Another rad down

[Hoonin88]

Ughhhhhhhh. Went out to jack the car up for an entirely different reason but found this...Got one whole season out of a less than 10k mile rad...I will probably go with re-coring one of the two I own now.

Radiator.jpg

[My98RT10]

Sorry to hear about your issue. Is this radiator OEM or aftermarket?

[Fatboy 18]

OK Pic is upside down, Thats the Top hose neck, Correct? (You have taken the picture from under the car looking up to the underside of the top hose).

Looks like you have silicone hoses, I had to use two clips on mine to get the silicone hose to seal properly.

Is the problem a split at the neck? I would suggest cleaning up the area, then run the car and see if you can see any coolant pressure leaking from the hose.

[dave6666]

One proper type clamp should be able to seal the hose. Overtightening is probably the other worst culprit for hose leaks albeit silicone hoses will take a set and require snugging later. Most screw type hose clamps should be torqued to 50-75 lb-inches.

Also the drip that is hanging there looks white. The best coolant to use is the Mopar HOAT orange. Which that drip is definitely not orange. If you are using one of those foo-foo coolants like Redline or Evans clean that garbage out of there and use what you should.

[Hoonin88]

Sorry to hear about your issue. Is this radiator OEM or aftermarket?

That is an OEM replacement. I was told it had less than 10K miles on it when I bought it.

OK Pic is upside down, Thats the Top hose neck, Correct? (You have taken the picture from under the car looking up to the underside of the top hose).

Looks like you have silicone hoses, I had to use two clips on mine to get the silicone hose to seal properly.

Is the problem a split at the neck? I would suggest cleaning up the area, then run the car and see if you can see any coolant pressure leaking from the hose.

Correct- that picture is from the bottom looking up. The buildup toward the bottom of the rad makes me believe that the leak isnt comin from just the hose, but I will clean it and run it before pulling that out again. I'd be stoked if its as simple as the hose clamp.

[Hoonin88]

One proper type clamp should be able to seal the hose. Overtightening is probably the other worst culprit for hose leaks albeit silicone hoses will take a set and require snugging later. Most screw type hose clamps should be torqued to 50-75 lb-inches.

Also the drip that is hanging there looks white. The best coolant to use is the Mopar HOAT orange. Which that drip is definitely not orange. If you are using one of those foo-foo coolants like Redline or Evans clean that garbage out of there and use what you should.

Thanks Dave. There was green in the system when I replaced the radiator and hoses the first time so I stuck with green. Sounds like I should swap out for Mopar orange.

[MH60M]

Yeah, I bought a "Known Good" Radiator from a Viper guy last year. It was bad. I just re-cored it with a 3-row. I hear 3-row is less efficient than a 2 or 1 row......but I like to live dangerously.

[Hoonin88]

Yeah, I bought a "Known Good" Radiator from a Viper guy last year. It was bad. I just re-cored it with a 3-row. I hear 3-row is less efficient than a 2 or 1 row......but I like to live dangerously.

Hahaha. Is Danger your middle name?

I got a lead on a radiator repair shop I am going to try and check out this week.

[BLRDViper]

Hahaha. Is Danger your middle name?

I got a lead on a radiator repair shop I am going to try and check out this week.

Hoonin, did you check out the Rad Shop? I am just a little south of you and am starting to see similar white trails down my Rad.
BLRD

[Steve-Indy]

The shop mentioned to Hoonin88 was Paul's Auto Radiator, 1251 S. Tibbs, Indy.

This info was obtained from a longtime friend and Viper Tech who now runs an independent repair shop.

While I have not dealt with Paul's personally, I trust the referral.

[Martyb]

One proper type clamp should be able to seal the hose. Overtightening is probably the other worst culprit for hose leaks albeit silicone hoses will take a set and require snugging later. Most screw type hose clamps should be torqued to 50-75 lb-inches.

Also the drip that is hanging there looks white. The best coolant to use is the Mopar HOAT orange. Which that drip is definitely not orange. If you are using one of those foo-foo coolants like Redline or Evans clean that garbage out of there and use what you should.

Advantages of using the hoat over green are? I know for a fact my 98 has green fluid. I’ve been kicking around getting a Howe radiator at some point, I want to be able to drive the car on the 100+ temp days here in AZ. It gets warm now if I am in town with little air movement. Has to be a way to lower the temps somewhat. Know you have no issues with yours on those hot humid Texas days Dave. Maybe I need to duplicate what you have done.

[dave6666]

Advantages of using the hoat over green are? I know for a fact my 98 has green fluid. I’ve been kicking around getting a Howe radiator at some point, I want to be able to drive the car on the 100+ temp days here in AZ. It gets warm now if I am in town with little air movement. Has to be a way to lower the temps somewhat. Know you have no issues with yours on those hot humid Texas days Dave. Maybe I need to duplicate what you have done.

The HOAT is like the Mobil 1 0w40. Neither of which were around when the car was released. They are both - the coolant and oil - with more advanced technology than the factory fills. That's the short version of it.

