Not My Day Today...

[Andyn]

Hey all,

I'm wondering if this is a normal thing to r32gtsts. This is what happened to me tonight. Pretty interesting experience to say the least. Hopefully not too Expensive to fix to get it back on the road.

I was casually driving to dinner tonight and I noticed the revs were a lot higher than normal on idle. Also when I used the throttle it was reving a lot higher than before (to get to the same speed I had to rev it a lot higher). Also the car fully died a few times when I was clutch coasting (i.e When i was turning a corner and slowed down to 2nd gear and put the clutch in, it died and I had to restart the car quick smart). So something felt strange but I didn't want it, to spoil the night so I kept going.

The recent things I have done to the car is flush out coolant and brake fluid 3 weeks ago. Changed engine oil, oil filter and fuel filter a week ago.

As I was parking the car something burst under the bonnet and I can see steam coming out. I popped the bonnet up and I see all this liquid everywhere. It was green and the coolant level was low so obviously it was the coolant.

We went out for dinner and came back and I tried starting up the car and it was fine. So I drove off but I took it real slowly as I knew something was not right. On the highway the car after about 15 mins of driving the car stalled. I tried to start it back up but it wouldnt (similar situation as if u had a flat battery) and I saw steam coming out again - no explosion this time though.

Some of you would already know what 'actually' happened - yes there was a crack in my radiator piping (picture attached).

Thankfully the car was towed back home and is safe and sound. I'm just wondering what options I have from here. Can I just replace this top plastic section (with the crack) or do I have to replace the whole radiator system?

If anyone has had the same experience before and can give some rough prices to fix it, it would be greatly appreciated.

Also can anyone pinpoint what could have caused this burst. Is it just old age and being a plastic pipe? Or I wonder if I had anything to do with the coolant flush that I got the mechs to do?

I guess it could have been worse

Edited April 29, 2006 by Andyn

[IOWNU]

You need to buy a new/second hand radiator all together.

Because once they have cracked, it means the whole thing is pretty brittle.

Didn't you notice that the car was overheating? usually they stall if too hot, but you should have seen the temperature go up quick.

This can also damage the head. Make sure u get that checked out as well!

Good luck, shouldn't be too expensive, i'm guessing cost of radiator + coolant + labour is you'll have to pay, assuming your head is still good.

Edited April 25, 2006 by IOWNU

[Andyn]

Ok is this a normal thing for it to crack for no reason? I wonder if it has something to do with the coolant flush/pressure test, which i did 3 weeks ago?

No i didnt notice the engine temp being higher than normal...

Im hoping it didn't damage the head - but if it did - theres not much I can do about it apart from rebuild. Touch wood.

[IOWNU]

Ok is this a normal thing for it to crack for no reason? I wonder if it has something to do with the coolant flush/pressure test, which i did 3 weeks ago?

No i didnt notice the engine temp being higher than normal...

Im hoping it didn't damage the head - but if it did - theres not much I can do about it apart from rebuild. Touch wood.

It's normal with age, they get brittle, bang.

You didn't drive it too much so its ok, its unlikely the head is gone, but still a possibility.

Check if there is oil mixed in water in your radiator/overflow bottle. If yes, then we have a problem.

[Freddy Kruger]

the flush just mighta been what caused the radiator to crack. i flushed mine and about a week later a crack went down the side and i needed a new radiator. tho i do think it was the original one so it did have a fair stretch on it...

[Andyn]

Yeh coolant looks fine and no sign of oil.

Actually i was reading a thread and there was this:

"1. Turn the ignition on and set the climate control to max heat (32 degrees). The R32 GT-R workshop manual actually says to "remove the external sensor connector" once the ignition is on, but later manuals (for R33/34) say just to set the heater to max (which is what I did). Apparently this is meant to release any fluid in the heater."

I remembered that this morning I did tape up the temperature sensor thats plugged on the middle dash of the car (see picture). Could this have been the culprit? My climate control has been playing silly buggers - reporting higher than actual temps. When the air con is off I can still feel some 'cool' air from the left side of the drivers footwells.

Edited April 25, 2006 by Andyn

[Andyn]

Freddy - How did you go about fixing your radiator?

You just get another one from wreckers? How much did u pay for the system and labour for installation?

WOnder if its worth upgrading the radiator while Im at it. ONly if the price isnt that much diff.

[Jackie]

You have done the crack in wat is called the top.

I got a hole in that aswell not in my skyline but in the car i previously had. I took the radiator out n just took it to a radiator place n they put a new top tank on it. It didnt cost much mabey $120 or something. I dont know if the skylines ones are fixable or wether its better to just get a whole new radiator but if u dont want to replace the radiator just call a radiator place n they will be able to tell u want to do.

[edspaged2]

If its just the top tank that has been cracked, then that is what they will replace. you can go for a whole new radiator though. the top tank is most prone to getting small cracks and the like as this is the warmest part of the radiator. If you noticed that coolant was bursting out of your car, you shouldnt have been driving it, even if you were only just driving slow. The last thing you want is to damage your engine.

[Freddy Kruger]

it was in my commo so it wasnt that expensive. $140 for a new radiator and it installed it myself. i was quoted $80 i think for my mechanic to do it and replace the coolant.

its fairly easy in a commodore not sure about a skyline tho. in a commodore it take of radiator cap, unto bottom hose into bucket and let it drain. remove all hoses (auto too so auto line went into it too). take of fan shroud and slide out old radiator. then do the reverse...

how much is a stock radiator for a skyline. i wanted to upgrade mine by was advised against it by a few in the know as stock radiators are pretty good unless youve got a big huge powerful engine.

my radiator wasnt really repairable. it wasnt that much of a crack but iy was pushed out... id rather have a good condition something than one thats busted and been repaired...

[Sydneykid]

I gather you are looking for two things;

1. The reason why it happened?

My guess is you didn't bleed the air out of the radiator and engine after you flushed it. Hence the engine built up pockets of trapped air. These produce hot spots in the engine that boil the water around it. The increased pressure from the boiling water cracked the radiator at the weakest point.

Did you bleed the radiator and theengien aftger you refilled it? Using the bleed on the top of the inlet manifold?

Although why the radiator cap didn't relieve the pressure is interesting. Did you change the radiator cap when you did the flush?

2. How to fix it?

The top tank is actually clipped/clamped on, they are rather difficult to repair after 13-17 years of use. My suggestion would be to buy a replacement radiator.

Cheers

As soon as you fit the new radiator I would do pressure test as I would be surprised if you haven't warped the cylinder head from the excessive localised hot spots.

Edited April 26, 2006 by Sydneykid

[Freddy Kruger]

whoa looking at prices a skyline radiator isnt cheap :S good luck with it all.

[edspaged2]

QUOTE: The top tank is actually clipped/clamped on, they are rather difficult to repair after 13-17 years of use. My suggestion would be to buy a replacement radiator

They dont fix the top tank if it has a crack, hole or split in it. They REPLACE it. Ive seen it done mate. Dont worry about buying radiator. Once the top tank is replaced you wont have to worry about it for the next many years to come. Just worry about the bottom one lol. The tank may cost you about 120 bucks, then all up about 180 including the labour. I had the top tank replaced on my 180sx a few months back. The radiator comes in about three pieces. the top tank, the core and the bottom tank.