1996 explorer v6 radiator leaking suddenly

[eric mentzer]

greetings, my explorer has been running great since the fuel pump and starter have been put on, in previous thread monthes ago. got approximatly 84k miles on her. Just got inspected and noticed radiator is leaking coolant. I think the timing with the garage was a coincidence and it has just recently gotten warm out in PA. I notice the coolant oozing out the body of the radiator, on mostly passenger side. Resivoir is full to line, replaced cap as a precaution. Hose to holding tank is clear, i purged air through it both ways. As soon as i disconnect hose from plastic resivoir with cold fill line, coolant runs nicely out of resivoir tank. If i pull hose off radiator cap and try to blow back into resivoir, nothing, complete restriction. the hose itself is clear, however i cannot blow back into the overflow tank. is there a check valve or something? like i said it runs out freely with the hose disconnected. No overheating temps or issues other than shes dripping good once heats up. Any suggestions what else to check? I hate to throw stop leak at it if it is indeed an overpressurization situation.

 

[donalds]

That hose should flow both ways clean it or replacement

To much pressure in your rad it has NO place to go because of the clogged hose to the overflow tank

 

[eric mentzer]

Overflow resivoir was clogged shut with calcified crust. Hose was clear both ways. was unable to blow any air/pressure into coolant resivoir. I shop vacced out resivoir and now pressure can return to tank (i can blow and bubbles enter the resivoir from hose. also replaced cap to be safe. Radiator still leaking from the overpressure i suspect. all newer aftermarket rads look like they are microchannel, original is copper tube.

 

[96eb96]

I replaced mine too ages ago....Leaks from the tank seal.

 

[koda2000]

If the rad is leaking, regardless of why, it will need to be replaced. Most all radiators are aluminum core now, I'm surprised to hear your old one is copper. I can't remember the last time I saw a copper/brass radiator, 1970's maybe? Most aluminum radiators have plastic tanks. When they fail the plastic tanks are usually where the failure occurs (tank seals fail, or plastic tank cracks). If you want the spend the money all-aluminum radiators are available on the aftermarket, but are more expensive. Personally I wouldn't spend the extra money on an new all-aluminum radiator for a 23 +year old vehicle. New aluminum/plastic rads are available on-line in the $100-$120 range with a 1-year warranty. I've installed 4-5 CSF brand radiators in my Explorers/Mountaineers over the past 7-8 years. Only had one fail after 11 months, which I blame on shipping damage, and it was covered under warranty. The V6 rads are about as easy to replace as it gets.

 

[974X4BLACKSPORT]

Two years ago I replaced the rad. in my 97' OHV with a TYC unit from RA. The orig. was leaking at the tank gasket. The TYC fit perfect, and as far as I can tell, the quality is as good as the orig. I just put a TYC unit in my Pontiac GTP due to crack in tank, and tranny cooler was leaking into engine coolant in the original. The price was great, fit was great, and the performance is great!
Thinking back, I would have replaced the radiator in the GTP years ago just as a maintenance item because the fins got clogged up with debris over the years and miles.

 

[donalds]

I installed a spectra 2 row last year
It came with a 2 row so that's what's back in it

 

[masospaghetti]

I agree, the aftermarket radiators seem to be of pretty decent quality. Mine had a tiny hairline crack after about 7 years of service, covered under the lifetime warranty. The parts guy said it was just visual and "not actually a crack" but they still honored the warranty. (It was definitely a crack.)

Personally I wouldn't buy a cheap all-aluminum radiator from eBay because you don't know if the material or weld quality is any good.

 

[toypaseo]

My OEM unit was leaking between the main and plastic tanks. My local mechanic tried one of those radiator seal tablets. Still leaked. The replacement he installed was from Carquest. Functioning well after two years.

 

[fast_dave]

The short version of the Radiators that have been in my Ex:

July 2009 @ 116,627 Miles: OEM Radiator developed a leaking vertical crack, towards the firewall, on the drivers side tank that the radiator cap attaches to. Replaced with USA Manufactured Visteon/OEM configuration radiator purchased from Rock Auto.

March 2018@ 203,100 Miles: Visteon brand radiator develops a non-leaking vertical crack, towards the firewall, in the same area as the Original/OEM Radiator. Reading the handwriting on the wall, and living in the PRK where we have LONG & HOT summers, it was replaced (before summer) with a Canadian manufactured Spectra CU2137 / OEM configuration radiator purchased from Amazon

April 2019 @ 211,271 Miles: Spectra CU2137 develops a Tank to Core leak from the rubber gasket, on the Passenger Side Tank, at the bottom 45 Degree Turn. Took pictures and contacted Amazon, had them ship me a new Spectra CU2137 for warranty replacement, and shipped back the leaking one at their cost.

One good thing about Radiators on a OHV/Manual Trans is that they take all of 30 minutes to swap out...