Regarding all that I've done to my car for cooling it's more than just the Howe swap. But regarding the radiator, it's just as much so the fact that even with good maintenance the factory radiator will get fouled internally (and externally as well) and will require rodding or replacement. Most people will accredit the radiator brand they chose as to why their car runs so much cooler. Or the design of the radiator they chose. Or some crap ass additive or waterless coolant they chose. When in reality, it wasn't the brand of radiator they chose or anything else, but the fact they removed a fouled radiator that wouldn't cool any more.

But, regarding radiator brands, as I'm sure most people will want one that cools the car AND lasts, yes, after testing more of them than I ever wanted to, the Howe is the solid winner.

Other things I've done to my car that address cooling are (2) 9" Spal pusher fans that run with key-on, lower temp thermostat (185* Gen 3), Autoform vented cowl. I have run the Roe fascia duct before but the fascia I have on the car now has not been cut for it. It begins to improve cooling air flow at 30+ mph but will do nothing for your temps when sitting in traffic. Of course maintaining the fascia overflow bottle level and clamping the hose to it at the surge tank are important from a maint standpoint. Getting all of my 3 fans electrical load out of the PDC and switching them straight from the battery with SSRs keeps electrical issues to nill. There are some people that relocate the factory spring terminal electromechanical relays which is a lesser effective but still a sensible way to improve the fan's electrical reliability.

[BLRDViper]

The shop mentioned to Hoonin88 was Paul's Auto Radiator, 1251 S. Tibbs, Indy.

This info was obtained from a longtime friend and Viper Tech who now runs an independent repair shop.

While I have not dealt with Paul's personally, I trust the referral.

Steve, Thank You. I will try to reach them Via phone.
BLRD

[Hoonin88]

Sorry everyone. Things have been mad busy. Spoke with the older gentleman at the shop and they can rebuild for $500. Personally, I wish I would have went this route instead of buying a low mileage used one before.

[ViperTony]

I think Dave mentioned in this thread, definitely many other threads, the OEM radiator gets clogged easily. Mine '01 had less than 20k miles on it when I had it recored....it was COMPLETELY clogged despite coolant changes every two years. Though I never had an issue with cooling but the mods I did (lower temp t-stat + Roe Front Fascia Duct + PCM reprogrammed to turn Lo/High fan at lower temp + Vented cowl) helped hide the clogged rad issue. My recore was about $300. Well worth it. Get your OEM radiator recored and be done with it. Dave has the best solution with the dual SPAL fans...air flow (plus a properly functioning cooling system) is the key.

[Ron]

My 24 year old / 38,000 mile original Viper radiator still looks like new on the inside so I'd argue that the factory green coolant or lack of maintenance is the reason for the clogging, not the OEM radiator design. I changed to Texaco/GM Dexcool+distilled water the week I bought the car and though I did have a pin hole soldered 10 or so years ago, is still functioning as new.

[My98RT10]

My 24 year old / 38,000 mile original Viper radiator still looks like new on the inside so I'd argue that the factory green coolant or lack of maintenance is the reason for the clogging, not the OEM radiator design. I changed to Texaco/GM Dexcool+distilled water the week I bought the car and though I did have a pin hole soldered 10 or so years ago, is still functioning as new.

How did you look at the inside of your rad? I am also still on the green Mopar coolant, so far no cooling issues whatsoever... keeping fingers crossed :-)

[BLRDViper]

Sorry everyone. Things have been mad busy. Spoke with the older gentleman at the shop and they can rebuild for $500. Personally, I wish I would have went this route instead of buying a low mileage used one before.

Good deal, I got their # and was planning a call.
The thing that gets me is whether or not this is the Rad leaking or the upper hose connection. In your pic, it looks like there is a worm clamp on the upper hose point vs the OEM clamp. Not sure, but hose also seems to not be OEM.
Have you got a good look at where exactly the leak is coming from.
I am going to try and get the 97 down and look closer.
Rad Leak.jpg
From Pic I think I still have the OEM hose and clamp.
Any way, $500 bucks for a Quality rebuild back to OEM spec sounds good to me.
BLRD

[Hoonin88]

Mine is leaking ever so slowly from multiple points of the expansion tank only on the driver side. Sadly the hose or hose clamp is not the source. It's a pretty neat little old school shop. I wouldn't hesitate to have him build. Luckily I have a spare to get re-cored so I will have no down time.

[dave6666]

Worm drive clamps on rubber hose cause leaks not fix them. Constant tension clamps like the OEM clamps were designed for a reason. To keep tension on the hose as it ages. When the OEM clamp no longer seals it's not time for a different clamp but instead time for new hoses.

[Hoonin88]

Good deal, I got their # and was planning a call.
The thing that gets me is whether or not this is the Rad leaking or the upper hose connection. In your pic, it looks like there is a worm clamp on the upper hose point vs the OEM clamp. Not sure, but hose also seems to not be OEM.
Have you got a good look at where exactly the leak is coming from.
I am going to try and get the 97 down and look closer.
Rad Leak.jpg
From Pic I think I still have the OEM hose and clamp.
Any way, $500 bucks for a Quality rebuild back to OEM spec sounds good to me.
BLRD

Also, you are correct. Not original hose clamp or hoses. I installed silicon hoses from Mishimoto with worm gear clamps.