96 626 leaky radiator..

It appears to be leaking on the right sides towards the bottom where
the radiator mounts to the car frame. But I can't see or get down
there to tell if it's a crack or somethings not tightened well or what.
What's the best way to A) find the leak, B)patch the leak (i've
already tried the stuff you pour in and it doesn't work), or C) do I
just need to replace the radiator. I have 98K miles on it. Here is a
link to a generic radiator shot, with my leaky area circled.

http://home.earthlink.net/~scbunch/radiator.jpg

Anyone??


wrote:
> It appears to be leaking on the right sides towards the bottom where
> the radiator mounts to the car frame. But I can't see or get down
> there to tell if it's a crack or somethings not tightened well or
what.
> What's the best way to A) find the leak, B)patch the leak (i've
> already tried the stuff you pour in and it doesn't work), or C) do I
> just need to replace the radiator. I have 98K miles on it. Here is
a
> link to a generic radiator shot, with my leaky area circled.
>
> http://home.earthlink.net/~scbunch/radiator.jpg

You can try replacing the radiator. I just replaced mine which I bought
from eBay - fairly easy job, no more leak. Here is a link to your rad
$60 plus $30 S/H:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem&rd=1&item=
7952933039&category=33602

In article .com>,
says...
> It appears to be leaking on the right sides towards the bottom where
> the radiator mounts to the car frame. But I can't see or get down
> there to tell if it's a crack or somethings not tightened well or what.
> What's the best way to A) find the leak, B)patch the leak (i've
> already tried the stuff you pour in and it doesn't work), or C) do I
> just need to replace the radiator. I have 98K miles on it. Here is a
> link to a generic radiator shot, with my leaky area circled.
>
> http://home.earthlink.net/~scbunch/radiator.jpg
>
>

How hard is a job like this? I've done some car work, mainly with
brakes/rotors, and general maintenance/tune up. Something I could
tackle? Anyone know any DIY sites that might have a description of how
to do this?

Murphy wrote:
> You can try replacing the radiator. I just replaced mine which I
bought
> from eBay - fairly easy job, no more leak. Here is a link to your
rad
> $60 plus $30 S/H:
>
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem&rd=1&item=
> 7952933039&category=33602
>
> In article .com>,
> says...
> > It appears to be leaking on the right sides towards the bottom
where
> > the radiator mounts to the car frame. But I can't see or get down
> > there to tell if it's a crack or somethings not tightened well or
what.
> > What's the best way to A) find the leak, B)patch the leak (i've
> > already tried the stuff you pour in and it doesn't work), or C) do
I
> > just need to replace the radiator. I have 98K miles on it. Here
is a
> > link to a generic radiator shot, with my leaky area circled.
> >
> > http://home.earthlink.net/~scbunch/radiator.jpg
> >
> >

In article . com>,
wrote:

> How hard is a job like this?

Dead simple. If the '96 is at all similar to my '82, it'll be a "two
bolts and two hose clamps" job. Likely, since it's a newer model with a
transverse-mounted engine, you'll also need to pull the fan/shroud
assembly off the old one and put it on the new one, but again, that's a
trivial task - pull the bolts (probably either 3 or 4 of them), transfer
the fan assembly to the new rad, and put it back together. You MIGHT
need to disconnect a thermo sensor from the old rad, but I can't say for
certain whether this model does or doesn't have one.

A radiator swap is truly trivial - The only likely complication is
whether you've got room to get the old one out/new one in without
hassle. Aside from that... <pffffft> Nothin' to it.

Do the newer (post '82) models of 626 still have the "backwards" hood?
If so, that's where your only likely trouble is going to come from. If
it turns out that the hood gets in the way, just grab a nail or
scratch-awl and scratch in an outline of the hood hinges, pull the four
bolts holding the hood and set it aside, then when finished with the
rad-swap, line the hinges up with the scratched outline you made and
bolt it back on. Bigtime non-problem...

--
Don Bruder - - New Email policy in effect as of Feb. 21, 2004.
Short form: I'm trashing EVERY E-mail that doesn't contain a password in the
subject unless it comes from a "whitelisted" (pre-approved by me) address.
See <http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd/main/contact.html> for full details.

If I'm understanding your question about the hood - I think the answer
is no. The hood comes up at the front and hinges at the
passenger/driver side of the engine. I used to have a 91 and the hood
was normal on that one too, so they changed before that.

You're saying pull the radiator & fan assembly out at the same time as
a unit, then unattach the fans from the radiator, attach them to the
new one, and put it all back in? I checked it out last night, and even
in the dark it looked pretty simple.

A previous post showed one available via ebay for $90 (including
shipping). I suppose it's definitely worth it to replace, instead of
continually adding/leaking fluid everywhere & risking overheating?
Especially with the hot southern summer coming up.


