Radiator leak - 4.6 P38

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JamesBB

JamesBB

Active Member
Posts
784
Location
Sandwich. Kent.
Hi Guys
I noticed a minor coolant leak from the right hand side of the radiator (from when viewed standing at the front).
Certainly looks like coolant, slightly greenish, but also seems very slightly greasey/oily. It is mainly clear, no dark oil stain.

What worries me is the slight oily feel. Is that just normal?

I seem to have lost about half a pint or so over a week.

Looking down the inside (engine side) of the rad I can see a small amount of coolant on lower lip of the rad. The leak is pretty minor, or so it seems.

What would be your advice? Radweld? Worried about that I must admit.
New rad or repair?

Looking on Rave it looks a pig to get out. I do not see any leaks from the hoses or the engine and gearbox oil coolers. Plus I was told that this particular P38 has an uprated rad as it was built for South Africa where is originally lived. Could be a little tricky.....

Low compression V8 and no LPG.

Thanks again in advance, and happy new year.
Cheers
 
That slick, oily feeling is normal for coolant, especially after it it has run down a hot radiator and some of the water has evaporated and condensed the remaining coolant.

As to Radweld or the like, when I asked the same question I got close to a 50/50 split on answers. Some said it was fine and they had used it before and others said No! it will foul up your heater matrix and cause bigger problems. I decided that the only way to be sure was not to use it and have my rad repaired instead.

Taking the radiator out really isn't a huge deal. Remove the shroud and fan and every thing is pretty self explainatory. Don't loose the little O-ring gaskets that are on the oil and transmission cooling couplings.
 
Thanks for info and help guys.

Looking at RADIATOR REMOVAL ON P38'S - Australian Land Rover Owners
it looks simple enough.

No need to remove the hoses to the engine/gearbox coolers? I guess they remain in situ as you slid the main rad out.......

I am in no rush to get this done, I do not have long journeys planned so may slog it out and keep an eye on the coolant level until funds allow.

Oh and thanks for the offer Fix it, I will let you know in the next couple of weeks, if you still have it and you are not far then great stuff.

Cheers
 
There's a thread going on right now about crappy Britpart radiators and it's miffed some noob. I'm a Yank so I know nothing about them from experience but it seems they are held in low esteem by folks in the know. Why not have the old one reworked?
 
I've just replaced my rad with a Britpart one from Island, following a failure on the M4 just before the new year weekend.

I too was slightly concerned about it, given the quality problems that Britpart seem to exhibit, but to be fair, the rad actually seemed ok. External quality seemed at least as good as the one I removed.

My existing rad was an absolute PIG to remove though. Rave seemed particularly unhelpful in this area and the whole process seemed very unclear until I too stumbled upon the Australian Land Rover Owners thread. The problem was that the two bolts at the bottom go into captive brass nuts. Captive in plastic, that is. Not surprising, both of mine were seized solid and no amount of Plus Gas would release them enough to stop the nuts rotating in the plastic radiator surround.

I ended up having to literally cut the bottom corners off the radiator with a junior hacksaw blade to release the captive nuts. Even then I had to use a jack to shift the rad as it was a very tight fit.

Needless to say, the nuts on the new rad are encased in copper grease.

Did my water pump and thermostat at the same time. I'm slightly dubious about the Island thermostat though - seems to open very early, but perhaps the old one was just stuck. I should probably have tested it but didn't have any gear.
 
JamesBB said:
Thanks for that post, very interesting....

I have read a post on another forum that the Britpart rad was several mm out in being over sized.
Also I found some other sources for rads:
PCC106940 RADIATOR | shop | www.lrseries.com | L. R. Series
and
Radiator - 1998 - Aftermarket at www.rimmerbros.co.uk

Looked for Allmakes and Bearmach but yet to find something....... eBay maybe.
Again, no rush but sods law will mean it will fail right when I do not need it to.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Mine was a slightly tight fit, but no more so than the original that I removed.

TBH. the low price of the Island rad put me off a bit, but I needed one urgently and I knew they would deliver so I went with it. No regrets so far... I understand that Island are pretty good with returns, so better than a random ebay purchase.

I only ended up in this situation because I kept putting off the replacement of the original one until it finally died.
 
kooky_guy said:
I only ended up in this situation because I kept putting off the replacement of the original one until it finally died.
Click to expand...

There is a lesson to be learnt then for me, and anybody else.

I may go for a new one to be safe, and maybe not from eBay, not eBay had crossed my mind for something like this........

Cheers
 
Hi all
Update....

I still have not gotten round to replacing this rad yet as the leak is very minor.
Also, upon close inspection I am now worried :(

I have found the A/C condenser is stuffed, that explains no A/C.
Before I bought it 18 months ago, it must have had a front impact which bent the condenser at the bottom and pushed back the entire rad housing about half an inch, snapped the couling at the bottom front and snapped of the 2 plastic pegs that hold it in place on the bottom bracket at the rear. Did not notice any of this when I paid for it, should have got the AA inspection done........ Doh! :doh:

So, looks like I have to buy a whole host of stuff, then inevitably I will find I need more as I take it all off and find more snapped/broken clips and plastic etc.......

All a bit of a worry now. I travel 2 or 3 miles to work in it (if I do not cycle in) and recently (since the leak) goes no more than 10 miles from home (just in case). Hence why I have also been holding off and keeping the coolant level topped up.

Decision time soon then...... I see new condensers on ebay for a good price, will check other usual sources too.

Any they easy to swap out?

Cheers
 
kooky_guy said:
I've just replaced my rad with a Britpart one from Island, following a failure on the M4 just before the new year weekend.

I too was slightly concerned about it, given the quality problems that Britpart seem to exhibit, but to be fair, the rad actually seemed ok. External quality seemed at least as good as the one I removed.

My existing rad was an absolute PIG to remove though. Rave seemed particularly unhelpful in this area and the whole process seemed very unclear until I too stumbled upon the Australian Land Rover Owners thread. The problem was that the two bolts at the bottom go into captive brass nuts. Captive in plastic, that is. Not surprising, both of mine were seized solid and no amount of Plus Gas would release them enough to stop the nuts rotating in the plastic radiator surround.

I ended up having to literally cut the bottom corners off the radiator with a junior hacksaw blade to release the captive nuts. Even then I had to use a jack to shift the rad as it was a very tight fit.

Needless to say, the nuts on the new rad are encased in copper grease.

Did my water pump and thermostat at the same time. I'm slightly dubious about the Island thermostat though - seems to open very early, but perhaps the old one was just stuck. I should probably have tested it but didn't have any gear.
Click to expand...

I just took my rad out. Exactly the same problem as you, damn those captive nuts. I ended up gently knocking a chisel at the plastic from underneath, just enough to nip out the width of the bolt.

I have another thread going as I found other concerns related to the AC condenser and oil coolers. So in relation to that I has the bumper off and condenser out too.

Managed to get both out without removing the viscous fan cowling or oil coolers. Absolute bonus. So far, until maybe I try and get the new ones in.

I am wondering if I should replace the top hose too, it is ok, but feels like it is softer in some areas than others. Hmmmmm.

Cheers
 
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