Duff radiator??

So as per suggested on here, I took my rad out of my 96 2.5TD p38 and turned it upside down and put a small marble size stone in one of the pipes and it rolled straight over to the other side and out the other.

Does this mean the radiator is goosed?

I don't see any sort of partition to it that would direct flow??

There is a small copper pipe in there visible from the outlet side rattling about. When I took the overflow off, which has a bit of copper pipe on it it came loose and is rattling in there. Is this connected to my overheating issue?

Cheers

It sounds like the baffle inside the has gone. It should direct the flow off coolant down then up the other side, certainly nothing should rattle. If the coolant is going straight across the top then it's effectively bypassing the rad and not being cooled. I have one in the for sale section, linky

mick

cheers bud and that one defiantly has the center baffle yeah?

Yes mate, it was working perfectly, thought it was leaking but it was a loose hose at the rear of the engine.

mick

replied to your post selling the rad with an offer

this question is to anyone: can a rad with no center baffle be the sole cause of the engine overheating?

yes if coolant just flows in and out without flowing through entire rad ,poor rads is the biggest cause of overheating ive come across in lr world,often only shows up with extra effort ie hot day or first trip out with caravan

ySo said:

this question is to anyone: can a rad with no center baffle be the sole cause of the engine overheating?

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:multiply:

my overheating wasn't showing up with extra effort.. even just driving carefully no putting the foot down it would randomly overheat.

I just put a larger stone in and it rolls from one side to the other with no obstruction.

ySo said:

this question is to anyone: can a rad with no center baffle be the sole cause of the engine overheating?

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You have not been listening.

Druim said:

:multiply:

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?? I'm no mechanic mate, just a guy trying to learn how everything works and DIY.

Datatek said:

You have not been listening.

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What did I miss? I tend to overthink things, don't mean to annoy anyone with all my questions. I don't know a lot about the ins and outs of cars, but doing my best to learn. I believe asking questions is the best way..

ySo said:

What did I miss? I tend to overthink things, don't mean to annoy anyone with all my questions. I don't know a lot about the ins and outs of cars, but doing my best to learn. I believe asking questions is the best way..

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Why do you think the car has a radiator? If the coolant does not flow through the RAD what do you think will happen?
As I recall, your question was answered some time ago.

Also, the reason I asked can it be the SOLE reason for overheating is I was driving the car for 2 weeks with no overheating, including a 160mile drive with no stops and no overheating at all then suddenly it just started to. By the looks of things the rad in this car has never had a center baffle, hence why i'm confused as to why it's just started and wasn't doing it all along.

Datatek said:

Why do you think the car has a radiator? If the coolant does not flow through the RAD what do you think will happen?
As I recall, your question was answered some time ago.

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Yes I know that, but see the post above. I didn't explain fully before why I was asking if it could be the SOLE reason.

ySo said:

Also, the reason I asked can it be the SOLE reason for overheating is I was driving the car for 2 weeks with no overheating, including a 160mile drive with no stops and no overheating at all then suddenly it just started to. By the looks of things the rad in this car has never had a center baffle, hence why i'm confused as to why it's just started and wasn't doing it all along.

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If the RAD has a plastic header, the plastic baffle fails over time.

ySo said:

?? I'm no mechanic mate, just a guy trying to learn how everything works and DIY.

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every-time you start a new thread system comes up with suggestions - and site has a search function allowing you not to look to silly asking Q's

ySo said:

Yes I know that, but see the post above. I didn't explain fully before why I was asking if it could be the SOLE reason.

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Well, if the car would run without a RAD, I'm sure LR would not have bothered with the expense of fitting one.
OF COURSE IT WILL OVERHEAT IF THE RAD IS FECKED.
How many times does it have to be said.?

Datatek said:

Well, if the car would run without a RAD, I'm sure LR would not have bothered with the expense of fitting one.
OF COURSE IT WILL OVERHEAT IF THE RAD IS FECKED.
How many times does it have to be said.?

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No that's not what I'm saying. I know that

What I'm saying is there is NO SIGN of this radiator ever having a baffle in the first place (was reading a thread about some rads supplied without) so why wouldn't it have always overheated rather than just start doing so lately?

The rad must have a baffle to function correctly.....

If, as you say, the rad shows that it NEVER had a baffle then why is is overheating now - well that is no doubt a mixture of luck and the fact that the other disadvantage of a top-flow rad is the bottom gets silted up over time....

With you driving carefully and no baffle, there sheer surface area of the rad has had some cooling effect....now the rad is getting older and more blocked at the bottom, the effective surface area has been reduced to a stage where the lack of baffle really is now becoming a cooling issue.

Not having a baffle is not the only reason a car overheats...there are various factors involved from cracked/warped heads or block to water pump failure....

BUT - you must have a baffle to ensure optimum cooling efficiency.