator if it leaks!! If you feel like doing a bodge job, do the paprika thing, but unless you want to spend hours on end disassembling the system and pushing moist rags through it to clean it. . . DONT PUT ANY BRAND/TYPE OF STOPLEAK IN YOUR SYSTEM. It just cloggs up the pipes, ISN'T a permanent solution, and if its been there for a couple of years smells like. . .

gutted fella, at least you know the cause now, should be fine when you finished

Sorted! shes on the road again, with NO stopleak