Radiator leaking

[glowstang93]

Noticed a small puddle under the car this morning of antifreeze. Leaking just below the drain valve. Have a radiator ordered will be here tomorrow from O'Reilly's. It is item 433556. Its a regular radiator, nothing fancy. Never had any overheating problems with the stock one, so saw no need to upgrade. Guess 14 yrs and 91,000 miles was pretty good on a stock radiator.

Any helpful hints when it comes to putting the antifreeze back in and making sure there are no air pockets, etc in the system?

I just drove about 15 minutes from work and it was leaking when I got home and even steaming some from the drain side. [/COLOR

 

[Distortion 5.0]

Certainly shouldn't need to upgrade. These radiators are so over kill for a 4-cyl you can usually run them half full and they'll be fine. As far as proper fill measures, I always use 50/50 blend, fill the radiator, then run the engine for a minute with the cap off, and add extra to replace what goes into the engine. Running it with the cap off should help relieve any air in the system. I don't really know of a more comprehensive procedure.

 

[ethangsmith]

That's how I fill mine too. Pretty simple. Just make sure you fill it full and then wait for the thermostat to open. That will push a lot of air out and make the level go down so you can add more coolant. For the next few days just make sure your overflow bottle has plenty of fluid in it so as air bubbles come out it pulls coolant in.

 

[glowstang93]

Thanks for the help guys. I ended up having my favorite auto shop do the work. Bill wasn't bad at all. $195 all together counting the new radiator and labor. Just didn't have the time or the patience to deal with another repair at this time. I do appreciate the help.