Went with a BANG!!

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JohnnyCrash

New Member
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1,917
So after a drive from St Helens to Manchester, I reverse onto my drive and I am stood at the passenger door getting my things when I hear a bang, sounded like someone dropped an empty oil drum! followed by a cloud of steam :mad:

wanna see?? of course you do lol


































and the damage it did…..


 
Top of rad has split...common issue on the oil burners...sorry Johnny...

Yes, I've had the top of the rad crack before, replaced my rad around 2 years ago due to a hairline crack along the top plastic. This time however it's gone with a lot more force so I'm suspecting something more sinister like exhaust gas entering the cooling system causing excess pressure and temperature.

I am going to clean it it and see what my leak down tester shows, the only awkward part it my compressor is in St Helens and my car is stuck in Manchester :mad:

anyway, suggestions welcome also places to buy cheap rads?? (only if known to have the baffle)
 
Top of rad has split...common issue on the oil burners...sorry Johnny...

+1 new rad needed
mine did the same as i was climbing a steep hill at a ski resort in Almaty (Kazakhstan) and had to get a new rad top made up out of aluminium as no new rad was available. I found a guy at the what is called car city in Almaty that fabricated a new rad top out of aluminium sheet and took a day and a half to do it and charged $200 US. I stressed the point that it had to have a baffle in the top and he understood so there was no problem with circulation after.
The other problem that I had with my radiator was that unbeknown to me when I bought the car was that an aftermarket intercooler had been fitted and was larger than the original and was rubbing against the radiator fins and caused a leak . I have since cured this by relocating the intercooler and using alloy sheet and foam to prevent rubbing.
 
+1 new rad needed
mine did the same as i was climbing a steep hill at a ski resort in Almaty (Kazakhstan) and had to get a new rad top made up out of aluminium as no new rad was available. I found a guy at the what is called car city in Almaty that fabricated a new rad top out of aluminium sheet and took a day and a half to do it and charged $200 US. I stressed the point that it had to have a baffle in the top and he understood so there was no problem with circulation after.
The other problem that I had with my radiator was that unbeknown to me when I bought the car was that an aftermarket intercooler had been fitted and was larger than the original and was rubbing against the radiator fins and caused a leak . I have since cured this by relocating the intercooler and using alloy sheet and foam to prevent rubbing.

Thanks, I think the cooling system should not be under this amount of pressure. I will post up what the leak down tester shows
 
It may have been weeping causing fluid loss, followed by boiling causing the big bang. You can live in hopes.

That is wishful thinking lol

just read that you can't skim the M51 head? is this correct? Is it just a case of send head to be crack tested until you find a good one??
 
That is wishful thinking lol

just read that you can't skim the M51 head? is this correct? Is it just a case of send head to be crack tested until you find a good one??
Correct, you cannot skim the M51 head.
Rad's blowing on the P38 are not uncommon. If you have not had any overheating, I still think it may just be the RAD plus of course pump, viscous and thermostat could also be involved.
 
Correct, you cannot skim the M51 head.
Rad's blowing on the P38 are not uncommon. If you have not had any overheating, I still think it may just be the RAD plus of course pump, viscous and thermostat could also be involved.

I've a new (tested) stat in the engine, I changed the water pump from the plastic to metal around a year and a half ago

had all sorts of issues lately erratic idle, cutting out once warm, poor starting, no kick down lost is endless

and yet nothing shows up on Nanocom,
 
It may have been weeping causing fluid loss, followed by boiling causing the big bang. You can live in hopes.

That sounds like a likely scenario. 11 litres of water would require roughly 17,500 litres of space as steam! That would be quite a bang.
 
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