We've got a 1993 850 that my girlfriend is using as her daily driver. It's got almost 180,000 miles on it (bought it with 160,000 or so) and it's been a great car. Today the low coolant light came on and it turns out that within the last couple days it lost all the coolant out of the reserve tank. After topping it up and driving it home I gave it a look over and found that the passenger side plastic side tank on the radiator has a crack in it. It must've just started today because the expansion tank was full over the weekend. The 10 mile drive home she took after we topped it up yielded negligable coolant loss, so the expansion tank must've been emptied over the previous 35 miles or so.

At any rate I've read this is common. I'm ordering a new radiator but I won't have time to do the swap until this weekend. My girlfriend has to go to work on Thursday, which is about a 30 mile round trip and that's about the only day of the week I can't drive her to work without a major hassle.

I know the cooling system pressure is only about 22 PSI, and we've got AAA but I'd rather not blow coolant all over the engine compartment. Do you figure it's safe to drive on this for that kind of distance (obviously while making sure the coolant stays at an acceptable level)?


Edit: Note that the coolant temperature hasn't strayed from its normal level.

 

Hi Rationull,

Here's an idea:

Materials:
1. A tube of Radiator Stop-Leak kind of stuff that most people usually don't bother[8D]. Or, substitute with a tube of epoxy (this may actually be better).
2. Duct Tape (of course, one of the greatest inventions of mankind).
3. Water-proof tape, if available (I once bought one at Wal-mart; it looked like an aluminum tape; approx. $7 a roll).
4. Approx 30-60 minutes of man hour, depending on the cure time for the stop leak stuff/epoxy.

Procedure:
1. Locate the crack (make sure that there is no other cracks besides the one you saw).
2. Wipe the area clean, of course. If the coolant keeps leaking/seeping, drain until enough to stop the leak/seepage.
3. Cover the area withwater-proof tape (duct tape), preferably multiple-fold in a criss-cross pattern. 4. Paste the stop leak (epoxy) stuff liberally around the taped area.
5. Wait till the stuff cures.
6. After the stuff has fully cured, cover the area again with duct tape, in the same manner as above. 7. Run the engine to see how well the patch holds up. You never know, this may become a semi-permanent repair though I would replace the radiator anyway.

The reason why you want to put the stop-leak stuff/epoxy AFTER taping the cracks is to avoid getting it in the system, which may recirculate within the system and screw up other things[8D]. When handling the stop-leak stuff or epoxy, follow the instructions on the back of the package/tube.

I hope this helps.


JPN

 

Check this out:

http://www.loctiteproducts.com/

Loctite® Power Grab®

A nice use of double "R" marks to grab your attention.

Read the product description, very impressive indeed. Grabs your heart as well as objects[8D]. Waterproof & temp resistance up to 248F (120C), just the right temp for the radiator.

What grabbed my heart:
"Finally! A heavy-duty adhesive on a roll for building and remodeling pros, and *heavy DIYers, who need to mount flat objects like house numbers and signs, mailboxes, baseboards, or coat hooks"

*Do they know me?

What bothered me:
"Finally! A heavy-duty adhesive on a roll for building and remodeling pros, and heavy DIYers, *who need to mount flat objects like house numbers and signs, mailboxes, baseboards, or coat hooks"

*I believe the plastic part of the radiator was kind of round/bend, contemporary-shape.....and you're not mounting anything on the side of the radiator, are you?

Let's analyse deeper into it:
"Loctite® Power Grab® on a Roll is an ultra strong, double-sided adhesive tape for fast & easy indoor and outdoor applications. The adhesive is waterproof, resistant to UV light, aging and plasticizers. *It withstands temperature fluctuations from -40ºF to 248ºF (-40ºC to 120ºC), and is suitable for use in areas with extreme temperature or humidity. Just 6 inches of tape **will hold up to 11 lbs., if the object is flat and under .4 inches thick - just imagine how much easier mounting projects will be around your home and shop with Loctite® Power Grab® on a Roll."

*Just the perfect temp range for the radiator! There must have been an automotive radiator designer on the product development team. How else could they grab our hearts so effectively? Or it could just be a collaborated conspiration between Volvo & Loctite[8D].