Don Bruder wrote:
> In article . com>,
> wrote:
>
> > How hard is a job like this?
>
> Dead simple. If the '96 is at all similar to my '82, it'll be a "two
> bolts and two hose clamps" job. Likely, since it's a newer model with
a
> transverse-mounted engine, you'll also need to pull the fan/shroud
> assembly off the old one and put it on the new one, but again, that's
a
> trivial task - pull the bolts (probably either 3 or 4 of them),
transfer
> the fan assembly to the new rad, and put it back together. You MIGHT
> need to disconnect a thermo sensor from the old rad, but I can't say
for
> certain whether this model does or doesn't have one.
>
> A radiator swap is truly trivial - The only likely complication is
> whether you've got room to get the old one out/new one in without
> hassle. Aside from that... <pffffft> Nothin' to it.
>
> Do the newer (post '82) models of 626 still have the "backwards"
hood?
> If so, that's where your only likely trouble is going to come from.
If
> it turns out that the hood gets in the way, just grab a nail or
> scratch-awl and scratch in an outline of the hood hinges, pull the
four
> bolts holding the hood and set it aside, then when finished with the
> rad-swap, line the hinges up with the scratched outline you made and
> bolt it back on. Bigtime non-problem...
>
> --
> Don Bruder - - New Email policy in effect as of Feb.
21, 2004.
> Short form: I'm trashing EVERY E-mail that doesn't contain a password
in the
> subject unless it comes from a "whitelisted" (pre-approved by me)
address.
> See <http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd/main/contact.html> for full
details.

In article .com>,
wrote:

> If I'm understanding your question about the hood - I think the answer
> is no. The hood comes up at the front and hinges at the
> passenger/driver side of the engine. I used to have a 91 and the hood
> was normal on that one too, so they changed before that.

Yep, you understood rightly. My '82 lifts at the windshield edge,
flipping forward to stand nearly vertical on hinges above and just
behind the front bumper. Sounds like they went to a "normal" hood
sometime between my '82 and your '96

> You're saying pull the radiator & fan assembly out at the same time as
> a unit, then unattach the fans from the radiator, attach them to the
> new one, and put it all back in? I checked it out last night, and even
> in the dark it looked pretty simple.

Yep, that's exactly what I'm saying. Likely, there are two bolts, one at
each corner of the top of the rad/fan assembly to anchor it, and two
pins at the bottom, sitting in rubber-lined holes in a bracket. Pull the
two bolts, disconnect the hoses, disconnect any wires to the fan(s)
(almost certainly a single "click-together" connector coming off the
wiring harness), and the thermo-sensor (if it exists, it'll almost
certainly be connected the same as the fan(s)) tip the top of the rad
away from where it was bolted, and lift straight up.

Swap fan(s) from old to new rad, and reverse the removal procedure,
being sure to get the pins in their holes, refill with coolant, and
you're finished.

About a 45 minute job when I did it on my '82, but a good part of that
was cussing and bellyaching until I figured out that I didn't have any
option but to pull the hood so that I'd have enough room to lift out the
rad.

> A previous post showed one available via ebay for $90 (including
> shipping).

$90 shipped seems a *LITTLE* bit high to me, but not bad enough that I'd
automatically say "pass" to it unless there was something cheaper
available without any significant extra effort required. I paid
$80-something locally for a fresh rad for mine a couple years ago after
the upper tank body on the old one developed a crack.

> I suppose it's definitely worth it to replace, instead of
> continually adding/leaking fluid everywhere & risking overheating?

Yep. You REALLY don't want to overheat an engine with aluminum heads.
Even a relatively minor overheat can warp 'em severely - then you're
into some fairly serious big bux to get it back on the road.

--
Don Bruder - - New Email policy in effect as of Feb. 21, 2004.
Short form: I'm trashing EVERY E-mail that doesn't contain a password in the
subject unless it comes from a "whitelisted" (pre-approved by me) address.
See <http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd/main/contact.html> for full details.

The new ones from the parts stores cost $140-$170. What are some good
alternatives, if the $90 seems a bit high?

In article .com>,
wrote:

> The new ones from the parts stores cost $140-$170. What are some good
> alternatives, if the $90 seems a bit high?
>

Like I said, it seems a *LITTLE* high. Not outrageous, but more than
what *I* would value such an item at, or be happy paying to get it. If
your locals are running in the 150 range, and there's one on eBay for
90, then by all means, *JUMP ON IT* - you'll be getting a damn good deal
compared to buying locally.

--
Don Bruder - - New Email policy in effect as of Feb. 21, 2004.
Short form: I'm trashing EVERY E-mail that doesn't contain a password in the
subject unless it comes from a "whitelisted" (pre-approved by me) address.
See <http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd/main/contact.html> for full details.