Jump to content
SAU Community

Damaged My Brand New Radiator

neil_se

By neil_se,
in General Maintenance

 Share

Recommended Posts

neil_se Experienced

neil_se

Posted
Posted

Well i'd driven about 3km with my new JJR radiator and somehow something got in through the back of the shroud and fan and damaged the core.

post-4038-1161505928.jpgpost-4038-1161506267.jpg

The mechanic and radiator shop said it was basically gonners but i thought it was worth a crack to see if it was fixable so took out the 5 damaged tubes (out of 62 total).

post-4038-1161506289.jpgpost-4038-1161506300.jpgpost-4038-1161506335.jpg

Can the ends actually be welded or is it too thin like the tubes themselves? I figured losing about 10% of the surface wouldn't be too bad considering the radiator is 200% larger than the stock one.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/139773-damaged-my-brand-new-radiator/
Share on other sites
SECURITY Grand Master

SECURITY

Posted
Posted

who told you it was 200% larger?

i think the only difference is its a little thicker and made entirely from aluminium.

if you could find an aluminium welder then he could probably weld the holes shut but you'll still have no guarantee it wont leak. it wont flow as much either so your % gain would be pretty much shot.

neil_se Experienced

neil_se

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Yeah sorry, that was a bit of a bullshit estimate. Just comparing the 40mm aftermarket radiator to the stock ~20mm one. I just want to know if it'll still cool better than the stock one or if i'm wasting my money paying someone to weld this instead of spending another $430.

Edited by neil_se
SECURITY Grand Master

SECURITY

Posted
Posted

i doubt it'll be safe. im not sure if you can have the tubes replaced but if you cant then i really wouldnt risk it. another $430 is cheap compared to a $5000 rebuild.

someone else may be able to tell you if it will flow better than stock if you weld up the holes.

sorry mate.

AndrewD Contributor

AndrewD

Posted
Posted

You could get a competant welder to block those tubes off, however you may have punctured the surrounding tubes by removing the fins off of them.

Best thing is to get it done, take it to a radiator shop and get them to pressure test it.

If it passes the test, remember to block off the hole so air will not flow through that section of the core.

Ive done it before, however i removed the tanks and seamed it from the top of the tank flange other than the bottom as you have done there. Proved reliable. Just need to pressure test it before you put it on.

neil_se Experienced

neil_se

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I'm pretty sure all the other tubes are ok, the fins broke away pretty easily but there's one small spot i'm not sure of. I've got someone who's going to weld it up (the rad shop doesn't do alloy welding) then i'll get it pressure tested.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • brillo
      Leak from Tokico BM50 Brake Master Cylinder

      By brillo · Posted

      Hi, SteveL Thank you very much for your reply, you seem to be the only person on the net who has come up with a definitive answer for which I am grateful. The "Leak" was more by way of wet bubbles when the pedal was depressed hard by a buddy while trying to gey a decent pedal when bleeding the system having fitted the rebuilt BM50 back in the car, which now makes perfect sense. A bit of a shame having just rebuilt my BM50, I did not touch the proportioning valve side of things, the BM50 was leaking from the primary piston seal and fluid was running down the the Brake booster hence the need to rebuild, I had never noticed any fluid leaking from that hole previously it only started when I refitted it to the car. The brake lines in the photo are "Kunifer" which is a Copper/Nickel alloy brake pipe, but are only the ones I use to bench bleed Master cylinders, they are perfectly legal to use on vehicles here in the UK, however the lines on the car are PVF coated steel. Thanks again for clearing this up for me, a purchase of a new BMC appears to be on the cards, I have been looking at various options in case my BM50 was not repairable and have looked at the HFM BM57 which I understand is manufactured in Australia.  
    • Gantai
      R33 GTST Steering Rack (49001-19U05) Rebuild?

      By Gantai · Posted

      PXL_20250828_063541093.TS.mp4
    • Gantai
      R33 GTST Steering Rack (49001-19U05) Rebuild?

      By Gantai · Posted

      Well the install is officially done. Filled with fluid and bled it today, but didn't get a chance to take it on a test drive. I'll throw some final pics of the lines and whatnot but you can definitely install a DMAX rack in an R33 with pretty minor mods. I think the only other thing I had to do that isn't documented here is grind a bit of the larger banjo fitting to get it to clear since the banjos are grouped much tighter on the DMAX rack. Also the dust boots from a R33 do not fit either fyi, so if you end up doing this install for whatever reason you'll need to grab those too. One caveat with buying the S15 dust boots however is that the clamps are too small to fit on the R33 inner tie rod since they're much thicker so keep the old clamps around. The boots also twist a bit when adjusting toe but it's not a big deal. No issues or leaks so far, steering feels good and it looks like there's a bit more lock now than I had before. Getting an alignment on Saturday so I'll see how it feels then but seems like it'll be good to go       
    • PranK
      R35 GT-R production ends after 18 years

      By PranK · Posted

    • SteveL
      Leak from Tokico BM50 Brake Master Cylinder

      By SteveL · Posted

      I don't get in here much anymore but I can help you with this.   The hole is a vent (air relief) for the brake proportioning valve, which is built into the master cylinder.    The bad news is that if brake fluid is leaking from that hole then it's getting past the proportioning valve seals.   The really bad news is that no spare parts are available for the proportioning valve either from Nissan or after market.     It's a bit of a PITA getting the proportioning valve out of the master cylinder body anyway but, fortunately, leaks from that area are rare in my experience. BTW, if those are copper (as such) brake lines you should get rid of them.    Bundy (steel) tube is a far better choice (and legal  in Australia - if that's where you are).
×
×
  • Create New...