** I just had this inspiration. You know, you could perhaps mount a long flex tube from the reservoir to within the cabin within easy reach, where you can keep refilling the reservoir with coolant whenever the idiot light (low coolant warning) comes on. I would name this procedure as "Refill-On-The-Run Strategy®".

Sorry, I went overboard.


JPN

 

+1

I was also thinking about epoxy. The trick there is to be able to find the crack, which is not always trivial.

Good luck!

 

Hah!

I actually have some plastic repair epoxy junk that I was considering using to try and patch it up but I didn't want it to get into the system. I hadn't thought of waterproof tape. And I really like the Loctite tape idea! I've never heard of that stuff but I think I'll go buy a roll today. That strategy combined with the epoxy seems like it should be plenty strong.

I'm pretty sure the leak I know about is the only one, from observing where the leaked coolant is ending up.

Thanks!

 

Glad you seem ready for the temporary fix.

>I actually have some plastic repair epoxy junk
I sometimes feel sorry for a tube of epoxy. Although they are one of the most effective adhesives around, they are often referred to as "stuff", "junk", "gunk", etc... It is time that we pay more respect to a tube of epoxy junk!!!

Anyway, I wish you a successful completion of the repair with the epoxy stuff.


JPN

[IMG]local://upfiles/6892/C1196969A7244B168C0B4E3C42FF2D4C.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/6892/98E2ECCD9FEC40768FBDDBFECBD7AA9C.jpg[/IMG]

 

Here's an update on the situation:

After looking at the crack again last night I decided I'd just let it go for today. I did not want to have the epoxy hold the crack tightly shut only to have the pressure inside cause it to grow vertically. GF drove her required 30 miles or so today and mysteriously the car only lost about 3/4 inches of coolant from the expansion tank.

I'm not really sure what's going on here... The entire expansion tank drained two days ago at some point over 40 or 50 miles of driving (broken up into multiple trips 10-15 miles and shorter). But in 30 miles today and 10 miles on Tuesday after I topped it up it didn't seem to lose much.

This seems weird to me, but I guess I'm perfectly happy with it never being explained. The new radiator should be delivered tomorrow and I'm hoping the job won't take longer than 4 or 5 hours on Saturday. The only other radiator I've done was on an '83 280zx and it took a long time .. but that was because I had to hack-saw through all the brackets holding it onto the frame. That shouldn't be a problem on this car since I'm assuming the mounting screws aren't rusted to the radiator yet

 

If I were you I´d change the thermostat too just in case. Maybe it is not opening correctly and pressure is building up inside the cooling system. Have you noticed any overheating? If your GF is like my wife she probably never looks at the temp needle so you might not know the answer.

 

Axelm,

No, haven't noticed any overheating (although I think my girlfriend and your wife might indeed be similar in that respect ). I actually changed the thermostat a few months ago when it failed, fortunately in the open position. I don't know how long the car was running cold before she took me for a drive and I noticed. She was very happy to have her heater work again after that.

Anyway, I replaced the radiator today and it went pretty smoothly. Not quite as smoothly as I wanted as I ended up with a few "extra" bolts. The new radiator's holes where the bolts go to mount the AC condenser to the radiator didn't line up quite correctly so I ended up only being able to secure the condensor with one bolt. I'm not too worried about it as it seems pretty secure. Filled er up with coolant and replaced the ATF that leaked out when I disconnected those hoses and the car's doing fine.

 

Well done!

Come to think of it, I wonder if anyone has seen a "stuck-closed" thermostat. That would've been a very poor manufacturing design & effort.

>Not quite as smoothly as I wanted as I ended up with a few "extra" bolts.
((((；ﾟДﾟ))))) <I'm shivering!

Well, you'll probably find where they came from later. And as long as all components are secure and nothings leaks out, it probably is a secondary fastening bolt deal.

I hope the tranny cooler line's seal rings & O-rings are fine. If it leaks out, seals are cheap at FCP Groton.

Enjoy the new fresh radiator, free of gunks & accumulated deposits inside.


JPN

 

Just put a new radiator -no lock-tite or epoxy will hold it well, and you will need to change it anyway. The radiator comes out from the bottom of the car -you will need a lift if doing it yourself.